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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

FUCK, FUCK, FUCK - have I committed benefit fraud??

50 replies

ShittyBollocks · 11/12/2011 13:15

I am posting in AIBU as I want as many answers as possible and I may well be being unreasonable anyway.

DH and I get housing benefit as he is on a very low income and we have a 18 month old DC still at home (3 others of school age). Before you all start saying that we should not have had DCs if can't afford them without claiming benefits , we COULD afford them but DH was made redundant when I was 4 months pregnant with DC4 and the resulting stress of losing our home after that has meant that I have suffered stress and anxiety symptoms which has meant that I could not go back to work. DH now has a MUCH lower paid job and less hours as I need him around and I am desperately looking for work but am getting nowhere.

So we get HB and struggle like everyone else. We had had several large bills to pay over the last few months. Car repairs cost us £800 (essential for DH to get to work), washing machine broke down etc so DH has had no option but to do overtime to cover this. We can't get any credit at all due to the financial mess we got into when DH lost his job and I was pregnant. I honestly did not know that we had to inform HB about the overtime, I understood it that we had to inform them if his contracted pay changed, i.e. permanent income. It did not occur to us that we had to inform them.

Anyway, we have recently been sent a letter from HB saying they want to review our claim and they wanted DH's payslips. We went in with them and last week, we got a letter saying they want us to come in for a formal interview due to 'discrepancies' in our income Shock.

I am now shitting myself. Did we do wrong trying to cover all our bills? Could we be convicted of a criminal offence?

HELP!!

OP posts:
Kladdkaka · 11/12/2011 13:18

Yep, sounds like benefit fraud to me.

Original poster
ShittyBollocks · 11/12/2011 13:19

Very helpful. Thanks

OP posts:
WhiteTrash · 11/12/2011 13:19

Stop panicking!

Ok deep breath, it sounds like a genuine mistake. My friend did exactly the same once, her partner was self employed and they made that mistake. They got pulled up, they set up a way to pay it back then everything went back to normal.

Best of luck.

HecateGoddessOfTwelfthNight · 11/12/2011 13:21

I'm not a benefits advisor, so this is just my layman's understanding, but HB is based on income, so overtime would surely be taken into consideration and benefits reduced accordingly - that week or that month or perhaps evened out over the year or whatever their method is. You are supposed to declare any extra money. You can't earn extra and keep it because you have bills.

I am sure once you can show that this was one off overtime, they'll just probably reduce your hb or something for that amount or that time and then it'll be back to normal.

I say I 'am sure' but again, I am not an advisor, it's just my opinion.

You should contact the CAB for advice.

Kladdkaka · 11/12/2011 13:21

You're welcome.

nativitywreck · 11/12/2011 13:22

Don't worry-honest mistake.
They will simply make you pay back what they have overpaid you by taking it in little bits out of your future HB.
And the amount they take is negotiable (as is everything) so don't accept the first thing they say.
Don't act like you think you are a crim in the interview-you're not!

HecateGoddessOfTwelfthNight · 11/12/2011 13:22

shitty - you asked have you committed benefit fraud, klad replied. That response was uncalled for. she answered the question you asked.

HecateGoddessOfTwelfthNight · 11/12/2011 13:23

I mean, answered with her opinion

OldGreyWassailTest · 11/12/2011 13:23

You'll be fine, I'm sure. What they mean is that you've had a bit of overtime that they haven't accounted for. I am sure they will not do you for benefit fraud. At the worst they will readjust your HB and maybe make you pay back the little you have inadvertently claimed.

Original poster
ShittyBollocks · 11/12/2011 13:24

Confused - that's at Hecate

OP posts:
amicissima · 11/12/2011 13:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HecateGoddessOfTwelfthNight · 11/12/2011 13:25

Blush I'm sorry. I thought your 'that's helpful, thanks' was sarcastic. You know, that's helpful thanks.

I am really really sorry.

