Can any cagger help me please? I have not been employed since July 2012 and received ESA of £71.00 per week from July 2012 until November 2012 and it went up to £100.00 per week but in July this year it stopped completely. No more money for ESA. I also received from July 2012 a small pension of £157.00 per month no more. I used to work for a company that sacked me in July 2012 for being sick and I paid my PAYE through them in my wages. I have now been hit with a TAX demand for Underpaid Tax of £975.00. I do not earn any money and do not work and I only receive a pension of £157.00 a month. The Tax man claims I earnt £10,021 between April 2012 and April 2013. I paid TAX when I received my last wage packet every penny of it and have always paid TAX with my previous company. My problem is I am scared because I have no money other than my pension so something has gone wrong but not with me as I genuinely believed my previous company paid enough TAX for me. Please help me someone before I slit my wrists with worry as I cannot pay anything as I have nothing and receive no benefits because my ESA stopped in July this year because it was contribution based.

Hi, I have no idea what section this would come under. I'm really hoping someone can give me some advice with this. My husband and myself are registered with a private dentist - that also sees our children (both under 16 and in full time education) On our last check up the dentist said my daughter needed specialist treatment and there were absesses forming along the top of her front teeth and she needed to see a endodontist (? think that's the name he said). He said this work was not carried out by NHS and the only way we could have it was private - and pay! We were presented with a written £400 bill. This was increased to £500 on the first appointment I have since looked up the treatment he said she needed and it is basic root canal work- which is done routinely on the NHS. My question is should he have referred us to the NHS dentist for this work to be carried out due to her age? Any help or advice on this would be really welcome

Last year was not good for me; I was suffering from depression and had a serious alcohol problem. This made it hard for me to hold down a job for more than a week or two at a time. I was living in London and made a claim for JSA and housing benefit. I was granted both. But I missed signing on a few times and the jsa stopped but the housing benefit continued to be paid into my account. Having never claimed before I wasn't sure on how the two were connected or that it was my responsibility to notify the local council of my change in circumstances. I finally ran out of money and moved back up to Scotland to stay with my family, I left my belongings in the flat but someone else started paying rent for my room, a friend of the people I was living with, despite the fact he didn't move in to the flat until Feb this year. Between the end of Sept, when I moved back to Scotland, and now, I lived in a number of places including a hostel, friends' couches, as a lodger, as a sub-letter and am only now getting back on my feet. I stopped receiving the housing benefit at the start of Feb this year and a month or two later received a letter at my family home in Scotland asking me to attend an 'interview under caution' - due to the fact I was no longer living in the area and work commitments I was unable to make it to the first appointment and subsequently failed to agree upon a date that would be suitable. Meanwhile, I had given them an address in London that they could send my mail to and I received another letter from the local council stating the exact amount that I had been overpaid and I called the overpayments team and agreed to set up a direct debit to start paying it back - the total was around £1,800. I thought that starting the direct debit would be enough to settle the matter. However, last week I was contacted again about having to go in to the council office for an 'interview under caution'. I'm currently back in Scotland. What I'm basically asking for advice on is what my options are: do I need to go? What will happen if I don't? And have I already made an admittance of committing fraud by starting the direct debit? I just want to avoid court or getting into legal trouble. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Right I'm being quite paranoid here and its mostly my own fault for being absent minded. Basically moved into flat in 2011 and partner moved in shortly aftwards getting her mail. I never changed from getting the singler person 25% discount but obvioulsy all her post etc comes here. I've had a letter about them doing a review so I rang them up and said they have amended it for this year but in a panic on the phone when he asked how long she'd been here I said just a few months. I'm now paranoid about an IUA and want to ring them up and say I got my dates wrong and pay the 2012 part and then continue paying the extra for this year - but I'm worried about that causing alarm vs saying nothing! I've got some legal advice who said not to worry too much and written the following At this stage, I probably would not be worried. You volunteered the information and therefore they are unlikely to pursue any criminal issue with regard to the previous wound payment unless what prompted you to bring this to their retention was something that they had done. If you are still concerned, simply ring them up and tell them when your partner moved in and tell them you want to pay back the discount, in proportion, for that period. They will send you an amended bill. It really is as simple as that. They will send you an amended bill and you will pay it. I think you probably have more chance of winning the lottery than being prosecuted for defrauding Council tax based upon what you have told me! I'm tempted to write them a letter and expalin ! any thoughts ???

