poss going to prison for benefit fraud? - ** RESOLVED WITH SUSPENDED SENTENCE **

[Mummytotwox]

surely he wouldnt of said he minded my son coming if it was that bad?

[abc123def]

My friend who went through the IUC said the people were very kind and helpful and it wasn't frightening at all (the interview itself wasn't, just the fact that she had inadvertently claimed when she wasn't entitled and the fear of what might happen was frightening) however as said before she has not been taken to court despite owing £34,000 and is paying it back at an affordable level

[Mummytotwox]

im so worried my money going to be stopped :'(

[jabba jones]

A classic Living Together case.

 

There are loads of these where someone is adamant that they are not living with anyone when it is fairly obvious that from a benefit point of view they are.

 

Don't get confused by how often he stays there.

 

You have a past, present & planned future together which shows stability. He helps you financially with rent & bills, his mail goes to your house, there are loans in his name at your address & surveillance would show him to be there on a regular basis.

 

The investigators should have evidence of all this & plenty more.

 

What will change when you get married?

 

It won't change the overall benefit decision, but how you answer this in the IUC will help explain why you don't believe you have been living together previously.

[estellyn]

A classic Living Together case.

 

There are loads of these where someone is adamant that they are not living with anyone when it is fairly obvious that from a benefit point of view they are.

 

Don't get confused by how often he stays there.

 

You have a past, present & planned future together which shows stability. He helps you financially with rent & bills, his mail goes to your house, there are loans in his name at your address & surveillance would show him to be there on a regular basis.

 

The investigators should have evidence of all this & plenty more.

 

What will change when you get married?

 

It won't change the overall benefit decision, but how you answer this in the IUC will help explain why you don't believe you have been living together previously.

 

Yes, I totally agree with this assessment by Jabba.

[Mummytotwox]

im going to CAB tomorrow.

 

Iv not slept for 3 days, im worrying so much. I have no idea what im going to do. I cant afford to live atm let alone if/when they stop my money.

[abc123def]

Wrt how you are going to live financially after this, you have two choices.

 

1. Decide that you and he have a future together, talk to him, decide together that you have that future and he provides for you financially and you place a joint claim for anything you are entitled to or if not entitled then he supports you fully financially from this point on

 

or

 

2. You decide he is a waste of space, someone who has anger problems and is unlikely to change, isn't the sort to take his responsibilities seriously and will not provide for his family and who obviously puts his own needs first and you decide you have no future and tell him so and end the relationship once and for all. (I say once and for all or else this will happen all over again). Splitting up means he is free to move on to other relationships. But this will mean you can place a claim again as a single person. He won't be allowed into your home and he won't be allowed to pay any bills for you including top up rent. He can however pay child maintenance directly to you or through the CSA, all declared by you to the DWP and the LA. Child maintenance is not taken into account when other benefits are calculated and if you use your child maintenance to pay the top up rent that is your decision. However if it is then difficult to manage financially because you need the child maintenance then you could move to a more affordable rental property to free up that money.

 

Either decision you WILL manage financially though only in option 1 if your partner steps up to the mark. Option 2 means you have to end the relationship. There are options here.

[Mummytotwox]

so they will deffo stop money after interveiw? what if say i go with eaither option, i will have to pay back alot of money, so even then im not going to have any money am i? Omg this is so stressful, didnt realise i was doing anything wrong!?

[abc123def]

They will stop your money if they believe that you are either living together or he is financially supporting you and there is evidence of both in all probability in your case.

 

You will have to pay back any overpayment but they only take payments back at an affordable level so they look at your income and leave you enough to live on before asking for any payments back.

[MIKEY DABODEE]

They will carry on paying you till after the interview and decision has been made on your claim.

If they decide you are a couple then you claim will close and an overpayment will be raised from the date they decide you became one..

 

If the decision that you are not a couple they will pay you untill he moves in eg when you marry.

 

If found living together he will have to support you all as a family, claim working tax credits etc

[Mummytotwox]

so iv been to CAB.

 

Im now even more worried, as i have NOTHING to say he doesnt live here. i feel sick, and have been sick.

 

I have a free half an hour appointment with lawyer on tuesday, but the CAB doesnt think they will go with me to the interview!?

