I owe UC a lot of money by recieving housing benefit I didn’t realise I was still getting

[Sunshine225]

So i was so poorly during my pregnancy with Hyperemisis. Then when I had my daughter I had a c section and have been struggling with my mental health due to illness during pregnancy and then continuing to have PPD. I didn’t realise I hadn’t changed my address (moved out January this year) and have been getting housing benefit for my old rented property. I have moved in with the father of my child’s dad as I had nowhere else to go and now I’m scared I’m going to get prosecuted for fraud. I have found this overpayment out and going to inform them and give them all the evidence to prove I didn’t realise and I’m so worried about the outcome. Has this happened to anyone else?

Try not to worry. Report this ASAP and ask how to repay it. Did you notify them you were living with a partner and make a joint claim? If not this is likely to be where they will be paying the most attention. You may have to repay everything but they will arrange for you to do this at an affordable level and possibly add a £50 penalty but it is very unlikely they will take you to court if you own up to it.

Just to note, I would report in a way that leaves a paper trail. So either by online form or email, just to show evidence that it was you who reported it. Then follow up with a phone call to try & sort it out with someone human.

I thought if you moved in with a partner you had to start a separate claim as a couple. Surely no one thinks they can just keep on claiming tax payers money for living in a property they no longer have to pay rent on. Just accept you are in the wrong and ask for a repayment plan.

That would be dishonest and deliberate fraud.

I wouldn’t be anxious about this: if you have had sickness you were vulnerable and as soon as you noticed the error you have let them know. I am sure they will be stern about it but end of the day you can make this right by working on a repayment plan.

I feel terribly sorry for you, actually, and I do understand entirely that when you are depressed the last thing you’re doing is probably reconciling your bank statements- to me, it’s believable. People make mistakes, the benefits system is complex and when you have baby brain things can go wrong easily.

Sympathy x

OP.I totally get it. As someone who lives within my means I never used to check my statements. Not everyone does.
It's actually easy to miss when so much else is on your mind.
You will be fine, hopefully you get a repayment plan that you can meet.

They can prosecute for this if they want to. I was prosecuted for benefit fraud, I was the claimant on a joint claim, in an abusive relationship. My EX wouldn't get his payslips, I couldn't get them myself obviously.

We were claiming HB based on part time hours at first, when he increased his hours I couldn't provide the evidence without the payslips, I couldn't afford to lose the whole amount by not providing proof so I just didn't tell them. Stupid but I didn't know what else to do, I continued to nag him him for them but he was so violent I was too scared to rock the boat much.

We split up and I made a single claim, I was still prosecuted for the benefit fraud, it was my name on the claim, my responsibility. I ended up 'on tag' for 6 months. I could have been sent to prison, they said it was very serious! I paid every penny back, Ex didn't have a single consequence at all.

As someone who lives within my means I never used to check my statements. Not everyone does.

But if you were claiming something that you might no longer be entitled to wouldn't that be on your mind?

I know it would mine!

So if the op didn’t check statement, then presumably was spending on the basis she didn’t have many hundreds of housing benefit begins deposited in her account each month.

So your savings amount must have been over the minimum before you have to declare
OP

However, I’m guessing the amount has been blown. Not just the housing benefit but the other benefits that the OP would have been in receipt of due to DWP still thinking she was a single parent living alone with her children.

OP, brace yourself.

OP, I recommend turning to AI platforms and Google for help and advice instead of relying on Mumsnet.

As you know, you will have to pay this money back in instalments. However, you need to match the date you told the council tax dept that you moved out, if you were liable for council tax. The DWP will check this date with the local authority if they are treating your case as fraud.

A lot of this has already been said but you’ve not said how much rent is despite being asked , depending where you live in the country you’re prob looking at a min of £500 a month, it’s a lot to just go unnoticed , and a lot more than you would get for an extra child . Having said that fact you’re flagging it to them should go in your favour .