Hi, A decade ago my friend was trying to buy a flat but couldn't get a mortgage on her own. I offered to be the other name on a joint mortgage so that she could buy it. We got a joint mortgage. She put up the entire deposit for the flat, paid for everything when it was being done up etc. We lived there together at first but soon she moved elsewhere and rented it to me and other tenants. I claimed several years of housing and council tax benefit as a tenant and not as an owner when earning almost nothing at all. Our agreement had been that, as I was putting in no money, etc, I would not be a part owner. I have received an Interview Under Caution letter as the council "have information that suggests I may have been part owner of the property which was not declared when claiming the Housing/council tax benefit." What should I do? Will my name on the mortgage mean that I'm f**ked even though neither of us view it as my property? Help. I'm very frightened.

Evening All, Can anyone tell me is a mobile phone contract covered under Credit Consumer, if not could someone what covers a phone contract. Thank

hi In need of some help/advise . I recieved a letter this morning asking my partner to attend an Interview under caution regarding a failure to notify a change in our household . It doesnt elabirate thats all it says .... . I have contacted housing benefit to check the details they hold on us are correct , which they are so still none the wiser . The only thing we can think of is my partner was in a car accident at the end of feb and the insurance paid out just over £5000 to replace the car . Not sure if this would have any affect ....also I have been doing flower arrangements for friends and family at cost (I have not gained) but have had them on a facebook page building a portfoilio for when i do go back to work when my youngest starts nursery . If it is this any advise on how I prove I have not made any income would be appreciated and how best to get prepared for the interview. In fact any advise would be greatfully recieved , I am so worried !!

I received a letter confirming that i have to attend the interview and advising that interview will be take place under caution (which I don't know what it means) also letter stated that ` we have arranged this interview because we believe there are grounds for suspecting that a criminal offence may have been committed ` The issue started back in July 2012 where some one claimed Social Funds using my name and details. Since then I have been in contact and I have provided them with all identification to proof that its not me. They sent me copy of the applications completed and they all had different signatures which of course did not match my signature. So finally around Feb 2013 they stated that they will stop chasing me as they believe it was not me . At that time of this ordeal i was on JSA and they were deducting money from my allowance which eventually they repaid me when they withdraw their case and i started my full-time job on 3rd of June with DWP. I am really nervous never been in such situation before as I have always been good with my credit history, Can anyone advise on what will happen on the day of the interview and what should I expect

Hi, I received a letter from HB/CTB to say I had to attend an interview under caution. I rang and spoke to the person who sent the letter and he said it is because they think I have someone living with me. So here it is, my ex partner, also my best friend (we have known each other for 15 years) we are very close I won't deny it and I love him to pieces but we are not in love if you see my meaning. We have children together, he is here every day almost, stays over a lot (never in the same bed) always in the boys bottom bunk, more so when I am down (suffer from depression) to do things with the kids , get youngest dressed etc. he doesn't work or claim benefits, he gets money from family, and doesn't give me anything towards the children or household bills, he doesn't have clothes here, or have his washing done here, I don't cook for him. He is here for his children and although he can't give any money he supports them emotionally which is fantastic for them. I have worked all my life and only been claiming benefit for 6 months (claimed HB/CTB before) but not income support until 6 months ago. He has some mail coming here such as his bank statements and his driving licence which I needed the bank statements for proof for legal aid as I had transferred some money int his bank previously when I lost my debit card and they asked me why and to show proof which I did. I should also mention that he is on trial and is bailed to my address no conditions to stay here or anything but they do come and check on him. We share a car which is in my name but he legally owns it and we are insured on the same policy. Anyway back to my original post I have had the letter for the interview, we don't live as a couple, we don't have a sexual relationship, he doesn't live here but he stays more than he probably should. Reading my own post it looks bad but I honestly didn't think I had done anything wrong, as i am single and my things in my home are mine and my bills are paid by me. What do i do? I have no intention of lying as clearly I didn't think i was wrong, I have never ever done anything wrong or committed fraud but I am worried about how it looks on paper. Do I need to get legal advice? Should i just go my own and just tell them the above? Will they make it look terrible and be really awful to me? I have just got my daughter into nursery (starts next week) and I have been applying for jobs for the last few months as it was always my plan to go full time when my youngest starts nursery, which will be full time employment and I will not need to claim then as hopefully I will be on my feet. Help please! Thank you.

