# Im being investigated for benefit fraud



## shiawase

Not sure if this is the right place to put this but i post in here more then anywhere else! I had a interview today and the woman was a total bitch made me cry my eyes out, not only accused me of being a bad mother for claiming benefits but also accusing me of benefit fraud. My mum and dad have lived with me for less then a month and i havent gotten round to contacting the council i was infact going to do it this week i know i should of done it sooner but things always got in the way.

someone has grassed me up saying that they moved in with me a month after i moved in the new house which is not true they came down on weekends. And also "that someone" said they also lived with me in my old house where i was claiming housing benefit when they didnt they were staying with a friend and came over every night to see liam/ help me out.

The only person who could of done this was liams dad he threatened me with this before he said he would tell them they were living with me to get me in shit even tho he knew they werent. My rent is gonna stop being paid untill i can proove that im right. im so worried that me and liam are gonna be homeless because his cold hearted dad wanted to get back at me for going to csa and stopping him from seeing him. 

I told the woman that i made a mistake by not going to the council straight away, i know i should of done that and im kicking myself now but she doesnt believe me she thinks what he said was true and she said i must be living the high life with other people paying for my nice house and things that i can buy.

i have no idea whats going to happen, has anyone been in a similar situation? Please dont judge me and think i am some scummy mother on benefits living it up and lying to the system i made one mistake thats all, i havent even got a settee just cusions on the floor all my clothes come from charity shops so i can afford nicer clothes for liam so im far from living th high life as she said. i hate the way she made me feel i dont need to feel like this when half the time i think im a shit person anyway...sorry im rambling now :cry:


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## Mumof42009

Oh hun,:hugs:

I suggest you go to your nearest cab and get some advice, they can't completely stop your money because of your lo so you will have something to live off. Do you live in private or council house? contact your landlord and inform them and tell them as soon as it gets sorted out you will get upto date with you rent again. xx


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## shiawase

Mumof42009 said:


> Oh hun,:hugs:
> 
> I suggest you go to your nearest cab and get some advice, they can't completely stop your money because of your lo so you will have something to live off. Do you live in private or council house? contact your landlord and inform them and tell them as soon as it gets sorted out you will get upto date with you rent again. xx

Ok thanks i'll find out where it is then go down tomorrow or ring them. Im renting privately but the landlady has nothing to do with it she leaves it to the astate agent so if they stop my money right away or i cant come up with the money i'll phone her, she phones me every month on the day the rents due to make sure i've paid it, once i didnt get a chance to answer and i had loads of voicemails from her so i doubt she will wait for the money and if she wont me and liam are in trouble well actually not just us my mum, dad and sister aswell now. Just hope when they ask me in for the next interview they will let me talk not interrupt like that woman did, and hopefully they will just make me pay the money back for the weeks when they stayed here not from the date they were told, im not getting in trouble for something i havent done


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## Mumof42009

Another thing would be to try get legal advice and maybe take someone with you to the interview, explain what your ex said as well to them. Hope you get it sorted x


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## billy2mm

set a solicitor on the case hun!

if you are entiteld to HB then you will get legal aid so dont worry affording the solicitors fees.

what a total dick!


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## kaths101

Could your mum, dad, sister and you scrap the one months rent together until it gets sorted out?? I doubt they could just stop your payments just like that - surely you will have to be proven guilty before that happens!! How worrying for you


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## gemabee

sorry ur in a shitty situation hun nd i hope u get it sorted... but jus lookin at it on the flip side - they kinda do have a right to stop ur hb as with all the other people livin there it is benefit fraud to continue to receive the same amount nd a new claim would have to be assessed... u may not even be entitled to hb anymore (along with any other benefits u are receivin as they go on the household income, not individual income).
technically u have been commitin fraud, but hopefully they will see that u didn't do it purposefully nd a new claim will be assessed nd sorted asap. as u have more people livin there then they should help u with ur rent, surely?


