'Interview under caution' this Thursday - please help!

[caterpillar123]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on where I stand with regards to this big old mess I seem to be in...... pretty much my boyfriend (who I live with) got a letter last week saying he has to go for an interview under caution this Thursday because the DWP suspect he may be committing a criminal offence regarding his and my employment with regards to his Income Support and Incapacity Benefit..

 

Now this is gonna take some explaining (and some of it even I don't understand). Two/Three years ago me and my boyfriend set up a limited company which has always made a loss. The loss is getting smaller each year as the business establishes itself, but a loss is still a loss at the end of the day. I invested several thousand into the buisiness during the first year or so, mainly from credit cards or savings I once had! In December 2006 my boyfriend was signed off sick by the doctor because of a problem with one of his nerves which means he has problems standing/sitting/walking for long periods of time. He went for one of those stupid assessment things at the job center last year and they agreed he was unable to work. He is still off sick now awaiting an operation on the NHS for which we have endless hospital referrals and treatments as evidence of this. There is no doubt that he is not faking it, unless he's conned every doctor he's seen and doctored all his test results!! He applied for help (I think it was Income support and Incapacity) in December 2006, but becasue the DWP kept losing forms or not understanding how to deal with someone who owns their own business it took until July 2007 before he actually got any money. He is adamanent he is on Income Support and they turned him down for Incapacity, so I don't understand why they are asking to see him about Incapaity benefit if he doesn't get it? He states that he spoke with someone at the DWP who filled all the forms in for him and then sent them out for him to sign, which he did. On these he told them he was not earning anything from our company and neither was I. This is based on the fact that our accountant said neither of us were earning and any money drawn from the business is classed as "repayment of director's personal loan" which he explained was taking the money back from the business that I had invested before my boyfriend got ill in order to pay off loans and credit cards which had been used on the business - pretty much it was no different to the company paying off a debt, except the money had to go through my account as the credit cards used were in my name not the business. I have credit card statements showing how much I have spent on the business during this period and the three monthly business VAT statements which clearly show how much money I have invested into the business and how much I have taken back and they clearly show that I have invested thousands more in the business than I have taken back. In the time since my boyfriend started claiming IS I have taken back £8k in repayments, but invested over £10k from credit cards - all of which is documented. My accountant is adament I am allowed to do this as if I hadn't invested in the business then I wouldn't have these credit card debts - buuuuut I am unsure as to whether the DWP will class this as earnings or an income? Anyone got an ideas? (oh, just a note my boyfriend hasn't received any repayments whilst he is on IS - the only money to go into his account apart from his IS money is about £2k of which £1.7k was a cash payment for the business made by a client who couldn't pay into our business account because abbey national will not allow cash payments into a business account over the counter - again this can be proven by anyone who has an abbey national business account and the money will be on or next company accounts as petty cash - so it wasn't his money! The other £300 was from gifts from family for birthdays/xmas etc)

 

There's more.... my dad died in Nov 2007 leaving some saving, shares and his house to me and my brother. My brother holds sole probate and the house is yet to be transefferd from my father's name (he owned it outright so no mortgage), so I can't see it being that I havn't inherited property because legally it is still the property of probate until the deeds are transferred I think? From Jan to July 2008 I gained approx £15k into my personal account from the sale of these shares etc. I don't know if we were supposed to declare this, however I looked it up on the DWP website and it clearly states on there that my partner has declare if he inherits money - but it doesn't say I have to. Anyhow, this money stayed in my account for no longer than a few weeks at most and then was invested into the business to keep it afloat and spent on the refurbishment of his house which was in a dilapidated state as that was agreed with my brother who holds probate. I now know you are not allowed savings (but I am usure of how much??) after reading these boards in total panic, but I really don't know if this counts as savings - all of the money is gone now and I am back to being £1400 overdrawn. It was honestly only in my account for a matter of weeks and I can show where it came from, where it went. If I was supposed to declare this then it 100% honestly unknown to me until this letter arrived and is 100% honestly not a wage. If this is the problem and my boyfriend tells them at the meeting we just didn't know and the money came and went so fast, will he still get prosecuted?

 

We have had some help from my mam financially, only amounting to about £2k over the course of a year and I have sold some possessions lately to try and make money to pay my ever mounting credit card bills. All in all about another £5k has come into my account and then gone again in an attempt to stop going bankrupt. We havn't applied fro housing benefit or council tax benefit or anything like that. Including out credit cards (which come to £35k) we have over £2.5k going out of out personal accounts every month - my boyfriend gets about £500 a month in Income Support - so that's £2k we have to find every month from hand outs, or sellling our possessions or credit cards. That's why the business pays the repayments (not every month - depends if the business has any money!!!). I pay the council tax on a credit card most months and have even withdrawn cash from one credit card to pay the minimum balance on another. We are not working and claiming! Recently my boyfriend got a call from the DWP asking how we managed to survive with neither of us earning and he was totally honest with them - he told them we lived off credit cards. He even told them that we both did bits and pieces of work on the business just to ensure it doesnt go bankrupt (emails/answering calls etc - but never more than a few hours a week and all of it unpaid.) Any money that comes into the business is not classed as our income unless we draw on it? is that right? again that's what our accountant tells us!?!

 

I cold probably go on and on with more details but I'm getting myself consfused now....any help?

[caterpillar123]

sorry, me again...just thought, as this is my partner's claim, can the DWP actually get my bank statements? I know they can get his....but dunno if they can get mine??? (They have the business profit and loss for last year cos I sent it to them when they asked for it so it's not as if we are trying to hide anything and that clearly states that we earnt bugger all from the business and was done by a professional registered accountant)

[snowi]

they will get his and prob yours im going to court for 25 grand ,they will also have all house bills to show u tell him get a lawyer or say nothing its all taped good luck xxx