Legal Advice - Interview Under Caution

[JohnDoe]

£4K on a credit card will eventually be paid off , a criminal record on the other hand if the Council decide to make an example ? Alternatively a repayment schedule might be an option over several years ?

Exactly. I'm certainly not in the least proud of occasionally needing help paying my rent, or going to Jobcentre Plus, but thankfully this only becomes a necessity once or twice a year for a couple of weeks. This is my situation; now I have unwittingly gotten myself into a very unpleasant position with the council, and one I really would like to clear up as soon as possible.

 

[dragonred]

£4K on a credit card will eventually be paid off , a criminal record on the other hand if the Council decide to make an example ? Alternatively a repayment schedule might be an option over several years ?

Definitely get legal advice from a solicitor specialising in this. Ignorance or mistake sounds a defence but onus on you to notify changes and the DWP do and will prosecute especially against people who work. Think lot of people wrongly think just pay it back and all be fine-that's not how DWP view it so if want to minimise chance of a conviction you need advice. Rest assured their prosecutors and investigators know what doing so attending without a criminal solicitor is taking a huge gamble. Good luck tho getting it knocked on head.

 

[Da Man Clay]

Being interviewed under caution isn't a big deal. You don't have to declare being interviewed to a prospective employer ect. It's what comes after that you may have to disclose depending what action they take. They are pretty unlikely to discuss things with you prior to that interview anyway now.

On - and you're quite within your rights to give a prepared statement and refuse to answer any further questions. It would probably be the route I went down - it'll stop them tying you up in knots about whether or not you should have been aware it was being paid. That said I would certainly get some specialist advice.

 

[Questions]

You received these payments for a year and didn't notice ?

You going down boy.

Now is the time to start guessing who JohnDoe is.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I'd try and come up with a repayment scheme as opposed to £4k on a credit card! Or at least a portion as a lump sum and then regular payments.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Hmmm, without intending to be judgmental.

Ignorance is no excuse for the law - saying "sorry, I didn't realise" will not get you off.
But it will likely make the penalty more lenient.
Be honest, be helpful, but don't expect to walk away unscathed.

 

[SussexHoop]

I would use something you put in your original post i.e. "housing benefit has previously always ceased when I signed off" as the main reason for not telling them directly. I'd also get some legal advice beforehand.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Sorry for being thick, but is this interview with the council, or with the council and the police?

 

[Tory Boy]

Sorry for being thick, but is this interview with the council, or with the council and the police?

The council will be the prosecuting authority.

My advice, and it is unprofessional advice, is to say **** all.

TB

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

1) get lawyered up
2) say nothing until the interview
3) admit your mistake straight out
4) If it was honest get your answers absolutely straight and make sure you are prepped for any questions from the other side who may not believe you and thus will try and trip you up (and if you're not being honest they porbably will - they dont usually go this far unless they are pretty sure they are on safe ground (best scenario) ort lloking to make an example of you (worst scenario).
5) At the minimum make sure you have repayment options ready
6) If possible, budget for a penalty... difficult to predict how much this will be as it will depend on whether they believe you but be assured there will be one.
7) Do not try and suggest the blame is theirs because this is unwinnable and you just want to get out with as little damage as possible. Riling them will just make them more determined to bring you to rights.

Good luck but the one people you dont dick with is the authorities....once they catch you. Play it straight and get out alive.

 

[EDS]

He really needs proper legal advice as the story of not realising it was there does not ring true considering he was spending the money every month.
There will only be a penalty if it goes to court as the council cannot impose one.
The fact it has got as far as an interview under caution tells you that they think they have a good case already and are giving him a chance to put his side.
Unless you can convince them that you genuinely did not realise you were being paid it still, despite spending the money every month, then you could be heading for court.

 

[The Andy Naylor Fan Club]

If what you originally posted is true then I think you have a few positives on your side. Show them the previous bank statements where the payments stopped once you ceased claiming JSA. Point out that also no claim for JSA was made when you found work again.The only reason you got caught was because you made a new claim in August, put it to them, why would I make a fresh application for housing benefit if I already knew one was in place for my property? As mentioned these investigators do this for a living, so don't bullshit them, be honest and helpfull and this can only help your cause.

 

[amexee]

I presume that if you were receiving housing benefit, then you were also getting council tax benefit. Did you cancel that and start paying or is that something else that might be about to give you trouble.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

"An interview under caution" surely means that the council will listen to what you have to say, and take it into account. If you subsequently change the story, they will hold that against you.

They want to know if you've been overpaid housing benefits. You say that this is indeed the case. The wrong thing to do is to deny this, when under caution. The right thing to do is admit it, and explain how the situation came about. Then you can negotiate an arrangement to repay any overpayments, and avoid an accusation that you had a fraudulent intent.

Correct advice...

 

[bluenitsuj]

I still cant understand how £300 can go into your account every month, without you noticing. I would certainly notice and it would be on your bank statement. I am not judging you in any way, just cannot get my head round it.

 

[Billy the Fish]

I'd deffo get some proper legal advise. You need to know the purpose of this meeting - I'd want to know if your actions in this meeting can stop it going to court or if It's merely evidence gathering for them to use against you in court. That makes a massive difference to how you'll want to play it, you really need to ask someone who has experience of this process.

 

[The Wookiee]

Exactly. I'm certainly not in the least proud of occasionally needing help paying my rent, or going to Jobcentre Plus, but thankfully this only becomes a necessity once or twice a year for a couple of weeks. This is my situation; now I have unwittingly gotten myself into a very unpleasant position with the council, and one I really would like to clear up as soon as possible.

Nothing wrong with getting help when you need it, but what I don't get is if you were that skint you needed help then how on this earth did you not notice £300 going into your account each month ?

 

[mwrpoole]

Ok, the DWP would have told the Council that your JSA stopped. They get electronic files that get automatically processed to avoid human error. Even if this process went wrong, you would have shown up on data mismatch reports between the DWP & Council every month. Although the onus is on you to report changes to all relevant parties, they have processes in place to cater for where only one organisation gets told of the change.

With this in mind, I suspect there's a bit more to this than you're letting on.

 

[JohnDoe]

Ok, the DWP would have told the Council that your JSA stopped. They get electronic files that get automatically processed to avoid human error. Even if this process went wrong, you would have shown up on data mismatch reports between the DWP & Council every month. Although the onus is on you to report changes to all relevant parties, they have processes in place to cater for where only one organisation gets told of the change.

With this in mind, I suspect there's a bit more to this than you're letting on.

Your first paragraph rings true but in no way mitigates my not informing the council directly. That's my first mistake.

The second paragraph is wrong but I'm assuming that's what they think too.

There is nothing else to say on the matter really, aside from that I've received some very friendly emails, and some hard experienced advice that is in the process of being acted upon.

A lot of the time, NSC is what it is: a football forum stuffed to the gills with jokes, terrible puns and conspiracy theorising across all manner of things. Sometimes though you realise that it is also incredibly supportive and in a genuine time of need, invaluable, as we all know.

Thank you one and all.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Your first paragraph rings true but in no way mitigates my not informing the council directly. That's my first mistake.

The second paragraph is wrong but I'm assuming that's what they think too.

There is nothing else to say on the matter really, aside from that I've received some very friendly emails, and some hard experienced advice that is in the process of being acted upon.

A lot of the time, NSC is what it is: a football forum stuffed to the gills with jokes, terrible puns and conspiracy theorising across all manner of things. Sometimes though you realise that it is also incredibly supportive and in a genuine time of need, invaluable, as we all know.

Thank you one and all.

They don't call this board NorthStandChatipedia for nothing