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## chels24uk

oh hun, how horrible. I THINK i was under investigation very shortly after me and my ex split last year. Not sure why, had an interview and havent heard anything else. 
It really makes me angry when i see people claiming legally and getting in the shit, where as the real fraudlent claims get away scot free! My cousin was illegally claiming and when she got found out, she was just given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again!
Living on benefits IS hard. Dont know how some people manage the "high life". All i can suggest is get to citizens advice asap and take it from there. Have they said what theyre going to do next?
Good luck x


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## shiawase

kaths101 said:


> Could your mum, dad, sister and you scrap the one months rent together until it gets sorted out?? I doubt they could just stop your payments just like that - surely you will have to be proven guilty before that happens!! How worrying for you

we are going to sell my dads car so hopefully that will make enough for 2 months rent, yeah they can just stop it whilst im being investigated i asked how long it could take and she said she didnt know i said what about liam we could be homeless she replied with you should of thought of that before you stole from the tax payers then threw in if i could id stop all your benefits :shrug:


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## shiawase

gemabee said:


> sorry ur in a shitty situation hun nd i hope u get it sorted... but jus lookin at it on the flip side - they kinda do have a right to stop ur hb as with all the other people livin there it is benefit fraud to continue to receive the same amount nd a new claim would have to be assessed... u may not even be entitled to hb anymore (along with any other benefits u are receivin as they go on the household income, not individual income).
> technically u have been commitin fraud, but hopefully they will see that u didn't do it purposefully nd a new claim will be assessed nd sorted asap. as u have more people livin there then they should help u with ur rent, surely?

Yeah i did make a mistake, but didnt do it on purpose have had alot going on aswell as being ill again n back on antidepressants but it was only for 3 weeks not the months shes accusing me of and i'll gladly repay what i owe them for that.


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## gemabee

shiawase said:


> gemabee said:
> 
> 
> sorry ur in a shitty situation hun nd i hope u get it sorted... but jus lookin at it on the flip side - they kinda do have a right to stop ur hb as with all the other people livin there it is benefit fraud to continue to receive the same amount nd a new claim would have to be assessed... u may not even be entitled to hb anymore (along with any other benefits u are receivin as they go on the household income, not individual income).
> technically u have been commitin fraud, but hopefully they will see that u didn't do it purposefully nd a new claim will be assessed nd sorted asap. as u have more people livin there then they should help u with ur rent, surely?
> 
> Yeah i did make a mistake, but didnt do it on purpose have had alot going on aswell as being ill again n back on antidepressants but it was only for 3 weeks not the months shes accusing me of and i'll gladly repay what i owe them for that.Click to expand...

i didn't say u did it on purpose, i made a point of sayin that in fact, nd that i hope it gets sorted. i'm jus sayin that i understand u bein upset with bein accused of benefit fraud when thats not the case... but that u might not actually be entitled to any benefits now anyway nd u couldn't expect ur hb to pay the households rent so ur family must have been aware they would have to contribute, so u worryin u nd ur lo may be made homeless because of this has nothin to do with the investigation.
perhaps to stop any repercussions u should inform tax credits / other benefits of ur new household income, that way it shows that u are doin ur best to do everythin legally nd correctly nd this is jus a mistake.
if it is ur lo's dad then i'm sure this has happened before (disgruntled ex) nd they should be takin it with a pinch of salt instead of actin like a bitch like this woman is.
i genuinly hope everythin resolves itself for u.


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## purpledahlia

well firstly are your parents and sister working? If theyre not then the HB will stay the same! 

Thr truth always comes out so dont worry too much, If it was only 3 weeks then im sure they wouldnt expect you to pay 3 months worth back! 

It happens all the time with ex's wanting ''revenge'' so the team who investigate will im sure see that. Maybe try (with a witness) get him to admit it to proove it!


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## shiawase

purpledahlia said:


> well firstly are your parents and sister working? If theyre not then the HB will stay the same!
> 
> Thr truth always comes out so dont worry too much, If it was only 3 weeks then im sure they wouldnt expect you to pay 3 months worth back!
> 
> It happens all the time with ex's wanting ''revenge'' so the team who investigate will im sure see that. Maybe try (with a witness) get him to admit it to proove it!


