TC investagtion

[diddlydude2001]

Hi Im new here and really need help!
my daughter started seeing her 1st bf last sept, shes 13, and his mum works for HMRC. All of a sudden iv recieved a letter from TC to tell me im under investigation for claiming as a single and they believe im not.
my husband and i quietly {didnt inform anyone socially or our kids} quite some time ago as I have mental health issues! His father is terminal and so he has been 'living' here to let his parents have some time together before his dad passes.
my benefit goes into a separate account but our mortgage is still joint. I have had to prove this before, now they want me to prove everything! all the bills and car is in my name, but Im sure his tax details and drivers stuff is registered here! we do not share a bed, I sleep on the sofa, i am totally crapping myself!! Im so annoyed for being put in this position. who investigates their sons GF? however, it turns out that she, her mum, aunt and uncle all work for HMRC and her uncle is chief of the fraud team! So now it seems serious...advice please
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It may not be anything to do with your DD's boyfriend's family, so don't jump to conclusions. That said, whether your partner is living with you or "living" with you, I wouldn't imagine you could possibly be classed as single. I think you need to come clean and pay back any wrongly paid benefit and hope that they don't take it further.

In all honesty it sounds like you're committing benefit fraud. You probably won't get a sympathetic response on here as a result. Anyone who has seen that you're living together could have reported you

Surely, when you make a decision like this that looks nothing like you have split up, the first thing you do is contact HMRC and explain the situation?
And have it accepted in writing.
It is not unusual to stay in the same house as an ex for a period of time these days because of housing costs - they are used to this.
You said you had to prove it before - why, to whom, and did they accept it? That might be your saving grace here.

I think someone who hasn't even told their own children that they are single would have a hard time convincing anyone it isn't fraud.

You will be classed as "living as man and wife" (or whatever they've updated that term to); as you are.

You may be best off to come clean now and not force them to investigate and prove it. Either way you'll have to pay back everything you've been paid incorrectly but the latter holds a much greater chance of being considered intentional fraud and having a possible conviction or high administrative penalty.

I really would come clean. I find it totally puzzling how your thought claiming as a lone parent would be appropriate in your circumstances and I doubt HMRC will follow your logic.

Did you claim to have separated? Your post doesn't mention actually separating, so I'm not sure why you have been claiming as a single parent?

your post is unclear - what did you quietly do? quietly separate or did he quietly move back in?

when did you "separate" and did he move out?

how do deal with household expenses?

I also wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's anything to do with your daughters BF. Could have been a neighbour or a relative. And either way it's beside the point if you've been claiming fraudulently?

I don't believe it's the boyfriend's family actually, but I think the OP is saying it is because she is saying that she didn't tell anyone they were separated but I'm not sure.

The original post isn't that clear. The "quietly" thing, anyway.

The OP could have been reported by anyone. Many of HMRC's leads come from the public, fewer from staff. Or maybe she wasn't reported at all, and the correspondence in his name to that address gave the game away (they have ways of finding out this stuff).

OP - the best thing you can do is come to an arrangement with HMRC to repay it in instalments.

I'm sorry about your MiL.

HMRC is a huge organisation. Chances are that the relatives are nothing to do with tax credits. Nothing is done locally anymore - it's all national/regional centres. Those working locally to you will be dealing with the taxes of people all over the country.

Diddlydude2001
Thanks for replying people, lost my password, so reposting!
the story starts many years ago, but to make it short,
I have been suffering from chronic depression anixety attacks for yrs, then in 2007 i had pneumonia 3 times in succession, so I had an mri to check my chest, that resulted in them finding 3 broken, collapsed dics, arthritis and spondilitis in my neck! My mum died, my sister took me to court to try to overturn the will, the dwp decided I was fit for work and I had 3 tribunals in one year,then I had a total breakdown. I was assigned a mental health advocate who helped me with paperwork and benefit claims. The govt has since removed the funding for that, and as I find it hard to deal with paperwork etc -things are not easy.
During the same year my then hubby, also lost his job due to sickness which resulted in ccjs and a reposeesion order, which got to 4 days before eviction. At that point, neither of us could cope so we decided to go our own ways. But since we had a joint mortgage he refused to leave. Thats what I mean as quietly.
All the bills are in my name , the bank account/ the car / i alone is on the electoral role. During and since all of the above I had to prove to hmrc that I was single 2x and the council compliance visited 2x in all of this i was declared single and no further action.
Now, back to the boyfriends mum, the Hmrc people are only asking for me to prove single since october31 2016 to december 31, just abaout the same time as my daughter got the bf! The parents regularlt question both my daighter and their son as to what 'mum and dad' are doing/ where we worked, what we did before etc.... Hmrc want me to write a statement about who my hubby is, am i associated, prove with certs, the kids birth certs, all bills, benefits, council tax and car info including insurance?
So, what Is really worrying me is this:
Are they really just looking at tax credits or will this now affect my Incapacity payments (support grp) pip and ct?
I am so angry, and stressed, my anixety levels is thru the roof, i cant talk properly i have a stress induced stutter, so cant call them and ask for info.
I dont know whether he would be deemed to be living here, our money is seperate our lives are seperate, but he pays the mortgage in lieu of maintenance, and i do not claim housing benefit, but since he owns half the house is he not legally entitled to be here? Does that make me not single. Im so confused and feel overwhelmed im not sure i can cope with this and they want all info by the 9 feb
Lots of stuff is online and i dont have a printer, my aniexty makes it hard for me to go out so i usually do it all online!
Any advice would be grateful as i need help

If your DH pays the mortgage and is still living in the house, regardless of separate bank accounts (not everyone married/in a long term relationship automatically have joint bank accounts) I'm not sure how you can describe yourself as being single? How can he not be deemed to be living there? He IS living there and contributing by paying the mortgage. Nor do I understand why he is not on the electoral register. There can be financial penalties for not providing full info of all residents.

Being single would mean you living alone (or with DC) paying ALL bills, whether receiving maintenance/child support or benefits.

I'm sorry I don't know the answer to your question about which benefits would be affected but I would do everything I could to provide all the information for which they have asked.

Good luck sorting it out, OP

Thankyou.
DH did leave eventually and recently came to stay with us as his father was diagnosed as terminal, and needed some time alone with his wife. Thats when DH came to stay and refused to leave "as hed paid the mortgage"
Im so confused!
I dont know what to put in the statement. I do have all bills in my name i do pay all bills from my account I receive Pip, jsa support group, ctb, tc, and council tax, so i am able to pay everything myself. I do not claim hb or maintenance as he pays the mortgage. He hasnt been on the electoral roll here for at least 7 yrs? As he is staying here temporarily what do I tell them?
Oh god, im going round and round and getting nowhere. Worrying myself stupid

On the basis of what you have told us on this thread:

Explain that he's there purely because of the terminal illness. Declare that you are not living as a couple i.e. not sharing finances, meals, a social life, or a bed. Explain that you're doing him a favour because his parent is extremely ill and that the situation is not permanent. Tell them that he continued to pay the mortgage by way of agreement when you separated.

Keep it simple and to-the-point. Your anxiety won't sway them so don't refer to it. The other benefits are irrelevant to TC staff so there is no need to refer to them. If the TC staff don't accept your explanation however, they will pass the info to the DWP who will then look at your benefits.