interview under caution letter by council!!!

[cristie90]

hiya. i have received a letter from the council saying i need to attend an interview under caution but it does not identify what it is for. i put a claim in for housing benefit in april about a previous address and didn't here anything about it for months. i moved out of that house in july back to my parents house which i informed them about. but now i have moved into a different house and put a new claim in they have sent me this letter for both this address and my previous one. hope this makes sense and i hope someone can help me. thanks in advance Christie

[Bazooka Boo]

You are under NO legal obligation to "Turn up for an interview under caution".

 

Personally and purely IMO I would want to know Exactly why they want me to attend. But that is purely my own opinion, your circumstances will be very different to mine.

[Lookingforjustice]

I agree you should seek clarification before considering to turn up for an interview under caution. I suspect however they will not process your new claim and may say that you were trying to claim for more than one property and they didn't receive any notification from you of your change of address. Speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau and take any proof of your correspondence with you to them. I wouldn't go for an interview under caution without legal representation. Being cautioned means they suspect you of an offence.

[Invalidation]

I would send them a letter politely refusing their invitation untill they can explain completely what it is about. Also mention that if you do consent sometime in the future to come in for an interview you will want your expenses paid.

Then send them a letter fully explaining what happened and also explain that you did inform them of a change of residence

[jabba jones]

I would send them a letter politely refusing their invitation untill they can explain completely what it is about.

They might tell you the type of offence, but won't discuss anything else outside of the IUC. The only way to get any further info is via a solicitor who can ask for disclosure prior to the IUC, there's no obligation on the investigator to do this, but depending on the case most will.

 

Also mention that if you do consent sometime in the future to come in for an interview you will want your expenses paid.

Expenses are not paid for an IUC. It's part of a criminal investigation.

 

The worst case scenario for not attending an IUC is an early morning knock on the door from the police. Again it depends on the case & the DWP tend to do this more than Councils, but this can differ from area to area.

 

From the original thread I presume HB has been paid past the change of address in July up to the recent new claim. Bank statements will show if this is correct & how much the overpayment is likely to be.

[tomtom256]

They have to tell you why they have invited you in for an interview.

 

They do not have to pay expenses for you to attend. Also if you do not attend they can either issue an arrest warrant to the police in order to interview you or just send the case to court, which is what our council does if a person does not attend any of the 3 appointments offered. Some councils and the DWP have a 1 letter policy.

 

I would call them and ask what the allegation is, they will or should not question you over the telephone unless they caution you first.

[jabba jones]

They have to tell you why they have invited you in for an interview.

 

This appears to be a council only investigation, but the last DWP IUC invite letter I saw made no mention of the type of offence.

[tomtom256]

This appears to be a council only investigation, but the last DWP IUC invite letter I saw made no mention of the type of offence.

 

Yes they don't always put the allegation on the letters, but I am sure it is a requirement of PACE etc.

[cristie90]

They havnt payed me a penny from the first claim wich I put in in april and the tennancy ended in july which I told them about as I filled a letter and a form in stating that I moved back to the parents. So I keep on calling them to see if the claim had been sorted and they say its not yet been finalised. But now I moved into this house and put a claim in they seem to think I may have committed an offence. Its reckin my head trying to think what I have done. I rang up yesterday to see what it was aboyt but they cannot discuss it over the phone :/

[abc123def]

They shouldn't discuss it over the phone, you could be anyone at all.

[Charlotte_Henderson]

Also mention that if you do consent sometime in the future to come in for an interview you will want your expenses paid.

 

Good luck with asking for travel expenses, our council doesn't pay them.

[Charlotte_Henderson]

Also if you do not attend they can either issue an arrest warrant to the police in order to interview you or just send the case to court

 

Yes this is what they do, i'd ring them if i was you.

[cristie90]

I tried ringing them but they cant discuss it over the phone. And I'm not bothered about travel expenses its only down road from me

[citizenkain]

just go to the interview,youll soon find out what its about

[Bazooka Boo]

just go to the interview,youll soon find out what its about

 

Yeah that's the best advice, go and walk right into the bear trap!

Silly boy! Ignore this clown.....

[antone]

Yeah that's the best advice, go and walk right into the bear trap!

Silly boy! Ignore this clown.....

 

Well, the most sensible suggestion would be to seek professional legal advice. An IUC can be postponed to allow one to do this.

 

It would generally be a bad idea to simply refuse to attend, unless this refusal is on the advice of a solicitor experienced in benefit matters.

[Bazooka Boo]

Yes apologies!

I was being flippant, but it just irritates me the amount of 'sleeper cells' who impart impractical advice!

 

To attend any IUC without knowing the reason why, is IMO, foolish.

If it is that serious, then plod will turn up o your doorstep to take you away.

Anything other than that, IMO warrants clarification as to what they are wishing to force you to convict yourself of.

 

Does the IUC warrant you obtaining legal representation?

Does it warrant you remaining silent?

Does it warrant you demanding to know exactly what Law they are attempting to enforce?

Does it even warrant you giving them the time of day!

 

But I am very pig headed, and do not blindly submit to some others so called 'authority'....however antone's advice is grounded and is what I would follow.

[citizenkain]

bazooka boo,have you ever been to an IUC?,probably not,you would be too busy ranting on about sleeper cells,if you go along to the IUC they will soon tell you what it is about,they do give you the opportunity to leave the interview at anytime you want,the only way you will know what it is about beforehand is by getting a solicitor to contact the council for you,I suppose you could just bury your head in the sand but it wont do you no good in the long run!

[tomtom256]

I tried ringing them but they cant discuss it over the phone. And I'm not bothered about travel expenses its only down road from me

 

Ring them again and just say I don't want to discuss it, I just want to now what the allegation is as per PACE guidelines so I can decide if I need to seek legal advice. They have to tell you what the allegation is, prior to the IUC.