have an ongoing battle with lloyds tsb via robinson way , lloyds have admitted that there is no cca for the credit card account but today robinson way letter arives saying our client has advised us due to the terms and conditions that you agreed to when you opened this account you remain fully liable for the amount outstanding , we now require your proposal for repayments . any help here please

Hello everyone, I received a letter yesterday asking me to attend an interview under caution, because my local authority suspects I have been committing benefit fraud. This is quite complicated, so please bear with me: I lived in Wales until April last year, at which time I had to move to England to take care of my daughter full time (her mother is an alcoholic and mentally unstable , and was incapable of looking after her any longer.) I wasn't working at the time (claiming JSA), so all benefits were transferred over to me (HB, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit). In September, my girlfriend (we'll call her "C") also moved to the same town as me, having got a job in the area. However, the job only paid around £250 pcm, so she decided to stay with her sister (we'll call her "K") because she couldn't contribute half of the £1000 (approx) monthly outgoings of my household. Here's where it gets complicated. Although C was living with K, she was using my address as a postal address due to previous mail theft at K's residence. I knew this was a bad idea, but C didn't have much choice. C has also been staying at my house quite regularly, but not contributing to the household income (provable with my bank statements). This arrangement continued, without incident, until February this year, when I got a part-time job working from home. Upon getting the job, I immediately signed off JSA, and my benefits were adjusted according to my new income. Around a month ago, I received a letter from HMRC, asking why I was claiming Tax Credits as a single person when they have information which suggests that C was living with me. I called them to explain the situation, and offered to send them bank statements, utility bills, tenancy agreement etc to show that everything was in my name, and that C was not contributing to the household income. The man I spoke to said this was fine - I just needed to show I wasn't in any way financially dependent on C. I was about to send all these documents off to HMRC when I received a letter from my council, asking me to attend an interview under caution because they suspected I had been committing benefit fraud. I immediately phoned them (presuming this letter was a result of the HMRC investigation), and explained the situation as calmly as I could, and told them that I was already dealing with it. They then informed me that it was the DWP who had approached them (as a result of an allegation made to the DWP from an unknown source), and that the fraud investigation was tied to JSA claim, as opposed to Tax Credits. As I said, I stopped claiming JSA in February, so I'm baffled as to why that's an issue now. The interview is next week, and while I've got all my documents ready, everything I've read about these interviews has said I should not attend alone. However, I don't qualify for legal aid and can't get hold of anyone at my local CAB. Should I just go alone anyway, and just try to stay calm? Should I be worried that there's no documentation that proves that C lives with K? They have an informal arrangement, although K is willing to state that C is staying with her at the moment. Is it likely that the interviewer will accept what I have to say, considering I have a year's worth of bank statements here which show I have been paying all bills, rent etc? There is one provable instance of C helping with money in that entire time - I borrowed £200 from her in January to cover my overspending at Xmas. I'm obviously pretty concerned about this, and have never had to deal with anything like it, so some feedback would be much appreciated.

Morning all My Housing Association wrongly told my council that my house has 4 bedrooms which meant my Housing Benefit was cut and I had to pay the bedroom tax. Yesterday the HA finally said it is a 3 bed house. As money is very very scarce at the moment how do I claim this money back? The HA said they wont give me a refund as my rent is already set for a 3 bed house. Many thanks for all help and advice. LT

