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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To have unwittingly broken the law and be worried.

129 replies

nnnnnnnnnnn · 09/09/2020 01:00

I am Irish and was living and working in England the past 8 years. Anyway after covid hit , I lost my job[was only on temporary contract after taking some leave from October- Feb to do a bit of travelling] and signed on universal credit. This was fine and I stayed in UK but in mid May a shock tragedy happened at home and my much younger brother [only 11] was killed in an accident and so I returned home suddenly. The last few months have being hectic and I decided to stay in Ireland to help parents[dm was understandably in a very bad mental place] as I am their only daughter[was only me and departed db in family] and I returned to work full time here in start of August. Anyway today I was tying up loose ends in UK as I hadn't got around to it with all the upheaval in the last few months and was cancelling direct debits/UK phone etc and checking my English emails I'd not checked in months when I realised I hadn't cancelled my benefits before I'd left. I haven't actively used my English bank account since May when I left. Hand on heart and on my brother's grave, I had totally forgot all about it with everything that had happened and I instantly contacted them and told them I was leaving UK and to cancel it. I know I am in a different country but I am worried I could get in trouble for this. BTW I will not be keeping the money from this[it's not a big amount but not the point] and it will be donated to charity but aibu to think the UK benefits system could track me down here and get me in trouble for my oversight if they discovered this or seen I'd been working here in August and claiming there? I already suffer from bad anxiety [on meds] and now this has made me even more anxious.

OP posts:
Legallyblondeee · 09/09/2020 07:56

I have some experience with the benefits system but I would suggest you might want to put up a thread on the consumer action group. There is a specific group for benefits queries who only work on fact rather than opinion. You might find posters a bit more useful there regarding your situation.

ivykaty44 · 09/09/2020 07:57

and it will be donated to charity

Its not your money to donate to charity, this money should be given back from where it came

ichifanny · 09/09/2020 07:57

Just don’t do anything at all and keep the money in the account and if they contact you use it to repay them , honestly I wouldn’t go reporting yourself . You have told them you no longer need the benefit .

BoggledBudgie · 09/09/2020 07:58

There’s no way someone forgets to cancel their benefit claim, nor considers donating it to charity. More likely you’re committing fraud if this is real

ivykaty44 · 09/09/2020 07:59

are aware of overpayments I’m not sure if this affects future claims

yes, this will stay on file and the overpayment will be reclaimed when you or if you claim again. It often comes as a shock when people reclaim and find they have a £few hundred debt and they are expected to pay it back

Plussizejumpsuit · 09/09/2020 08:07

Lol! How much experience of the benefit system do people have saying pay it back? The actual mechanism for that is really complicated and most front line staff will have no experience of it. How under pressure the benefit system is at the moment I feel this will be really difficult if not impossible.

So sorry for your loss xx

Blackbear19 · 09/09/2020 08:07

Just another thought, this could possibly go unnoticed but there again in 40 years time (I'm assuming your mid 20s) when you go to claim pension money from the UK government (if we still have a pension) it could flag up then.

Just be honest now, clear it up and move on.

liveitwell · 09/09/2020 08:10

Why did you tell them you're leaving when in actual fact you had already left? You should have just told truth and they could have arranged to take it back.

If you give that money away you may regret it as they may well come after it at some point and you'll have to pay them back. Mistakes happen but you should have told the truth.

DancyNancy · 09/09/2020 08:11

I'm sorry about your brother OP that is so sad.
I would just tell them what you told us here in the original post.
Advise of date and circumstances and that you can transfer over claimed money back to them.
Then, you won't have to be anxious about it anymore wondering if someone will come looking for you.
All in order.
Back to putting your life back together here in Ireland

dancingthroughthedark · 09/09/2020 08:14

If you have been getting your payments then your UC account will still be active, all you need to do is log in and put a note on your journal and they will contact you to sort it.
I can well believe no one has contacted you so far I know 2 people on UC who haven't received a single call since lockdown started whereas my son who signed on for 2 months until he found a job had 2 calls in that time.

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 09/09/2020 08:17

I’m sorry for your loss, OP.
Tell the benefits agency what happened and give the money back. Don’t give it to charity. You don’t want this hanging over you.
It’s very understandable, while you’re grieving and in shock. but still illegal.

ChickenwingChickenwing · 09/09/2020 08:17

If you have been getting your payments then your UC account will still be active,

OP had already ended the claim.

