Hi. I have just registered, although I have been on this forum many times over the years as a guest. I am in a bad place, i feel embarrassed. After my marriage broke down this year my ridiculous reaction to the stress and sorrow was to start gambling online and I am now in a position where I owe £30k. I have taken, all in the space of 5 months, 4 x £7.5k loans and have lost it all on a crazy impulsive online gambling spree. I am absolutely disgusted at myself about this behaviour so please do not act on your urge to tell me how wrong this was. I know more than you can imagine. I have never, i repeat EVER gambled in the past and I am a 52 year old man. I am not and have never been a gambler which is why this is even more difficult to make sense of. I had zero debt just 12 months ago. My question in this instance is this: Given the way this debt was taken out, ie in a very short period, spent on gambling (with the ridiculous hope of making losses back each time) and the fact that I exaggerated my income by about 25% in my loan applications, can this lead to a Fraud or criminal prosecution? I didnt lie about anything else, and I stated my other loans at each new application. Can the banks or the official receiver (i will be going BR ) find this behaviour so wrong that I could be charged? I understand that I will most definitely be having a BRU. The use of the funds is clearly documented in bank statements. ie I didnt take loans out and cash them out or purchase things, or give to friends or go on holiday. It was all used on gambling over a very short period. Please only reply if you are aware of English Law regarding fraud (if this is in fact fraud) and under which section of the Fraud Act? I really need some solid knowledgeable advice as I am extremely stressed. I have been reading about S1, S2 of the Fraud Act and searching online but can not really find something clear to suggest whether this is something that, a) can be prosecuted, and b) is in fact prosecuted. Some posts in other forums state that they have never heard of anybody being prosecuted for lying or exxageratin on a consumer loan application but I find that hard to believe? Why would the CPS have a Fraud Act and why would they not pursue it if a bank requested them to? If anybody has been prosecuted please share your experience or some points, or PM me if you are not comfortable to post online. If this is in the wrong forum please move to the appropriate one. Thank you

Hi, I seem to be yet another 'victim' of having taken out Tescos car insurance in good faith in September 2015, only to be stopped by the police in December 2015 & told that I don't actually have insurance!!! After my car being impounded, a raging rant at Tescos, letters to Tescos, etc, I was finally sent a CD with the recorded conversation with Tescos and a letter from them, disclaiming all responsibility. I now have a court date in May 2016 relating to driving without insurance and the risk of a fine and points. I'm aware from reading on the site that many people seem to have had similar experiences with Tescos. Please can anyone who has actually managed to get resolution to this situation tell me how to do it. Ideally, I would like to find a solicitor who has managed to win a case such as this against Tescos. I am not a happy bunny ... but I'm sure help is out there somewhere.

Hi, Yesterday I visited my parents and picked up some mail that was there for me. 1 letter was from DVLA it said ''Failure to give identity as to driver - Bedfordshire Court Date 23/12/2015 The court have informed us on the above date you were convicted of the above offence. We have updated your drivers record....... I checked my drivers record and I have been given 6 points and a £700 fine and it states it was an offence last April. Doesnt state the issuing court or any other info. I've absolutely no idea what this is for. I've had no letter/s what so ever about speeding, giving drivers info, going to court or anything. This is the very first letter I have received. I don't live in bedfordshire but I do work in Bedfordshire What do I do? Who do I call? Thank You And i've just looked on my FB (lol) and it seems I wasnt even working on that date last year, I was with OH and son at home and the park in Northamptonshire

hi all - general question on behalf of a colleague - if a settlement out of court is achieved directly with TOC are there any trace records that police / imigration this could surface up on please? i read somewhere that even if you settle, whilst no criminal record surfaces, there are other more detailed checks (Enhanced CBA) that may still pick this up? personally i am not at all convinced as the only record would be on the TOC DBase and the matter being settle financially suggests any record would be more akin to a Penatly Fine than anything more serious. views? thank you in advance

Since when was Obstructing a Bailiff a criminal offence? Or is it a different matter because its dealing with eviction? http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/aug/23/dale-farm-prosecutions-abandoned-council After the Dale Farm evictions, 2 protesters were successfully prosecuted by Basildon Council for "obstructing a bailliff"

Three years ago changes were made to legislation whereby unless a vehicle is subject to a SORN declaration, they must be insured (even if the car is parked in your garage and never driven). Following the change in law, if a vehicle is not insured and is not registered with a SORN then the vehicle owner faces a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice and the potential for their car to be clamped, seized or destroyed, as well as being subject to a court prosecution and a court fine of up to £1,000 This subject is very serious indeed given that every month DVLA send 60,000 letters to vehicle owners and in the past three years (since the change in law) 670,000 vehicle owners have been prosecuted. In fact, according to the following article......6,000 motorists are prosecuted each month and receive a £100 Fixed Penalty. Apart from enquiries regarding fines for using a TV without a licence, these Fixed Penalties are ones that we receive most enquiries about every day. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2851587/Clampdown-uninsured-vehicles-sees-60k-letters-sent-month.html