Hi - I'd be really grateful for some advice. On Saturday I received a letter from the council to attend an IUC on 13th May regarding allegations of a fraudulent benefit claim. I'm a single mum in a rented house. I work full time, low wage, receive HB and CTR, and also WTC and CTC. I am married, but legally separated from Sept 2011 and began divorce proceedings in April 2012. I have a marital home (no equity) and a mortgage, my husband lived in that and pays the mortgage as I moved out when it became too difficult to live with him. I have a boyfriend who I met in July 2012. He stays over often, but lives with his Auntie. He is also separated and mid-divorce. He has a marital home and pays a mortgage and his wife and child live there. He moved out a couple of years ago, lives with his auntie, pays her food money etc, and also tops up her CT as she lost the 25% single occupancy discount when he moved in. All his mail etc goes to his home at his auntie's. We have no joint financial dealings at all, he just stays over and goes, my bills are my own, in my name and paid by me. He's great and we spend a lot of time together, but neither of us want to move in together, when financially and emotionally we are both in a big enough mess already with divorces, mortgages etc. My husband is being very difficult, won't sign divorce papers or disclose info about his pension etc. I am divorcing him for unreasonable behaviour. Last week his solicitor told mine that he wants to divorce me for adultery even though I didn't meet my boyfriend until after we split up. He has also accused me, in a solicitors letter, of living with my boyfriend. He is angry at my new relationship and causing trouble whenever he can. When I received this IUC letter my immediate thought was that my husband has tried to report me for fraud, saying that me boyfriend lives here or something. However, having googled and panicked all weekend, I now have another thought. WTC messed up my income and were underpaying me. When I applied for HB I submitted evidence, a copy of the WTC letter etc. WTC then rectified their mistake and my WTC went up to pay me back for the underpayment, some of which pre-dated my HB claim. I then got a letter from HB in Feb 2013 saying that there had been an overpayment of just over £1000 because of this. I appealed saying that firstly I gave them my WTC letter and everything correctly when I applied and WTCs constant mistakes are not my fault, and secondly that the Feb letter said that WTC had notified them of the change in Sept 2012, so I asked why they had taken 6 months to deal with it, letting an overpayment accrue in the meantime. All I have had since are a series of confusing award letters that are 20+ pages long from which I gather that they are recovering the HB part (£700) of the O/P from my benefit. The CT O/P of £300 was taken my DD from my bank at the time. Having googled all weekend trying to work out what's going on, thinking it must be an accusation by my husband, I have now established that HB might be considering the above O/P as fraudulent on the basis that I didn't provide info of my WTC increase?? It wasn't deliberate, they knew I got WTC, and WTC told them of the change. I'm self-employed so understanding how it's all worked out is a nightmare. The WTC and HB letters are dozens of pages long and computer generated so that there's no proper letter of explanation, you just have to interpret the amounts as best you can! I thought WTC were repaying me money from before my HB claim, it's so complicated. All I can think to do is ring the CAB... I have now been on hold for 56 mins! Any advice would be gratefully received, I'm worried sick. Thanks

Hi, I’m new here and would really appreciate some help. I’ve read through many posts dealing with similar scenarios to the one I’m experiencing right now, but to be honest, they’re giving me even more to worry about. Two weeks ago I received a letter from my LA asking me to attend an Interview Under Caution. I have been claiming housing and council tax benefits for the last 3 years and cancelled my claim recently. Within 3 days I received the IUC letter. I have sought advice from a solicitor specialising in this sort of thing and he will attend the rescheduled interview with me in a couple of weeks. However, I have a few questions I wanted to put out to this forum – all contributions welcome, thanks. My solicitor told me that the investigators have probably already seen my bank statements, and herein lies a problem. Over the past 3 years there are quite a few transactions on my accounts that are not mine. I have a business partner whom I have allowed to use my main account when they did not have their own bank account. Monies have entered and left the accounts, but not all are mine. How do I prove to the LA that they aren’t mine? I was the sole claimant. Have the LA the right to interview my business partner under caution too, even though they have not made a claim for any benefits whatsoever? They had no knowledge of my claim and now I’ve told them what’s happened they’re scared of messing up in case it makes my case look worse. I didn’t declare this other activity to HB as I knew it wasn’t mine and what’s it got to do with my claim anyway? Sorry, but I think I’ve been a bit naive here. Is naivete a defence? Will my business partner be investigated/open to scrutiny too? My home is also the business address, and although my business partner doesn’t live here, they have spent some nights a week stopping over when we’ve been working. We are not co-habiting, our relationship is strictly business and friendship. Neither do we have any financial links, other than the bank account transactions. I’m worried that the LA will try to put them in the property, which would affect my claim as a single occupant. HB knew I was self employed when I made the initial claim, so it’s not as if I’ve had a business without their knowledge, but they haven’t been made aware of changes in circumstances over time, especially over the last 12 months. I realise I’ve been stupid, but I need to present a defence that doesn’t implicate anyone else, but at the same time I do need my business partner to back me up. I wish I could handle this myself, but without my business partner my case looks a whole lot worse. Also, I do have a history of stress/anxiety/depression issues and was retired from my profession on the grounds of ill health several years ago. I’ve already made an appointment with my GP because my mental state has been shot to sh*t since that letter landed a couple of weeks ago. I’m having difficulty functioning at the moment, sick with worry and cannot sleep properly. My business partner is scared that our names are going to be splashed all over the local paper and we won’t be able to hold our heads up when the sh*t hits the fan. We’re both scared witless and would appreciate some input. Many thanks

