i really need advice , benefit fraud. court hearing pending

[kevin g]

hi everyone .

 

last year i was called in to fraud investigation

 

i have mental issues at present and

 

i was severely ill with back problems and all sorts . so

 

i dosed myself up with pain killers and other stuff and went to the interview .

 

i informed them straight away that i had taken pain killers and that i might be a bit . sluggish.

 

after confusing questions i left the interview.

 

i received a letter a few weeks after stating id been asked to pay back £2900 due to me not revealing my wife was working 13 hours a week.

 

now i received a court summons asking me to go to court for benefit fraud.

 

im very worried what might happen .

 

my family are very worried about it . .in some ways i kinda guess im guilty purely because at previous interviews

i apparently told them that my wife didnt have a bank account and of course she did

but with the cocktail of drugs i was taking at the time i cannot remember a thing about it .

 

i also told them that i had informed them by letter and posted it through the letter box

but apparently they have not had a letter box outside for 10 years .

 

i have no clue as to what ive said in the interviews and i really dont see how i can go in thee and say im not guilty .

 

ive been clean of drugs now for 5 months

( prescription and non prescription) but ive found myself in this very large hole .

 

i hope someone can advise me on what might happen on a guilty plea

Edited February 13, 2014 by kevin g
:)

[antone]

First thing's first: do you have a solicitor? If not, you should get one as a matter of urgency. This is the case even if you intend to plead guilty, since presumably you want the court to consider your health problems when deciding what sentence to impose.

 

It's very difficult for us to say what might happen in court - each case is different and decided on the merits of the defendant's particular circumstances.

[kevin g]

no lawyer yet ive been trying to get through to my local cab but they are as busy as hell i was only notified at the beginning of this month and im in court on the 27th of this month

[rebel11]

Hi Kevin g

 

I agree with antone, you need someone to put your case forward, i.e. health, work out what you actually owe etc.

As you say, your not in a position to do this. See if you can find a free solicitor consultation.

[45002]

no lawyer yet ive been trying to get through to my local cab but they are as busy as hell i was only notified at the beginning of this month and im in court on the 27th of this month

 

There bound to be more Solicitor in your area that can help you ?

 

Have a read of this

 

https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid/how-to-claim

 

and enter your full postcode into

 

http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/

 

and click Search.

[antone]

no lawyer yet ive been trying to get through to my local cab but they are as busy as hell i was only notified at the beginning of this month and im in court on the 27th of this month

 

We do our best here on CAG, but we are not lawyers and this sounds like a situation that needs one. It may be possible to ask the court for a continuance to give you more time to seek legal advice.

[kevin g]

thankyou everyone . part of my condition means i have a phobia about calling people ,filling out forms that sort of thing . i get very confused frustrated and angry with myself . but it looks like its something im going to have to try .ive been putting it off due to the anxious feelings i get then of course i go into panic mode and pass out . but by the looks of it .. im gonna have to get someone in x

[id6052]

if you have a phobia about these things, try getting your wife (or another third party) to phone for you or fill in the forms

[antone]

if you have a phobia about these things, try getting your wife (or another third party) to phone for you or fill in the forms

 

Yes, this.

 

First stage, call the court (or ask someone to call for you, though you may need to be there because of basic security) and ask if the judge/magistrate/whoever would agree to "continue" your case - that is, delay the court hearing - while you seek legal advice. This legal advice can't come from CAG, because we're not qualified.

 

A reasonable judge should allow you time to seek the advice of a lawyer and I can't stress this enough: you really should get a lawyer, one way or another.

[kevin g]

thanks guys i got a solicitor phoning me on Tuesday ,had a quick brief chat on the phone and sounded ok so wel see what happens from this point . not only do they deal with benefit fraud but they deal with mental issues as well . he told me to get as much info as possible on the prescription drugs that i was on at the time and they all state they cause confusion . fatigue and . wish the doctor had told me that

[Helen2264]

hi everyone .

 

last year i was called in to fraud investigation

 

i have mental issues at present and

 

i was severely ill with back problems and all sorts . so

 

i dosed myself up with pain killers and other stuff and went to the interview .

 

i informed them straight away that i had taken pain killers and that i might be a bit . sluggish.

 

after confusing questions i left the interview.

 

i received a letter a few weeks after stating id been asked to pay back £2900 due to me not revealing my wife was working 13 hours a week.

 

now i received a court summons asking me to go to court for benefit fraud.

 

im very worried what might happen .

 

my family are very worried about it . .in some ways i kinda guess im guilty purely because at previous interviews

i apparently told them that my wife didnt have a bank account and of course she did

but with the cocktail of drugs i was taking at the time i cannot remember a thing about it .

 

i also told them that i had informed them by letter and posted it through the letter box

but apparently they have not had a letter box outside for 10 years .