My mums not working and my sisters only 13. Yes hopefully they will i did ask what evidence she had on me and she wouldnt tell me which is wrong as i found out she should of told me but obviousbly cant say where or who she got that info from. but now im not sure if it was him, my dad told me last night that he put his working tax credits and registerd his van under my address a few months ago because heather (who they were staying with) couldnt let anyone know they were living there because her house was for sell......im sure she couldnt of got into trouble for that but i dont know much about these things! i wasnt happy about that its obvious that if they see him under my address that they will assume he is living with me, but thankfully if that is the case we have proof that they were living with heather, also if they were living with me for months then why did my mum and dad not put my sister into school, we have proof of when my mum contacted the school which was 2 weeks ago. Im not worried about being caught out because i have nothing to hide just worried about paying the rent whilst they investigate! I will have to get a part time job or something :thumbup:


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## purpledahlia

If the only person working is your dad it would depend what he earns but id imagine your new claim wont be pay full rent, will just be a bit less HB in which case your dad can top up the shortfall. Wouldnt worry too much just yet, Maybe your parents have some savings or something you can all use in the meantime


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## 18singlemom2b

i know how you feel hun! benefits in canada are called ontario works and there such f*cking assholes, i live in fear of them!


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## Abz1982

Whilst I have to agree, technically following the letter of the law you did commit fraud. I find the attitude of the investigator appalling. If it was me, guilty or not I would complain about how they treated you as she was abusive and made you feel threatened and scared


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## billy2mm

Abz1982 said:


> Whilst I have to agree, technically following the letter of the law you did commit fraud. I find the attitude of the investigator appalling. If it was me, guilty or not I would complain about how they treated you as she was abusive and made you feel threatened and scared

couldnt agree more! innocent until proven guilty after all and there is no way she should get off with treating you like that :hugs:


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## shiawase

Abz1982 said:


> Whilst I have to agree, technically following the letter of the law you did commit fraud. I find the attitude of the investigator appalling. If it was me, guilty or not I would complain about how they treated you as she was abusive and made you feel threatened and scared


Yeah she was disgusting! I've found a good website explaining to the smallest detail on whats going to happen next when i have to go to the interview under caution and it says there on what they are not allowed to say to you/treat you and she did everything on that list, only trouble is i saw a different person to who i was meant to see so dont know her name so i guess i'll have to go into the job centre and ask although i shouted that they were all a bunch of wankers on my way out so hope they dont recognize me haha :blush:


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## Fraggles

shiawase said:


> Mumof42009 said:
> 
> 
> Oh hun,:hugs:
> 
> I suggest you go to your nearest cab and get some advice, they can't completely stop your money because of your lo so you will have something to live off. Do you live in private or council house? contact your landlord and inform them and tell them as soon as it gets sorted out you will get upto date with you rent again. xx
> 
> Ok thanks i'll find out where it is then go down tomorrow or ring them. Im renting privately but the landlady has nothing to do with it she leaves it to the astate agent so if they stop my money right away or i cant come up with the money i'll phone her, she phones me every month on the day the rents due to make sure i've paid it, once i didnt get a chance to answer and i had loads of voicemails from her so i doubt she will wait for the money and if she wont me and liam are in trouble well actually not just us my mum, dad and sister aswell now. Just hope when they ask me in for the next interview they will let me talk not interrupt like that woman did, and hopefully they will just make me pay the money back for the weeks when they stayed here not from the date they were told, im not getting in trouble for something i havent doneClick to expand...

Your landlady shouldn't be calling constantly to check if you've paid. You have a right to live without harrassment.
See the cab they cant stop your money not all of it and id report the women too for being unproffessional


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## GypsyDancer

shiawase said:


> gemabee said:
> 
> 
> sorry ur in a shitty situation hun nd i hope u get it sorted... but jus lookin at it on the flip side - they kinda do have a right to stop ur hb as with all the other people livin there it is benefit fraud to continue to receive the same amount nd a new claim would have to be assessed... u may not even be entitled to hb anymore (along with any other benefits u are receivin as they go on the household income, not individual income).
> technically u have been commitin fraud, but hopefully they will see that u didn't do it purposefully nd a new claim will be assessed nd sorted asap. as u have more people livin there then they should help u with ur rent, surely?
> 
> Yeah i did make a mistake, but didnt do it on purpose have had alot going on aswell as being ill again n back on antidepressants but it was only for 3 weeks not the months shes accusing me of and i'll gladly repay what i owe them for that.Click to expand...

