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Council tax fraud.just received summons to court


SoSTUPID
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hi

 

 

 

I have received a court summons today to appear in court at the end of this

 

month.

I need advice on wether or not it is worth seeing a solicitor or not.as I am

going to plead guilty.

this is my story..I attended an IUC in march 2011 for benefit/council tax

 

fraud ,as I had not informed them that I had savings in excess of the allowed

ammount ,I had come into an inheritence which took my savings over the ammount

and foolishly I did not inform them as I knew I would be

spending the money on

house improvements and replacing my old car, well the money was in the bank for

about 2 years while I got things sorted but by the

time I attended the

interview I had spent most of it and I was under

the allowed limit.

anyway to cut a long story I was told I had committed fraud and I owed the

 

council tax £1600 and income support £7300,I had no means of repaying this other

than to sell my house and buy a smaller house which I did and I have

now repaid

all the money in full.I was fully aware that I would still have

to face court

proceedings as I have committed an offence.

 

this court summons is for the council tax and I still expect to be summoned

 

for the income support overpayment.

 

any advice on wether or not to use a solicitor would be appreciated..thanks

 

in advance

Edited by SoSTUPID
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You can ask to see the duty solicitor on the day of the hearing if you dont want to find one beforehand. They will speak to the Court on your behalf and make sure that any explanations you have are put forward.

I am very surprised that the summons that you have had is just for Council tax. If you go to Court for this offence only and you get a second requisition for another hearing from the DWP there may be an argument that you should not face a separate Court hearing for a very similar offence. If this happens I would certainly seek the help of a solicitor

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Yes, you need a solicitor.

 

Thank you I will phone a solicitor mondy morning.I was given the name of a solicitor that handles cases like this when I went to the CAB who by the way are absolutly brilliant.

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You can ask to see the duty solicitor on the day of the hearing if you dont want to find one beforehand. They will speak to the Court on your behalf and make sure that any explanations you have are put forward.

I am very surprised that the summons that you have had is just for Council tax. If you go to Court for this offence only and you get a second requisition for another hearing from the DWP there may be an argument that you should not face a separate Court hearing for a very similar offence. If this happens I would certainly seek the help of a solicitor

 

Thank you for you reply,I will certainly bring this up with the solicitor when I get an appointment,I was hoping to only have to go to court just the once ,as I thought it would be treated as all the same offence

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Hi

well I have got an appointment to see a solicitor later this week, so I am hoping he can give me some sort of clue as to what to expect at the magistrates court, this will be my first time in court and I am finding it quite overwhelming.

has anyone got any info on what the magistrates will do ie:fine or community service.

is it likely to be in the local papers or is that just the crown court?

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Hi

well I have got an appointment to see a solicitor later this week, so I am hoping he can give me some sort of clue as to what to expect at the magistrates court, this will be my first time in court and I am finding it quite overwhelming.

has anyone got any info on what the magistrates will do ie:fine or community service.

is it likely to be in the local papers or is that just the crown court?

 

Magistrates and Crown courts are open to members of the public,including reporters from news papers and tv,unless there can be reporting restriction in place on some cases,but that wouldn't apply in your case i'm afraid.

 

Your doing the right thing by seeing a solicitor before the court case...

Please use the quote system, So everyone will know what your referring too, thank you ...

 

 

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hi

well I saw my solicitor today and he has put my mind to rest a bit anyway !!

he was also very suprised that council tax and benefits office are not working together on this as I am being summoned for the council tax and not heard anything from DWP.so he has advised me to contact the DWP to find out if they do intend to prosecute and if so to advise that both cases should be heard as one.if they do intend to prosecute he will get my court hearing this month postponed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I had my day in court today and to my suprise I came away with a conditional discharge for 12 months.

It turned out the DWP are not pressing charges against me and have formally dropped the investigation.

My solicitor was fantastic I was very impressed with his presentation of my case to the magistrates.

He did speak to the council officer before we went in to court to try and get him to let me off with a caution but he was not prepaid to do that.

so all in all I am very aware that I have got off very lightly,when all this kicked off I was sure I was facing a prison sentance..but it is all done and dusted and I am over the moon with relief.

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Good news. And nice one for updating on here x

 

yes I wanted others to know that sometimes things can sometimes turn out much better than expected.I know that when I first got the letter saying I was being investigated I was suicidal I could see no way out ,and for the last 2 years I have been living on my nerves.this week has been really bad as for the 3 days leading up to the court hearing I could not eat or sleep properly .

so at long last I can put it all behind me

good luck to anyone in the same position.

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