Benefits fraud appeal

[angela11]

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. I FEEL LIKE KILLING MYSELF.

 

My ex husband used my address for mail purposes as he did not have a permanent address. Now the DWP have taken me to the magistrate court today for an 11000 pounds overpayment. First we were not living together and then he was unemployed all through this period which meant that my financial circumstances did not change in anyway.

 

The magistrate was the meanest person i have ever seen. He convicted me of being guilty and charged me with 100 hours unpaid labour and to repay all the overpayment. He even refused to listen to the DWP prosecutor who said they would be happy for me to pay back 6500 through deductions from my benefits. The community barrister who claimed to represent me did not stand up for me and when I tried to speak, I was hushed by the magistrate who stated that i m not allowed to speak as I am represented by the barrister.

 

I am seriously considering appealing against this in the crown court as this will shatter my life and any prospects of working in the future as i am a support worker and with this difficult jobs climate, i stand a very slim chance of securing a job with a criminal conviction.

 

Please help. I'm so low and desperate.

[areweatfault]

Please, please please don't think of killing yourself!! It looks like you have had a really bad time of it recently. Please take a deep breath and try to think clearly. From your post I can tell that you are very angry and yet a confident person, so use the confidence that you have to think correctly. I can't advise you on your problem but I understand how soul destroying it is to feel as desperate as you feel at the moment. I wish you luck and you know, it will all come out right in the end.

[Nystagmite]

You don't have to be living together to be classed as having a partner.

[ErikaPNP]

Hi Angela.

 

Firstly as a consumer forum, we are unable to assist you with the feelings of suicide you are experieincing at the moment. I would urge you to contact the Samaritans if you are feeling in despair, there is a link to them here Talk to Someone. That is the most important issue.

 

In regard to the consumer aspect, it's unclear whether you plead guilty in court or not. If you did, you can only appeal against the sentence, not the conviction in itself. If you entered a plea of 'not guilty', you can appeal against the conviction by placing a written notice of appeal. There is no form for this. You need to write a letter to the court which convicted you, telling them your name, address, date of conviction and that you wish to appeal against the conviction. You can head the letter 'Notice of Appeal'. This letter must reach the court within 21 days of your conviction date. The Magistrates court will note the register and pass your notice on to the Crown Court. You do not need to give the reasons for appeal in your letter but can if you wish and you do not need a solicitor to do this for you but again, you can if you wish. The Crown Court will call the case again as a 'retrial'.

 

It is important that you understand what can happen if the Crown Court does not alter the outcome. If they do not change the outcome, the conviction will remain. The sentence may also be changed - this can mean it can be increased or decreased. You will also be liable for any costs.

 

On the other hand, if the Crown Court finds in your favour, the conviction is quashed, sentence will not be carried out and you may be able to claim back your legal costs - you won't however, get any other compensation on top of that.

[angela11]

Thank you all for your support. I am going to write to them tomorrow, Erika, as i really feel victimised. How can he charge me without even hearing the case. He was so prejudiced that i can't believe such a heartless person will be made a magistrate. My deepest regret of it all is that the DWP prosecutor had offered to halve this and i didn't take it. I will also speak to samaritans tomorrow as you've advised. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thanks once again.

[ErikaPNP]

Hi Angela.

 

I think you misunderstand how the criminal justice system operates; there has been a hearing. You are charged by the prosecution (in this case DWP prosecutors). The charge is fraud. You go to court and enter a plea. If your plea is guilty, there is no trial as you have confessed guilt. Before sentencing, the court will hear any aggravating and mitigating factors which are put forward by the prosecution and the defence - all that remains is sentencing (penalty). The sentence is the 100 hours unpaid labour in your case.

 

If you enter a plea of 'not guilty', then there is a trial, where evidence is presented. In the criminal justice system, you may have heard the term 'the burden of proof'. This means that one party has the responsibility to prove a case. It is not for your barrister to prove that you did not commit fraud but for the prosecution to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that you did. If the defence feels that the prosecution's evidence is not strong enough, he can motion that there is no case to answer. If there is a case to answer, the role of the defence is to challenge the prosecution's evidence. The magistrate then decides on the basis of the evidence whether you committed the crime that you have been charged with. If he decides that you are no guilty, that is the end of the case. If he decides you are guilty, he will sentence you (or defer sentence in some cases if more information is needed). During sentencing whether it is done on the same day as the trial or later, again any aggravating and mitigating factors are put forward by the prosecution and the defence and the magistrate will thereafter pass sentence.

 

Where sentencing is not on the same day that the guilty plea is entered or you are convicted, you may have a different magistrate - however that magistrate will be given all the relevant information at the sentencing hearing - he doesn't need to hear the case because the guilty plea or the conviction has already been reached - he only needs to hear the aggravating and mitigating factors put forward by the prosecution and the defence. If you feel that your barrister has not acted in your best interests and could have done more to help you, you can complain about it.

 

In all cases of benefit fraud, the overpayment has to be repaid in addition to any penalty (sentence) imposed by the court. The prosecution want a conviction - they cannot proceed with prosecution unless they believe that there is a realistic prosect of conviction. I think what may have happened is you might have been offered an alternative to prosecution by DWP and when you did not take it, the prosecution went ahead.

 

I hope that helps to make things a bit clearer for you.