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Benefit Fraud question
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I recieved a letter this morning from Jobcenter Plus telling me an investigator wants to interview me under caution as they suspect I have claimed benefits fraudulently.
Initially I was at a loss over this as I've been working in the same job for more than 18 months and have never (knowingly) claimed anything I was not entitled to.
I called the number on the letter and asked for the person who signed it.
He came to the phone and was very nice - I told him I realised there was a limit as to what he can reveal to me about this but I had no idea what was going on but intended to cooperate fully with this and would attend the interview, however I wanted to know a little bit so I could give him definate and confirmed answers to his questions.
All he was able to tell me was the alleged offence occured in May 2005 and he also gave me the name of the company he believed I was working for.
This rung a bell - I did work for this company and was making a claim for JSA/IS (can't remember exactly which one) however my plan was to come in on my usual signing day and inform them I was no longer making a claim and to give them the relevant dates.
However things didn't work out the way I expected - I left the job after 4 days as it was clear it was not the job described in the interview (the advert said 'Customer Services' when in actual fact it was telesales. The first 3 days were about the company and procedures, the 4th was me trying it out and deciding it wasn't for me) so at my next signing date I know *as an absolute fact* I informed the person at the signing desk I did 4 days' work. I even remember completing a form (I'm sure it was called a B7 if memory serves although I don't know for sure) outlining the hours I worked and who it was for.
I'm assuming my next giro had been deducted appropriately as I cannot remember anything unsual about it (unusual would have been it being the regular amount) and I just carried on as normal.
Anyway, this was 18 months ago and now this. Obviously something has gone wrong as I've been investigated. I'm pretty much a pessimist at the best of times so I'm looking at the worst-case scenario - what if the guy who gave me the form to complete didn't pass it on, or it got lost in the system somewhere? That's the only reason I can think of as to why it's gone this way.
Obviously I'm going to go to the interview and cooperate fully - and if there's been an overpayment I'll settle it there and then. But if they're convinced they've done everything correctly, what am I looking at? I've never heard of anyone being jailed for working 4 days and signing obviously, but if it's such a short period of time, why are they chasing me over this?
Initially I was at a loss over this as I've been working in the same job for more than 18 months and have never (knowingly) claimed anything I was not entitled to.
I called the number on the letter and asked for the person who signed it.
He came to the phone and was very nice - I told him I realised there was a limit as to what he can reveal to me about this but I had no idea what was going on but intended to cooperate fully with this and would attend the interview, however I wanted to know a little bit so I could give him definate and confirmed answers to his questions.
All he was able to tell me was the alleged offence occured in May 2005 and he also gave me the name of the company he believed I was working for.
This rung a bell - I did work for this company and was making a claim for JSA/IS (can't remember exactly which one) however my plan was to come in on my usual signing day and inform them I was no longer making a claim and to give them the relevant dates.
However things didn't work out the way I expected - I left the job after 4 days as it was clear it was not the job described in the interview (the advert said 'Customer Services' when in actual fact it was telesales. The first 3 days were about the company and procedures, the 4th was me trying it out and deciding it wasn't for me) so at my next signing date I know *as an absolute fact* I informed the person at the signing desk I did 4 days' work. I even remember completing a form (I'm sure it was called a B7 if memory serves although I don't know for sure) outlining the hours I worked and who it was for.
I'm assuming my next giro had been deducted appropriately as I cannot remember anything unsual about it (unusual would have been it being the regular amount) and I just carried on as normal.
Anyway, this was 18 months ago and now this. Obviously something has gone wrong as I've been investigated. I'm pretty much a pessimist at the best of times so I'm looking at the worst-case scenario - what if the guy who gave me the form to complete didn't pass it on, or it got lost in the system somewhere? That's the only reason I can think of as to why it's gone this way.
Obviously I'm going to go to the interview and cooperate fully - and if there's been an overpayment I'll settle it there and then. But if they're convinced they've done everything correctly, what am I looking at? I've never heard of anyone being jailed for working 4 days and signing obviously, but if it's such a short period of time, why are they chasing me over this?
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Comments
I'm not a benefits officer, but them calling you in to investigate what you are saying is four days work is quite extreme. The office I work loans a room out to DWP investigators and I know they are interviewing for cases which they believe will justify themselves...the yield must be worth investigating because of the high costs involved. Four days worth of overpaid JSA amounts to about £30?
I have a relative who works in another part of the country says as a general rule they don't normally prosecute unless the amount concerned is over 2 grand and the reason they're chasing this up is because it's been reported somehow and all reports have to be investigated.
What your relative says is right. It doesn't make sense to open an investigation costing £100's of pounds if it's only to reclaim a £30 or so overpayment. A risk assessment of kinds will probably already have been done. As far as I know, third party information is usually investigated but they also look into why the informant (if that is what has happened) has reported it in the first place. Ex partners etc are known for ringing up fraud lines to report ex's with false information in attempts to stop the benefits for a few weeks.
Either way, you will get your opportunity to prove your innocence. Hope it all goes ok
So looking on the bright side I'm hoping it'll be either a case of the form will turn up somewhere along the line and it'll all blown over or the investigation leads to a slap on the wrist once I pay any overpayments back. I won't be happy at being viewed as a benefit cheat if I did everything correctly but I just want this off my back - it's the last thing I want in the run-up to Christmas.
Thanks for the kinds words though