Hi All I would like to ask for some advice but would like to first hold back information which could lead to me being readily identified. I've spent the past few hours searching and reading through this forum, but I can't see any threads from someone similar to me, which leads me to fear that I could be facing a substantial fine/jail time/lord knows what. I was caught using a relatives photo oyster card (a retired pass). At the time I had my details taken by the ticket inspector, but at no point did he mention that I was being interviewed under caution. He asked me 5 basic questions (Did I intend to avoid paying my fare today? etc), and I answered all of them honestly. Reading through the forum it seems as though I was interviewed under caution (although he did not mention the word caution), and I had to sign and date the form he completed. I have now received a letter asking me to contact the revenue control inspector so that I can have an interview under caution in relation to this matter. Is this because the initial inspector did not mention I was under caution? Or is this because they want to gather as much information as possible before taking me to criminal court? Most other people are given the option of sending a letter apologising, but I have to be interviewed. Note - I haven't phoned the inspector yet to arrange my availability for an interview.

Hi All Just wondering if anyone can help? I run a small business that employs 6 people. We sub-contract to national carrier delivering office Supplies (clues in the name), they have just appointed a depot manager who is hell bent at reducing costs no matter what it takes. He recently asked me to take a cut in rates as they were not making any money. This is despite the fact that we are doing the work for approx £100 per week per route less than they can do it themselves. as you can imagine we are down to the wick on the rates we are paid already so I informed them that we couldn't do it. This was approximately 2 weeks ago and today he has rang me at home (im off as i was in hospital for surgery on Monday) and informed me that he would not require our services as from the 3rd March.The problem i have is that we have a service contract which states that they have to give us 90 days notice in writing, which he clearly hasn't done. He can only terminate with immediate effect if we commit a severe breach of the contract (which we have not) and again this must be in writing. Again if there is a drop in service they must inform us in writing and give us 10 days to improve. We have serviced this contract for 2 years and feel that they must honor the terms of the contract. Im also worried about my staff! Surely they must offer them positions under Tupe law as we have not become insolvent or breached the contract. If anyone could give any pointers Im worried, not just for myself,that my staff who all have families to support are going to be thrown into the gutter through no fault of their own.

Ive been suspended today (for nothing criminal) but i know how to deal with that. My question that i need help with is that i'm on leave for a week, which they'll honour. Then the following week i'm leaving the company under TUPE-what happens to the process then as ill no longer be their employee? Any guidance gratefully received

Cousin started a new job a few months ago, they were very aware of health problems which definitely amount to a disability under DDA. She's unfortunately had a relapse and is currently signed off sick and likely to be off for quite a while, and terrified that they'll sack her. Does she have any protection under DDA?