Once youve got it all sorted i would SERIOUSLY think about making a complaint against her. Even if you have messed up abit thats no way to be talking to somebody when you havent heard the full story..What happened to human rights and hearing both sides of a story? Completely out of order..i hope you manage to sort it out :flower:
If its only been a month..hopefully..they will understand your case..i hope..tbh there must be people doing FAR worse things than that..x


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## shelx

i dont think they cancel your HB i think they just suspend it and youll only have to pay if youre found guilty which you wont be cause youre doing nothing wrong. mine got suspended for a month or 2 while they found out how many hours etc i was working when i started my new job. if you do end up paying youll be back paid 
:hugs:


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## AppleBlossom

I was called in to be questioned after someone claimed I was earning money and not declaring it. Fat load of BS and I know it was either FOB or one of his sadass bum chums that dobbed me in. I was let off because they couldn't prove I'd done anything wrong (because I hadn't) but I know how horrible it is to be investigated as if you're some sort of criminal when you know you aren't :hugs:


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## DaisyDoodles

Technically, you've done nothing wrong at all... you have 4 weeks to inform them of any changes in circumstances! 

Obviously the sooner you do it the better as you don't end up having to pay back anything, but if you can prove your parents have only lived with you for 3weeks, there's not a thing they can do about it!


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## shiawase

DaisyDoodles said:


> Technically, you've done nothing wrong at all... you have 4 weeks to inform them of any changes in circumstances!
> 
> Obviously the sooner you do it the better as you don't end up having to pay back anything, but if you can prove your parents have only lived with you for 3weeks, there's not a thing they can do about it!


really? i didnt know that! so thats alright then because i phoned the council to tell them the day i had that interview, i just have to write a letter and my mum has to somehow proove that shes not working. I havent heard anything from them yet so still dont know whats going on, its doing my head in i just wanna get this interview over and done with!

Thanks for all the replies you have all made me feel alot better! :hugs:


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## Fraggles

What does your mum do ? if she's on benefits she can easily prove she doesn't work.


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## shiawase

Fraggles said:


> What does your mum do ? if she's on benefits she can easily prove she doesn't work.

No she isnt on benefits, she was recieveing benefits before because shes got clinic depresson (think thats the right term!) but she stopped recieveing it when we opened a pet shop, not sure how she can proove maybe she will have to sign on or something :shrug:


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## jess_smurf

yep you only have top declare someone living with you if they stay longer than 4wks so your not commiting fraud at all


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## dom85

Yep, you have 4 weeks to inform them of any changes but they can stop your money until your claim has been re assessed. When I went back to work I didn't inform them until I had gotten my pay slip because I knew they would stop my money until they re assessed it and they wouldn' do that without the pay slip so I missed one payment and then had to pay back about £40 as an overpayment.

So no, you haven't committed fraud, but they migh think you have if the person who grassed you up has made them think your parents have been there for 3 months.


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## shiawase

I phoned the council again yesterday, and they should of sent me a form but didnt so gotta go down there this afternoon. The woman said i have nothing to worry about that there isnt any evidence (well i knew that anyway!) so even tho im being investigated she doesnt think i'll be prosicuted, told her about the woman i saw and she wasnt happy with how i got treated she said this woman seems to have it in for people on benefits, and even if someone does they should be professional and keep it to themselves, cant wait till this is all sorted so i can go in and complain about her, because of that bitch i havent slept properly got all my irrational thoughts back and im being treated for my anxiety disorder again which was getting better when i moved! Some people dont realise how much it can affect someone by what they choose to say, wish i recorded it!


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## N1kki

i would go C.A.B hun and explain your situation and tell them you feel been mistreated badly and that your sons father has added fuel to the fire.I think it was mistake by not going to the council as soon as you knew your family would be moving in,but i dont know your circumstances so with changes its been a tough time.Just make it clear to them the family werent living at yours before and how they've accused you of fraud when you were planning to go to the council to inform anyway.


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