This morning I received an enquiry from the Metropolitan Police about the legal case of R v Ali (Bromley Magistrates Court) 2011. It would seem that a gentlemen had attended a police station in London last Friday and personally delivered a car clamp that he had removed from his vehicle following a bailiff visit earlier that morning. He also hand delivered a notice to the police to outline the reason why he had removed the clamp. The notice left was one that I had featured a copy of on another thread a while ago (details later). Given that the new regulations that were imposed on 6th April specifically state that removal of a wheel clamp without lawful authority is a criminal offence the debtor was arrested and bailed. During questioning the debtor provided another notice to the police (which I will post up later). The document (which appeared to have been obtained from the internet) is extremely worrying as it states the following: DO NOT SHOW THIS DOCUMENT TO A PROSECUTOR, IT CAN BE SHOWN TO YOUR DEFENCE SOLICITOR TO ASSIST IN PRESENTING YOUR DEFENCE TO A COURT. You have been charged with criminal damage under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 for cutting off a padlock to release a wheel clamp which had been fixed to your own vehicle by a bailiff for an unpaid debt e.g. A Penalty Charge Notice. YOU ARE NOT GUILTY OF AN OFFENCE Section 1 of the CDA1971 says a person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another. In your case, you are excused. You had lawful authority to cut off the padlock[/u][/color] to remove the wheel clamp from your vehicle. This was the finding in the case of R. v Ali Bromley Magistrates Court [2011] on April 18 2011. The accused vehicle had been wheel clamped and was charged with Criminal Damage after he cut it off. The court decided a person removing an illegal clamp is not guilty of criminal damage because this method of distraining goods is not compliant with traffic debt enforcement regulations and procedures. This means you are a victim of unlawful enforcement action. PS: The Met Police officer said that the only reference that they could find to the case of R v Ali was that of a Court of Appeal case from 1995 regarding an appellant who had become involved in drug dealing and owed a large sum of money to his supplier. The supplier threatened that he would be killed unless he robbed a bank. Clearly this case was not the one referred to in the notice.

Hi I am new to this site, I have got myself into a similar situation and now I now have to go to court on 16th April, basically the overpayment according to the dwp is £6998.00, I immediately made a payment plan and I didn't hear from them since last week when I received the summons. I have 3 children the oldest is soon to be 4 and I am 30 weeks pregnant, my pregnancies get really complicated from about 32 weeks and I would either have to be induced due to the baby's growth tailing off. Anyway I am so scared of going to jail. I have paid back £1000.00 off the total amount. I contacted a solicitor who was really good at reassuring me that I will not go to prison for that amount and especially that I was proactive in making a repayment plan. He says that its harsh that they are saying that I was dishonest from the beginning and that he will try to get the amount reduced. He advised me that entering an early guilty plea would be for the best and that he hopes that I will get a conditional discharge because of my good character. My advice for anyone in this situation is to get legal advice because I went to the interview under caution without any legal advice and they do tend to trip people up, the people who interviewed me were very good at making me like and trust them and that was my mistake. Even after that when I called them back for an update as I had not heard anything for 11 weeks they were very pleasant and told me not to worry. so when I got the overpayment letter and started pay it off at £50.00 per week I stupidly thought that was the end of it. WRONG! I have some research online and I hope what I read is not true and that dwp fraud investigators work to targets and they have performance related pay and that most people who are prosecuted are 'normally' law abiding citizens who end up with criminal records. Making 10 times harder to get jobs and may also have to spend their days on benefits when they could be working. I am not condoning benefit fraud, far from it but I am just saying that maybe if we were allowed to make amends through repayments etc. we could sort ourselves out and get back on track. I for one am never going anywhere near the benefits system ever again. I really don't know what the outcome of my case will be and I am not ruling out prison because it could happen. But I am hoping that the judge will see that I am a normal mother of four who has done wrong and I am very sorry for it and that he or she will have mercy on me and give me a chance to make more amends. I don't know if I am going to get legal aid, my gut says no but we will see. I will up date the site on the outcome of the case in 2 weeks time.

Full report... http://www.ico.org.uk/news/latest_news/2013/pay-day-loans-company-and-its-director-prosecuted-for-failing-to-register-08102013

hi! no nasty comments please. I was claiming housing benefit and council tax benefit and changed my job, no change in the amount of hours worked but i thought I'd informed the council. Recently i had been offered overtime I work in retail so its always a case of if we are busy on the day. I did set out to inform the council of my overtime but never did and they are prosecuting me for just over £3000 will i have to inform my employer and would a conviction be a sackable offence. Thanks in advance for any help x

Have just seen this on the BBC Local news.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-22686167 Motorists are being advised to contact a solicitor immediately if they believe they have been wrongly convicted.