Vicky0790 · 11/12/2011 13:25

I really don't think you will be any trouble if you explain all this to them. They will prob want you to pay it back and that's what the meeting is for. Seems silly that you can't earn some extra money for unexpected bills! Sad

pixie04 · 11/12/2011 13:27

I don't think it's benefit fraud. I think it sounds like a genuine mistake. You'll probably have to pay anything back that they overpaid you and possibly a fine but unless you are deliberately deceiving them and are uncooperative in their investigations then there shouldn't be a big problem.

SuePurblybiltbyElves · 11/12/2011 13:28

I read it as sarcastic too, fwiw.

Winkly · 11/12/2011 13:28

Klad is also wrong. The offence is DISHONESTLY failing to disclose a change in circumstances KNOWING it would affect your entitlements. No dishonesty, no crime and handing over all pay slips when requested will support this.

You will have to repay money you weren't entitled to but on facts presented here they'd have a hard time pursuing a criminal case.

RedHelenB · 11/12/2011 13:29

I think they will just want the money paid back, is he still doing overtime? You won't get criminal charges so don't fret.

StarbuckIzzy · 11/12/2011 13:29

Yes, you definitely should have declared it and Im surprised you didn't think of it at the time. You can't claim benefits because you're on a low wage but do overtime to pay for unexpected bills. That's one of the shit things about being on benefits- you can't work more some weeks to earn a bit extra as it just gets taken into account and your benefit payment lowered.

However, you say you have had a hard time recently, stress and anxiety cloud your judgement so I can see perhaps it didn't occur to you to declare the extra overtime money. Don't panic, go to the interview and be honest, explain it was an honest mistake and Im sure they'll re adjust your claim so that it "fixes" itself over the coming months.

Don't beat yourself up about it, we all make mistakes.

TeamDamon · 11/12/2011 13:29

Have had a quick google - it seems fairly clear from the sites I've looked at that they do expect to be told of any change in your income, and overtime was highlighted as one such change, so you will just have to go in, hold up your hands to it and arrange a way of repaying what you owe as a result.

Hopefully they will accept that it was an innocent mistake and don't hold you to the legal principle that ignorance of the law is no defence!

JinglePosyPerkin · 11/12/2011 13:32

As others have said, I really do think that they'll just work out how much HB you have been overpaid & an arrangement for you to pay it back. How long a period are we talking about? Was it just one month? They must be able to see the difference between an honest mistake and purposeful fraud surely?

cece · 11/12/2011 13:32

There is a chance that you will be prosecuted if the fraud team think you deliberately misled them to gain from the HB. It all depends on how often your DH did overtime - was it a regualr thing?

StarbuckIzzy · 11/12/2011 13:33

vicky0790 - Its not silly that you can't earn extra money to cover unexpected bills! Otherwise people would take low paid jobs, claim benefits and work loads of overtime for extra money!

(obviously OP didn't do this, but people would and I just wanted to comment on what you said)

LineRunnerCrouchingReindeer · 11/12/2011 13:33

Tell the truth, make arrangements to pay back the overpayment over a number of months, ask for advice about not letting it happen again, and I would be fairly certain that you would avoid a prosecution.

I think deep down you must have known that HB is means-tested and affected by changes in income. That's why I think it's best to admit to a cock-up and ask to make a re-payment plan.

A credit union might be the best way for you to raise money to pay unexpected bills. When you go for your interview, you can ask the person you see about this, as the council will likely have some information or they can point you to a web page. It will also show that you are serious about not making the same mistakes.

Good luck.

CailinDana · 11/12/2011 13:33

They're not out to get you. You made an honest mistake and they'll recognise that and organise a way of sorting it out. It is hassle for them to take any action against you so they will avoid it at all costs and they understand that people can make mistakes. Please try not to worry.

Tonksforthememories · 11/12/2011 13:34

We had a similar situation a couple of years ago, I sent in all requested paperwork, apologised profusely, and they're now collecting the overpayment.
If it was a genuine oversight then they will give you a slap on the wrists, collect the overpayment, and you'll go on as before.