 

i cant cope, i think if i hadnt got kids i wouldnt want to be here anymore.

 

I asked CAB if it would just be easier to move him in and tell them hes just moved in. she said no the damage is already done.

 

i dont know what to do, would the solicitor be able to ring the jcp and find out what proof they have? help!!!

[Nystagmite]

Does he have proof he lives elsewhere?

[abc123def]

Sounds like you've had good advice from the CAB and well done for getting a solicitors appointment. Is it someone experienced with benefits cases? Hopefully they will give you good advice on Tuesday.

 

Hang in there, I have a friend who went through this, she owes £34,000 and she got through it and all is ok and she's paying it back at an affordable level. It wasn't nice, but she got through it and so will you.

[Mummytotwox]

thanks hun, its just being able to afford to live after which is worrying me, i went onto the entitled too website last night and we get a whole 20 working tax, but only 140 a month hb which means finding 400+ a month, his wage will not cover that at all, and to be able to eat aswell.

 

its gotten that bad that i have even thought about becoming an escort!

[Nystagmite]

On the other hand, he wouldn't need to be paying for food, etc. at another house. So he'd save in that respect. Entitledto is just a guide.

[abc123def]

Can you find a cheaper place to rent? If you need to find so much to subsidise your HB it doesn't sound like your current place is affordable?

[Mummytotwox]

iv looked and all houses are alot higher rent. iv applied for a council house but wait is 3 years xx

[abc123def]

You need to make an appointment with a homelessness officer from your local council. Explain what your rent is and what your incomings are and say that you cannot afford this and hopefully the council will accept you as homeless and help find you somewhere affordable to rent. Ask for a face to face meeting with a homelessness officer to discuss the situation.

[Mummytotwox]

thanks hun, will do this on monday! my landlord is an arse tbh and cant wait to get out!

[Mummytotwox]

so iv just got back.

 

I told the truth, me and my "partner" arnt living together, he pays rent else where ect.

 

I have never felt so **** about myself right now. They were awful, and doubted everything i said to them. Wouldnt even show me any evidence what so ever, just told me every time i answered a question it didnt match up to what he had seen/been told!! Im sooo mad that they didnt even get me a leg to stand on. Its obv they dont believe me and im going to prison ect!!

 

I spend 2 hours in there!! its the worse 2 hours iv ever had. Although my lawyer was brilliant [and fit!!! haha]

[Lillibelle]

You won't go to prison but they will probably reassess your benefits entitlements,Friend did virtually exactly the same as you and has to repay the amount at an affordable rate.She then married her b/f (father of 3 kids) and they struggled like pooh to live even with HB and tax credits because they had got used to wages and full benefits and it was a massive financial shock..They have split up (wether I believe it's for real is debatable) and she has reclaimed but she has been prewarned that they knew she was fiddling before but couldn't prove it but now they will be checking very closely so be careful,,if he is so unreliable is it worth hanging all yourfutures on him? And get yourself a good Family Liasion person,,she will help you get rehoused etc (your doctor knows how to contact them)

When the benefit investigator says he knows differently to your answers he would be partly bluffing but will know some truths,,I got investigated but I wasn't in the wrong,,I just happened to be the one they chose to check on,but it scared me too,,honesty is the best policy hun,as crap as it is,the DWP can and do watch us

[Mummytotwox]

sorry about spelling.

 

Just wondering why they wouldnt show you evidence at a IUC, the bloke doing the interview said he wont show me it, its making me wonder if he really did have solid stuff to go on, as he kept saying "what your saying and what i have isnt the same, so its proof your lying", i am now thinking hes saying this to get a confession. Like he said i will have to redo the whole interview for housing/council benefit, but still wouldnt show me proof! i saw NOTHING!

he said he spoke to OHs boss, but asked for where he worked?

 

im confused!

 

help!

[Mummytotwox]

noone?

[debt4get]

welcome to the country where you are presumed guilty first, before any evidence is shown....cant really answer your question there should be people on here who work for dwp etc who will be able to advise but you may have to be a bit patient till they can have a look at your post...

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

debt4get is right, you need to bear with us until someone who knows about these things is able to get here.

 

I've merged your new thread with the old one so the information is kept together. This is often helpful to the people trying to advise you.

 

My best, HB