Hi, guys I got caught with a child travel ticket. I haven't received any letter and all of a sudden get a letter saying i had a court date in 5 days, its now down to 4 days away if i get a conviction i am screwed! I am going to start training for a paramedic job and this small thing will stop me from doing what i want to do! I have tryed conacting them but there numbers dont work. Can someone advise me? can i settle out of court only a few days from the date of the court?? will it affect my application for a paramedic.

I received, at the end of last week, a letter from my local council requesting that I attend an 'Interview under Caution' tomorrow (tuesday). After phoning the CAB for advice I managed to contact a solicitor who has agreed to represent me. He has also changed the date of the interview so I have more time to prepare and see him first. I am absolutely terrified! I have spent all weekend on the internet and looking at the various forums and I realise now that the chances are very high that I am not entitled to any of the money I have received. Its around 3500 over a 12 month period. I can't quite believe how naive I have been and why on earth I didn't check my facts before I started to claim - I'm so ashamed of myself. Can anyone please advise me what will happen - will I definitely be prosecuted and have a criminal record? Will it be published in the local papers? Will I have to go to court? Do you think I should just hold my hands up and say I'm very sorry I mis-understood the regulations and offer straight away to pay all the money back. I could ask my parents to loan me and then pay them back over time (if they could ever bring themselves to speak to me again). Or is it worth trying to explain and trying to convince the officials that circumstances and stress and a whole other load of horrible stuff going on in my life contributed to me making a mistake. Any advice would be very much appreciated. I'm going to see my solicitor at the end of this week. Thank you

Please help, as you don't have much time: My court date is scheduled for 31/5/12 This incident happened in March 2012, I received a letter a few weeks ago go for TFL, telling they are going proceed with the case and prosecute. I never expected it to get this far, and i've now in a state of panic, and concerned about having a criminal record. The charge is, 72B1 Failing to Pay Fare. • I boarded a bus no 390, on Oxford Street(Nr Tottenham Court Road) in the evening. • I showed the driver my ticket with Photo ID, he acknowledged and allowed me to board the bus. • 3 Inspectors boarded the bus, just before Euston Station, and checked tickets of passengers. •My ticket was checked by one of the three inspectors, and at first he approved the ticket as being valid, but then conferred with his colleagues, and was told the ticket is not valid to be used on buses. Whilst on the bus, the inspector asked the driver, did you check the ticket, he replied, 'I didn't see the ticket'. We got off at Euston Station, it was at that point where my all details were taken, and was told you will receive a letter from TFL regarding this matter, and i must warn that you may be prosecuted. I did indeed receive a letter, returned it TFL within the 10 days, including the full account of what happened on the day. It seems my letter made very little or no difference, and I'm now about to be prosecuted. The ticket i purchased is for overground rail, (£85 per week) and i sometimes purchase an overground rail ticket which also includes tube and bus. On this occasion it was an oversight on my part, and when i realised the error I'd made, it was too late, and i just froze and didn't know what to do or say. Can somebody please advise, and what my option are, if any? Thank you

Hi all, 1st post here and I will try to keep it short. In January this year I travelled on a train from Earlsfield to Waterloo on a South-West Trains route with friends. Through my own stupidity I failed to buy a ticket before travelling and when getting to Waterloo, panicked and passed through the barrier behind a friend. I was with a group of friends (all who had paid). I stopped them and began explaining that I had made an error and ought to go get a ticket. Then I was approached by the 'Station revenue assistant' who asked me to go with him. I complied and then apologised, explained my situation, offered to pay and gave all details requested. Eventually I receive through the post a letter of intent to prosecute from SWT. I replied to this letter but not within the 14-days of the date of the letter. (I should point out that I'm not from London and don't often use the railways) Today I have just recieved summons to Richmond Magistrates Court! Two charges. 1) Did travel, or attempt to travel upon the railway, without having previously paid the fare, and with intent to avoid payment thereof: 2) In that you did, without permission from an authorised person, enter or leave railway premises without passing through the manned or automated barrier in the correct manner: Now, I hold my hand up, I was an idiot. My friends and I had travelled earlier that day between Earlsfield and Dartford (Rtn), we had all bought tickets for that journey but I guess that they all bought the Earl>Waterloo tickets then as well, I obviously did not. Also, I shouldn't have tailgated my friend through at Waterloo, but I panicked and made the wrong choice. But, I had no intent to avoid payment and this is what gets me. Anyway, I don't think there is anything I can do to avoid being convicted of a criminal offence is there? I can't afford a huge fine and I don't want to go to court but I think the only thing I can do is plead Guilty and allow the magistrtes to deal with it in my absence and then have a criminal conviction?! My only thought was that I had no intent to avoid payment thereof, I really didn't.... but I suspect that having tailgated through the barrier (despite not then trying to leave the area) will be seen as the intent? Does anyone have any thoughts? Like I said I think there's nothing to do now but plead Guilty, it just seems so disproportionate for a £3.70 fare that I offered to pay there and then. Thanks in advance for any help.