Another one to say I've had HG and completely understand how you could forget and not notice this, ignore those saying it's impossible, I wouldn't have had the headspace to think of anything when I was ill.

The important thing is, it's happened, you've noticed, call them and make an affordable plan.

You did ignore it. You have a responsibility to report changes and be aware of what you're entitled to, what you're claiming and what you're receiving. Every benefit claimant is reminded of this during virtually every interaction (in person, over the phone or online) with UC.

No reasonable person would accept that someone surviving on benefits - and therefore presumably living an extremely frugal existence - would be unaware of hundreds (thousands?) of pounds per month over their entitlement landing in their bank account.

Having poor mental health won't be accepted as an excuse, unless your mental capacity has been reduced to the point that you were medically incapable of looking after yourself, which is obviously not the case here.

Whether you've done this on purpose, or because you've stuck your head in the sand, you need to report it and organize paying it back immediately.

People saying you must know - Not really.

Our UC can swing wildly from £0 to over £1000. Its based on wages so any bonuses or overtime or changes in shift pattern etc... make it fluctuate wildly.

Also housing benefit is not that much, it does not cover rent, ours was the maximum claim and only £100pw (£400pm). £100 now with cost of living is like one small cheap food shop for a family, easy to not be noticed if your not actively checking your finances.

The op isn’t working
so no fluctuations

I don't understand. You get paid the housing benefit directly to you, but you weren't paying it on to the landlord. Fine. And you weren't checking your statements. Also fine, I often don't. But that's because I tend to spend roughly the same amount on bills (direct debit) and shopping (roughly the same amount each month). So presumably you were doing the same, so virtually all the housing benefit should still be in your account so you can just tell them of the mistake and pay them straight back. Because if you were to be making a big purchase, such as a new item for the baby, then you'd check your account to see if you could afford it, so you would see a large amount of money piling up and the penny would drop. If it's all gone then you must have known you were spending money you didn't have. I don't think they are going to believe you, because looking at what you have said cynically, if you were that sick you didn't realise you were claiming for something you weren't entitled to, you were too sick to be out spending the money. I don't think you can believably have it both ways.

Her partner works, she says this is housing benefit not single claim based so his income will be counted.

Bollox it is

DWP still think she’s a single parent living alone. Guaranteed

Call them ASAP, be very apologetic and offer a repayment plan. Do this before they call you!

Hang on, so you were getting your rent paid on a place you no longer lived so you didn't pay the rent - surely you must have realised you had what 6 -700 quid a month in your bank account extra. I know exactly what is in my account, what I have spent and what is due to go out. All the excuses under the sun cannot excuse this. You had more money than you should have had - I would have known instantly.

As stated above UC fluctuates monthly its not a set amount like the old benefits.

The base your entitled to in a claim also goes up with each dependent, she had a new dependent ergo expected the base amount to increase. Children need clothes, feeding, housing, necessities... they aren't 'free' and thats accounted for in benefits.

There a difference between what a single person gets, what a couple gets, what a 1 child family gets, what a 2 family child gets etc... its based on the needs of the umbrella of dependents of the claimant not just 1 adult.

I don’t understand how you moved, stopped paying rent, but didn’t notice that your bank balance wasn’t decreasing?

Average rent the UK is £1,343 a month. That’s over £13,000 you’ve received and not noticed?! Come off it.

Can’t believe the harsh replies on here! It’s like everyone just can’t wait to pile up on someone who they perceive is fiddling the system.
Hope everyone feels superior about giving someone in a vulnerable position a good ticking off 😟

It sounds like you’ve had an incredibly hard time. I’m sure if you engage with them as quickly as possible, be totally transparent and set up arrangements to pay anything back, you will not get into any serious trouble.

I’m no expert on these matters as I’ve never had any benefits etc but I can’t imagine someone in this situation would be prosecuted. Especially if you alert them to it, evidence of illness might be useful to provide too.

Op actually managed to move though-you'd think that that might have given her a heads up!