Please help I have been commiting tax credit fraud

[vinnie1980]

Please help me, We have been claiming tax credits for the last 11/12 years and have never declared my partners income. last friday the dreaded letter appeared in the post, advising that the income didnt match up and they are doing a enquiry on my 2010/11 claim, they have not asked me to send in any details just that if i dont phone them before the 7th October they will amend my award with the details they hold and will have to pay a penalty.....also on the letter it states if they may prosecute, i know what i have done is stupid but i really do not want me or my partner to go to prison i am so frightened of losing my kids........could some one please give me some advice on what i should do ? i am really scared and dont think i can cope any longer.....i have been working it out and i think i have been overpayed by £80,000 please please help

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.

The CAG does not condone nor support fraud or dishonesty,but we are not here to be condemning nor to be acting as Judge and Jury.

 

You are admitting that you failed to provide info which would have affected your award,and in all likelyhood there will be more coming out if they are minded to go into the former years.

Personally I would suggest that you co-operate fully with them and take some advice from an external agency.

The important thing is to try to mitigate any outcome by way of punishment.

If you hold your hands up and co-operate this will count for a lot.

There is not really much more I can say than that.

I am sure others will be along to offer thoughts.

[Gbarbm]

Hi vinnie,

Are there any mitigating factors that you could ask the tax credit office to take into account? Did you for example think that you did not have to declare your partners income because you were making the claim.

Is your partner actually living with you?

Do either you or your partner have any disabilities ?

As Martin says ring the tax credit office and be honest with them

[Nystagmite]

You (or your partner) are unlikely to go to prison.

[MARTIN3030]

There are some info packs here in pdf which you might like to look at.

 

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/forms-and-leaflets/leaflets.htm

[vinnie1980]

Hi vinnie,

Are there any mitigating factors that you could ask the tax credit office to take into account? Did you for example think that you did not have to declare your partners income because you were making the claim.

Is your partner actually living with you?

Do either you or your partner have any disabilities ?

As Martin says ring the tax credit office and be honest with them

 

My partner does and always has lived me, just that i have never declared her income.....i feel sick and so ashamed......i have not even told my partner yet as i know it will break her with the thought of us being put away and our children taken away i dont think she will be able to cope.....we have already been through a rough time over the years losing our house and recently we have had death threats which the police are dealiing with, i was off work last year through anxiety and depression.....i dont know where to start i dont if i should wait for them to start the enquiry which is tommorow and when they ask questiion is to give them what they want....i am so scared.

[rebel11]

Hi vinnie

 

Sometimes things look a lot worse then they actually are. I think you need to see/speak to a solicitor to manage the disclosure/mitigation, failing that see CAB.

[Webranger]

I can't do much more than add my advice to the others - ring the tax credit office NOW, don't wait until they come back to you, that will just make it worse.

 

Confess to them just as you have here. If you lie or cover things up, again that will make it worse because once they are on to you, they will uncover it all.

 

There is little chance of your partner going to prison but you could and your best chance of avoiding that is to be fully open now.

 

We have so little detail that it is not possible to know whether your £80,000 calculation is accurate, but all we can do is advise you to make that call NOW.

[Gbarbm]

Hi again Vinnie,

From what you say, it appears that you were under extreme stress.....did you visit your GP at thae time? The reason i ask is that you may be able to ask the tax credit office to take your mental health into account in respect of any non declaration.

If worst comes to worst, you will have to pay it back under a time to pay arrangement. So don't worry about going to prision etc, they're not going to do that.

Ring them, see what they say and then post back here for advice.

[Nystagmite]

If worst comes to worst, you will have to pay it back under a time to pay arrangement. So don't worry about going to prision etc, they're not going to do that.

 

Can't they also recover some of the repayment from future tax credits?

[vinnie1980]

Thank you everyone for taking the time out to respond....I feel like i want to give up, just so scared of going to court and being sent down and to see the look of my 2 children....I really dont know what to do for the best, does anyone know what sort of sentance i would get for this ie time in prison.....i know what i have done is wrong and i am so ashamed will not be able to look a member of my family in there eyes again....given the amount of money overpayed i cant seeing them doing anything but prosecuiting me i just feel so alone at the moment and keep thinking will it be for the best for me to diassappear but then i am thinking of my children

[Webranger]

I'm beginning to doubt that this is genuine. We have all told you that the only thing to do is ring them immediately and be open and honest and it is unlikely that they would want you in prison costing the taxpayer even more money than you already have, but you still keep posting the same things. Just get on the 'phone before it is too late.

[Gbarbm]

Can't they also recover some of the repayment from future tax credits?

 

Yes they can and they can also collect it through the PAYE tax code (less usual)

[vinnie1980]

Should i call the compliance number which is a 020 number euston tower or the tax credit helpline number to tell them everything, or would you suggest wait for them to come back to me ? thanks

[honeybee13]

Hello there. I think you should just ring and get this over with. You can't feel any worse than you do, and you might feel a bit better afterwards. As someone already said, you will look better if you don't just wait for them.

 

I think the compliance people are the ones to go for, because they will have your file. Have their letter in front of you so you can quote the reference.

 

Then come back and tell us how you got on. Good luck,

 

HB x

[rubylee]

Hi

 

Can I just point out that Child Tax Credit and Working Tax credit came into existence from April 2003.

