Benefit Investigation

[goldisis]

Hi Guys, i am new to this site and am hoping someone can give me some advice.

My sister has split up with her husband, he has his own flat although the house is in joints names, they have 3 children and someone has reported them. It is an amicable split and my sister wants her children to have as normal relationship with their dad as possible. She had a visit before christmas regarding benefit fraud, after two of the children had chicken pox he had stayed a few nights to help out. They told her she couldn't do that so she asked to verify the rules..they said he could visit everyday but no one other than female first generation relatives could ever stay over. They said they would not take it further but if anyone reported her again they would have to take it further. She has now had a visit today which has upset her so much this evil twisted woman has told her she is not normal to try and have this type of relationship with her ex the children who are 5, 3 and 8 weeks old should cause the parents to fight and he shouldn't visit every day, the children need to get used to it stop trying to pay happy families and realise what going on. life for a single mother should be hard and he shouldn't come every day, the kids should be dropped of with him as he needs to get used to looking after them for when my sister is in prison, called her a liar when she said she couldn't get her husbands name taken of the mortgage when she doesn't work???? i am too angry to type all the other stuff. they are now investigating further, what does she need to do and what can happen next.

[Nystagmite]

What she's been told isn't correct. Yes, it will look odd if he visits often; but it sounds as though it's for the benefit of the children and not her. There is no rule about having someone to stay over. They look at things like do they have separate bank accounts, whose name is on the bills, etc. It's about financial links.

[goldisis]

Thanks for the reply....They have separate accounts he pays her about £400 a month and she manages to keep all her bills up to date. She is devastated by the way she has been treated the woman practically told her she should sell the house and let the council rehouse her. The only financial link they have is the house and she has approached the mortgage company but they can't put it in just her name has she doesn't earn enough, before the baby was born she worked part time. Apparently they have been investigating her and have been told he turns up every day and lets himself in, thats not the case. The woman said he only sleeps at his flat and its not right that he visits everyday, he works nights and has to drive past the end of the road to visit so it seems logical that they do this rather than waste petrol driving back and forth.

[Stan Lee]

I believe the DWP/LA investigators are required to investigate tip offs, and I should be borne in mind that an investigation does not necessarily equate with a prosecution, although this business of your friend's ex husband not being able to stay over is a bit concerning. If I were them I would gather together all their financial documents, both together and separate, and look for evidence that points towards them living separate lives. For example- your friend says that she cannot have a mortgage in her name - does she have a letter from the bank stating this? If not, could she request that her bank give her this in writing, and in doing so, also confirm that she enquired about this with them? I would also try and speak with your local welfare rights who will have experience of these cases, and if you don't have any in your area, a trip into the CAB might be in order ( if you have both I would prioritise the former over the latter, although this is only based on anecdotal evidence). Also, if this gets as far as interview under caution, I would certainly take legal advice -- it can be hard finding legal representation that specialises in welfare law, and so I would use YELL to find a list of all criminal law solicitors in your area, and email them specifically asking if they had any specialists in social security law and benefit fraud.

[flumps1976]

Have they started divorce proceedings? How long ago did they actually separate?

The reason that they are stating that he shouldn't be stopping over is that they would be viewed no differently than a couple where one of them works away from home during the week and returns to the family home at the weekend as the daily commute to work is too far/expensive etc.