DWP Compliance Officer Interview

[Liyanne]

Hi all, hope you can help.

 

My sister has been invited to attend an interview with a compliance officer at the Jobcentre. I rang them on her behalf and was advised this was due to undeclared capital but they would not give me the full details.

 

When she claimed Income Support, she forgot to mention some money in her account, over £6k and I can imagine this is the reason for the interview. She is really worried and is feeling suicidal. She has never broken the law and this was definitely not intentional given her mental state. This is the worst thing that could ever happen to her as she has suffered from years of depression and anxiety ( she is still taking anti depressants ) and has just gone back to work and signed off benefits. She also has children with special educational needs and is worried if they will be taken away and so on.

 

My question is, if she offers immediate repayment of any overpayment, will they still take her to court ?. She is in pieces and is even considering leaving her job.

 

Also , how is this type of interview conducted, is it the same as an Interview under caution? . I am working and not able to go with her at the interview and am worried she will have a breakdown as she can't stop crying.

 

Any advice would be really appreciated, many thanks.

 

Liyanne

[pcombo]

She will sit down with a compliance officer who will ask questions and she has to answer them.

 

And show bank statements etc.

 

The compliance officer then send her findings away to a decision makers and they decide the outcome, could be anything from a warning, to a fine to prosecution.

[Liyanne]

Thank you.

[kk3852]

It wont be a prosecution - she is seeing a compliance officer not a fraud officer.

 

The aim of the interview is to correct benefits that have been paid in error. It will not be a taped interview. It would probably be helpful if she could take bank statements with her and if any of the savings have been spent an idea of what has been purchased.

[Mr.P]

If the sister is in a state over this compliance interview, I'd suggest going along with her to provide moral support and comfort (if you can spare the time).

[Liyanne]

Thanks for the advice. I have taken the day off work and will go with her to the interview. Thinking of worst scenario, if she admits guilt and offers immediate repayment, will DWP take mitigating circumstances into account such as her mental health and the fact that she has a disabled child ? She's worried about prison and is even thinking about quitting work because she's worried she will be sacked. Please help, thank you so much for any input.

[obiter dictum]

Have a nose, i was in your position and they are not as bad as you think they are

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?425374-Just-had-a-DWP-compliance-meeting

[Mr.P]

It is only a compliance interview - These things are generally used to confirm a few details and to check either a) the claimant is on the appropriate benefits, or b) the claim has been correctly processed.

 

She will not go to prison, nor will she be sacked as a result of this interview.

[Liyanne]

Thanks for your responses. What if they accuse her of fraud ? I heard this happens quite a lot in cases of undeclared capital etc.

[antone]

Thanks for your responses. What if they accuse her of fraud ? I heard this happens quite a lot in cases of undeclared capital etc.

 

In most cases Compliance gets involved where there seems to have been some error on the claim but the JCP does not believe it is fraud (not all overpayments of benefit are fraud - indeed, most are not since the criminal offence of fraud requires some degree of intent). If they were seriously considering this as a fraud case the interview would be conducted "under caution" to allow them to use it as evidence in a prosecution if that were deemed appropriate. Compliance officers cannot conduct Interviews Under Caution (IUCs), and if the interview is an IUC the letter would say so.

 

If there has been an overpayment, most likely arrangements will be made to reclaim the overpaid amount - probably by deductions from future benefits.

[Liyanne]

Thank you. I hope I can reassure my sister with this info.