Re: accused of benefit fraud!

Vlad the accountant wrote:
On Jan 25, 9:56 am, Robbie <ngrobbi...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Vlad the accountant wrote:
On Jan 25, 8:35 am, Mike_B <use...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
In message <FF6mj.66979$h35.6...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Miss E
<bankie.g...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
And how is the typical working bloke meant to know that????
If he knows enough to make the claim from the council in the first
place, why wouldn't he know that he has to tell the council when his
circumstances change?
.
--
Mike_B
hi mike...i did!
Just explain that as far as you were concerned you had complied with
what was expected of you, that you had no real understanding of the HB
system and assumed it would all be sorted out.

If the overpayment has already been repaid then point out that it was
the landlord who was receiving the money and that you were also paying
rent at the same time and weren't aware that the rent payments were
still being made by the council. I assume you have proof you were paying
rent to your landlord for this period?

You still haven't addressed the issue of your Council Tax Benefit since
that too would have been overpaid (unless it is in with your rent) and
the lack of a new, revised bill should have set off alarm bells.

--
Robbie

cheers robbie

ummm, problem...i pay my rent in cash and dont have a rent book (i
know, i know!) my landlord however was personally recomended by a
friend. He seems to specialize in cheap rooms for dss tenants, talking
to people in my local, quite a few people have been through the rooms
he rents when times have been hard and not one of them has a bad word
to say about him. im staying there for a few months and saving for a
better option.


and yes the council tax was included so no bills.

the landlord is quite an up front bloke, when he told me of the over
payment he was clear that there would be no way of keeping the money
(read into that what you will) and that as soon as they caught on to
their mistake they would send a bill that he would pay. Im certain
that if i need a letter explaining i paid cash to him during this
period he would be happy to provide it.


as a side point, i was much happier to rent a single £60 room in a
shared house with 5 others from this guy, than the other option i had
of a 1 b/room flat at £140 a week DSS ACCEPTED, because knowing my
unemeployment was a short term blip i didnt want to be saddled with
rent i may have struggled to pay ON MY OWN WITH NO CHIP IN FROM THE
TAX PAYER, when i got a job.

cheers

g

If you can get a letter from your landlord confirming the above then hopefully it will be a straightforward matter to resolve. It does seem like a genuine error, one of which you were none the wiser to until it was pointed out by the landlord that you were still receiving HB.

If the landlord has refunded the money but you or the landlord have not, as yet, explained what was going on then that is why they are calling you in for an interview. As the potential is there for this to be as a result of a fraudulent claim them the interview must be done under caution. however, a letter from your landlord and a statement from you should be enough to resolve the matter without it going any further.

I can't second guess what the outcome would be, but I'd be surprised if any further action was taken, so long as that overpayment has been paid in full.
--
Robbie
.

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