 

i have no clue as to what ive said in the interviews and i really dont see how i can go in thee and say im not guilty .

 

ive been clean of drugs now for 5 months

( prescription and non prescription) but ive found myself in this very large hole .

 

i hope someone can advise me on what might happen on a guilty plea

 

Sorry to hear your story the problem may not all lies with you, I believe in your state of mind you would have also been interrogated about telling your story and that in itself could have mess your mind up in your situation with your mental illness. You need to seek help from your doctor and other mental health professional that you see, doctor or psychiatrist giving evidence that sometimes things you say, you do not remember, my friend cathy suffer from severe depression and have poor memory she never ever attend any interview on her own because she does not remember anything that has been said to her nor what she says to other people.

 

The court will take on board about your illness just see professional advice hopefully things turn out ok.

[badback2]

Hi Kevin G. I t have minimal experience in law re alleged benefit fraud.

 

That said, I can suggest the following based on a real life case. Based on your statements it would appear that your solicitor may over time be able to plead to the DWP/ CPS that due to your apparent chronic mental impairment that it is not in the public interest to continue with your case. I helped a friend with a similar matter and after making 6 such "fair and reasonable" requests the CPS elected to submit no evidence and thus by default the case was acquitted. My friend also got all their out of pocket expenses repaid by HMCTS via a defendants costs order - circa £300.

 

Re attending court. I advised my friend to get a "fit note" from their GP which stated that their patient was in no fit state to attend court on a scheduled date. This happened on 5 separate occasions and said "stand off" continued over a period of 8 months. Such lawful delays frustrated the prosecutors, and this in part meant that they were (eventually) more inclined to drop the case.

 

I have no clue re your detailed facts and circumstances and that offer no assurance that the above approach would bear fruit in your case, but it did work for my friend.

 

In any event, may we enquire what benefit(s) are you are currently receiving as this may well have a bearing on the prospects for a successful defence ?

[LifeIsAMess]

Hi Kevin, sorry to hear you are going through this.

 

Did you appeal your case at all when you first got notified there was an overpayment?

 

Also I think in this case as you were under the influence of medication, I think it would be really useful if you could get a copy of the tape recording of the interview for your solicitor to listen to if you haven't done so already?

This will give him/her a chance to hear if you were treated fairly throughout...sometimes the paper transcripts alone can make things sound very different.

[Helen2264]

Hi Kevin, sorry to hear you are going through this.

 

Did you appeal your case at all when you first got notified there was an overpayment?

 

Also I think in this case as you were under the influence of medication, I think it would be really useful if you could get a copy of the tape recording of the interview for your solicitor to listen to if you haven't done so already?

This will give him/her a chance to hear if you were treated fairly throughout...sometimes the paper transcripts alone can make things sound very different.

 

 

It might be useful to get all copies of everything from Freedom of Information Act or Data Protection in case the OP is refused the tape recording, I wouldn't trust anyone else.

 

https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-information-request/the-freedom-of-information-act

[kevin g]

Hi Kevin G. I t have minimal experience in law re alleged benefit fraud.

 

That said, I can suggest the following based on a real life case. Based on your statements it would appear that your solicitor may over time be able to plead to the DWP/ CPS that due to your apparent chronic mental impairment that it is not in the public interest to continue with your case. I helped a friend with a similar matter and after making 6 such "fair and reasonable" requests the CPS elected to submit no evidence and thus by default the case was acquitted. My friend also got all their out of pocket expenses repaid by HMCTS via a defendants costs order - circa £300.

 

Re attending court. I advised my friend to get a "fit note" from their GP which stated that their patient was in no fit state to attend court on a scheduled date. This happened on 5 separate occasions and said "stand off" continued over a period of 8 months. Such lawful delays frustrated the prosecutors, and this in part meant that they were (eventually) more inclined to drop the case.

 

I have no clue re your detailed facts and circumstances and that offer no assurance that the above approach would bear fruit in your case, but it did work for my friend.

 

In any event, may we enquire what benefit(s) are you are currently receiving as this may well have a bearing on the prospects for a successful defence ?

 

thanks for the replys everyone . my mental issues have increased over the last week went to my doctors yesterday and it gets worse .. i was told by the doctor that he can do a letter for me as the doctor that put me in the meds has retired .. and that if he did it for me it would mean that he was having a opinion what ever that means . however i found medication boxs that go right back before my interviews so after getting as much info on the meds online it appears that both meds i was on can cause drowsiness ,confusion and all sorts . im on means tested employment and support and currently get £35 per fortnight as my wife works plus is a carer for our disabled granddaughter so they took everything i.. but before the 24th dec 2013 i was on income related employment and support . im under cbt as well as a mental health supporter .if im honest i wish i had the gutts to wel you know !! my head just feels like its exploding all the time