 

Family Credits ran from April 1986 to March 1999

Working Families Tax Credit ran from April 1999 to March 2003

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit started April 2003

 

So HMRC will investigate from April 2003 . They many just be looking at 2010/2011 .

 

 

Regards Ruby.

[vinnie1980]

Hi

 

Can I just point out that Child Tax Credit and Working Tax credit came into existence from April 2003.

 

Family Credits ran from April 1986 to March 1999

Working Families Tax Credit ran from April 1999 to March 2003

Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit started April 2003

 

So HMRC will investigate from April 2003 . They many just be looking at 2010/2011 .

 

 

Regards Ruby.

 

Hi RubyWhat do you suggest ? i have a feeling when they realise that i lied about my income for 10/11 they will check into my current and past credits......i dont know if to own up now or wait till they write back to me....as in the letter they have not asked me to call them all it states is if i dont call them by the 7th October they will amend my claim with the information they hold and i may be liable for a penalty also it states if they feel as if i have commmited a criminal offence they may do a criminal investigation and prosecute....i am so worried. I dont want to incriminate myself any further

[rubylee]

Hi

 

To be honest I wouldn't suggest you lie to them.

 

What Dates has the letter stated ?.

 

 

Regards Ruby .

[vinnie1980]

Hi

 

To be honest I wouldn't suggest you lie to them.

 

What Dates has the letter stated ?.

 

 

Regards Ruby .

 

Hi RubyThey state they are looking into 10/11 claim, they gave me the income i had declared and then put the income that i didnt declare. Shall i just wait to see what they do next as it states in the letter if i disagree then call them by the 7th october and if they dont hear from me they wil go of the income they have and may charge a penalty...i dont know what to do

[honeybee13]

Hello again. Well, you only have the rest of this afternoon to decide and then I guess things will take their course. You've had a lot of advice here, has it helped at all?

 

Fwiw, I personally wouldn't lie and I wouldn't expect them not to uncover more if they start digging. If it were me, I'd try to gain some sort of credibility by co-operating.

 

My best, HB

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

In case it helps, here is what the HMRC website says about investigations. It does mention a possible reduction in any penalty for co-operating.

 

My best, HB

 

Types of fraud investigations

 

When the Tax Credit Office discovers a case of fraud they can:

 

• charge a financial penalty
  
• prosecute
  

There are two types of investigation they can use to deal with tax credit fraud:

 

• civil investigations
  
• criminal investigations
  

Civil investigations

 

The aim of a civil investigation is to get back any tax credits payments that have been falsely claimed through fraud, along with any interest. The Tax Credit Office will also charge a financial penalty. A civil investigation does not prosecute.

The Tax Credit Office will offer a person the chance to co-operate with them and tell them all the facts. This is known as making a full disclosure. To encourage someone to co-operate with them, they’ll consider lowering their penalty. The amount they’ll lower it by depends on why the penalty's being charged:

 

• if it's for giving wrong information they’ll reduce it by up to 50 per cent
  
• if it's for not telling them about a change in circumstances, the amount they’ll reduce it by depends on if it's the first time it's happened and the amounts involved
  

When the Tax Credit Office is sure the person responsible has told them all the facts about the fraud, they’ll work out how much the person has to pay.

Tax credit penalties

Criminal investigations

 

The Tax Credit Office tries to deal with tax credit fraud using civil investigations whenever possible. They’ll only use criminal investigations in very serious cases where:

 

• they want to send a strong message to stop other people from trying the same thing
  
• the person has acted in a way that makes a criminal investigation the only option
  

Serious cases include:

 

• organised tax credit fraud
  
• where false statements have been made
  
• where fake documents have been given to the Tax Credit Office
  
• where people claiming tax credit have hidden information from the Tax Credit Office or misled them on purpose
  
• where someone's carried out the same type of offence before
  
• where there's proof that Tax Credit Office staff have been assaulted or threatened
  
• where people have pretended to be their employees
  

More useful links

 

Learn more about reporting benefit theft on the Directgov website

 

More about crime, justice and the law on the Directgov website

HM Revenue & Customs criminal investigation policy

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[vinnie1980]

HiThanks for all your advice, I have spoken to a lawyer this afternoon who is going to be taking over my case and he has advised for me not to speak to tax credits, as they will deal with it for me on my behalf. So hopefully i might now be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[id6052]

does your solicitor specialise in social security cases? or criminal cases?

 

the only reason i ask is that in my experience you are better to get a specialist social security solicitor, as criminal solicitors can sometimes give poor advice on the best way to deal with social security issues

[count orlok]

It says on the HMRC if you tell them everything they will not bring criminal charges, so why esculate it to a criminal case by keeping stum and employ a criminal lawer who'll makes loads out of a criminal case?

 

I thought your main worry was going to prison. You won't go to prison for a civil case but you can for a criminal.

[joemill]

It says on the HMRC if you tell them everything they will not bring criminal charges, so why esculate it to a criminal case by keeping stum and employ a criminal lawer who'll makes loads out of a criminal case?

 

I thought your main worry was going to prison. You won't go to prison for a civil case but you can for a criminal.

 

Hi Vinni, was. Just wondering if you had heard anything from the tax credits???? I have just received a letter daying I am being reviewed for 2010/2011 because the income is not matching!!!!! I am now worried sick about it all!!!! Should I call them or wait for the 25th of Oct I just don't know what to do?????any advise would be great!!!!