http://news.sky.com/story/1010626/workers-to-be-able-to-ask-for-flexible-hours

After spending ages finding my Birth Certificate i joined a few agencies in town, one of them gave me some work just 3 days later. I enjoy what i do, it's under 16 hours a week and gets me out of my flat for a while. I get between £50 and £55 a week doing this and have been signing on as usual and filling out the forms detailing what hours i've done, so they've no scaled my benefits down from £130ish a fortnight to just under £40 a fortnight, so basically they've taken the amount that i earn from my wages from my benefit...is that how it works? My council tax and housing benefit have been suspended for a while because of it, it's being delt with now, but is their any other financial help i can get as i feel as if i'm now working for nothing.

i have been served today with the a statutory demand, by 1st credit, trading as connaught collections, and given me 18 days to reply to the notice sent recorded delivery, and demand for payment of £3800 , this is a credit card debt, which was placed in legal dispute with bank of scotland 2 years ago, after i had the account audited by a claims management company, it would seem the bank of scotland have sold the debt on yet again, But this is first time i have been issued with this, my problem is i can no longer get any contact from the claims management company and i am in a real panic over this, and i really not sure what to do next, i would be very grateful for some advice, as some say the statutory demand is another form of a threat, but i am taking this serious, as they advise me i have to apply to the courts,

Hi Guys any help greatfully received! I have just received a letter from HMRC saying for the 2nd year on the trott ive underpaid my tax, 2011-2012 by £779.80. For the 2010-2011 year i underpaid by over £1000. I have one job at 24hrs a week and one job at just 10hrs a week, im deducted tax in both jobs, i have been employed in both jobs for 4 and 5 years. My hours never change at either job. I get a tax code each year so assume my work places gets notified of the code and deducts the correct tax? I spoke to the wages department in both jobs after the first year this happened and they tell me they are deducting the correct tax from me. I have spoken to HMRC and they cant seem to find out where the problem lies and i now have to pay back the tax not paid. Anyone got any ideas please.

I've recently been redeployed under the DDA in the Fire Service with my same uniformed T&C's as before. I have been redeployed to a post that pays a higher salary, but have been told that I will not be entitled. In the Fire Service you have uniformed posts and non-uniformed posts, both having different T&C's. I have transferred into a department that have uniformed AND non-uniformed posts and because HR state that they are now regrading the posts to become non-uniform jobs for future vacancies, I cannot be transferred to the higher salary that existing members of the team are entitled to as they were in the team before the re-grading. Is this a discriminatory or a like it or lump it situation? Thanks in advance.

Hi All I just joined this site after not being able to find an answer for my problem anywhere on the net. Basically, I am only currently 18 and have a default on my credit score from early 2011. I registered with Very when I was 16 in order to buy a dress. I can't quite remember how I signed up but do remember paying for the dress there and then and receiving it soon after. I also received a letter a few days later telling me I had a credit account for £150.00. Looking back, I now know that it is illegal to have a credit account under 18? Which makes me think it must of required a minimum age which I probably entered in order to receive the dress. Anyway, being younger and stupid, my mum asked if she could buy a few things using the account which I agreed to, not really thinking into it or about the future. She informed me that she'd pay it all back and as I didn't want the account (didn't buy from Very regularly) I just left it to her. Things happened at home and I stopped talking to my mum and was advised to move out by the police (can provide proof of this) and I moved on without even thinking about the account. Then around 3 months later I received an email from Lowell informing me that there was a debt of £270 which had been sold to them. I sent them an email in December 2011 which I received no response to. They sent me another email in April 2012 and being 18 now and understanding it more, I called them and explained my situation. The woman stumbled over her words when I told her my date of birth was only 1994 and she informed me that the debt would be investigated for the account being used illegally. She told me they'd sent many letters to my Mum's address which I obviously never saw, so I gave her my new address so they could keep me updated. I then never heard from then again, and still haven't. I've now come to apply for credit and been refused so I signed up to Experian and saw that I have a default on my score from 2011, from Lowell. I work in HR and have monthly income, and have done for the past 2.5 years. I pay my car insurance and phone bill every month without fail and so it's frustrating that I haven't even had a chance to obtain credit. (I'm aware that low age etc. is bad for credit too, but obviously having a default at 18 is bad!) Is there anything I can do to get this removed from my name? I don't really have a clue about this stuff so any help you could give me would be great! Thanks Laura

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19690632