ChickenwingChickenwing · 09/09/2020 08:19

Lol! How much experience of the benefit system do people have saying pay it back? The actual mechanism for that is really complicated and most front line staff will have no experience of it.

Why the lol? This is no reason to laugh at people. Lots of people don't know but for those saying 'pay it back' this also means don't give the money away and keep it until such time as you can pay it back.

NYMM · 09/09/2020 08:28

I'm of the view that you were very much aware that you continued to receive the benefit payments and knew you weren't entitled to them.
How were your other financial commitments dealt with?
Rent/mortgage/utility bills/mobile phone bills?
Something just doesn't add up ...

VeganCow · 09/09/2020 08:28

It would take you 2 minutes to update this digitally, leave a note to say you've just realised due to bereavement and that the money is still lying untouched in your account. As long as you have proof that you told them, they will not take action. These are not normal times and they probably wouldn't have taken action before covid tbf.

Sorry about your little brother Flowers

LUZON · 09/09/2020 08:28

.

Lovemusic33 · 09/09/2020 08:36

The moneys in your account, you haven’t touched it so just hold your hands up (explain what happened) and pay it back. I’m sure all will be fine, I have owed money before due to changes in circumstances and have just paid it back.

sashh · 09/09/2020 08:46

Don't worry about this it happens all the time, just contact them to pay the money back.

Boomclaps · 09/09/2020 08:59

@Doyoumind

I'm still confused. Surely if you don't complete your journal each month you don't get the money paid in.
We get UC in place of CTC & WTC, not in the place of jobseekers etc. We both work (28h &39h per week), our wages are automatically reported to HMRC. I have written in my journal twice. Most months we don’t do anything
Eatyourbanana · 09/09/2020 09:00

They’ll find out. Might not be for another 6 months but eventually they will. Just ring up, tell them your brother died (I’m so sorry) & you totally forgot to call up, then ask where you pay the money back to. That is ALL that will happen if you’re honest.

I have to admit though OP, you seem to have a bit of a ‘screw you’ attitude to a system which helped you when you needed it. But maybe you’re just worried, I can’t tell.

Livelovebehappy · 09/09/2020 09:05

Sorry for your loss. From your comments, particularly when you say your DP said the authorities ‘can’t touch you’ it comes across that you don’t want to put this right, but are focusing on getting around not repaying it. All you need to do is call them and explain, and say you want to repay it. They will take the money back and nothing more will be said. They will clearly see you have made the effort to correct the matter, so aren’t going to be reporting the issue as fraudulent. The money isn’t yours so you can’t donate government money to your favourite charity I’m afraid.

UnaCorda · 09/09/2020 09:06

@nnnnnnnnnnn

Thank you, mmm well I think everywhere here is shut with covid and I'm too busy at work these days to be trying to deal with this but I googled expats being caught doing it in Spain etc and I'm afraid that I'll get a call from the UK.
I'm not sure you have the luxury to decide you're "too busy" to deal with this - you have after all commited a crime, albeit inadvertently. In fact I think you should be prioritising it: perhaps in favour of posting on Mumsnet. Hmm
SleepingStandingUp · 09/09/2020 09:20

I'm so sorry to hear about your brother and i get how easy it is to forget to sort stuff like this but why didn't you just tell the truth when you called instead of lying? You could have paid back the over payment instead of donating money which isnt yours to a random charity. They're not going to extradite you and throw you in jail if you call and say "oh crap, i forgot to cancel this when i left, how can i pay it back?"

MilerVino · 09/09/2020 09:22

Lol! How much experience of the benefit system do people have saying pay it back? The actual mechanism for that is really complicated and most front line staff will have no experience of it. How under pressure the benefit system is at the moment I feel this will be really difficult if not impossible.

I had to pay back some UC when overpaid in error. I phoned up and spoke to someone, we agreed a repayment plan, they subtracted it from subsequent payments over a period of a few months. It wasn't complicated.

It may well be difficult to get hold of someone on the phone at the moment but if the OP sends a message via her journal, she'll have a written record as evidence she contacted them and explained the situation. They can then contact her regarding repayment. The key thing is that evidence trail that when she realised her error, she took steps to correct it.

Viviennemary · 09/09/2020 09:33

You've had a very difficult time. But now you have discovered these payments were made they need to be paid back. Otherwise you could end up with a criminal record. Get in touch with the benefits office.