DWP Investigation - urgent help needed

[mesione]

my husband claimed housing benefit and income support, i have only moved in in the last 9 months as it was not practical for us to live together before hand, he has had an IUC and now they have been calling my employer asking questions and for photos and asked for me to go to an IUC also, Do i have to go / can i be prosecuted even though i havent claimed anything? we did not declare we were married but since his IUC we have started paying the rent etc and although i know we shold have done this before terrified now!

[ErikaPNP]

There is no obligation for anyone to attend an IUC, and if you do go, you can leave at any time. Whether you go or not will not stop the investigation, they will continue with the information that they have and any other information that they can obtain.

 

There are circumstances in which a person who is not party to the claim (not named as the claimant) can be prosecuted where the claim is fraudulent. You can be prosecuted if the prosecuting authority believes that it can prove that you were aware of the claim, could reasonably have been expected to know that the change of circumstances affected entitlement to the claim and that you either encouraged/assisted in the fraud or allowed it continue by simply not notifying the authorities. This is provided for under section 111A of the Social Security Administration Act, as amended by the Social Security Fraud Act.

 

In practice, they rarely go after people other than the claimant as the above three things are difficult to prove but it is more common in partnerships for them to go after the partner as well as the claimant as it is easier to prove in a partnership. The IUC in my opinion in the circumstances you describe will be to determine how much you knew. From your post it appears that you - or at least he, knew that continuing the claim was potentially commiting fraudulent, so in view of that, I would advise you that if you are attending, you take a solicitor with you. You are allowed to ask that the interview be deferred to allow you to seek legal advice, or as I mentioned before, you can choose not to attend, you can also attend and give a 'no comment' interview (inferences may be drawn) or you can leave during the interview.

[mesione]

Thank you for your reply. So potentially I could be prosecuted as well as husband I understand this, I have now taken over the bills rent etc on the property but am very concerned with the calls and information they are asking worried aobut my job now also.

As soon as this all came out a solictor advised us to say I was there from that date..

I am thinking that by not attending they cannot prove how much i know just go on the information they already have?

[ErikaPNP]

Not necessarily. They can obtain bank statements in amongst a host of other things without you knowing about it. They can access the registrar to obtain the date of your marriage, and can place you under covert surveillance. If you have a joint account for example and the benefit goes in there, this will raise doubt over whether you knew there was a claim and it is widely accepted that married couples know what the other part of that couple is up to (though I'd argue that this is most definately not always the case!). That alone is enough to go to a court and let the court decide whether you knew that not declaring the change would affect entitlement. A lot of people think that by not attending the interview, they can't prove anything and they will just go quietly away. That's not the case at all. If this scares you I do apologise however you need to realise at this stage, it's not something that is going to disappear. You need to be aware of what information they can access and get ready for damage limititation if they do prosecute your husband or yourself.

 

My advice to you would be not to attend if you feel you may incriminate yourself or to take a solicitor. Normally I would advise someone that it's ok to go to an IUC alone but not where there is a high probability that fraud has been committed. I say 'probability' rather than 'certainty' because I do not know enough about your circumstances to state for certain that fraud has been committed - it may not have been in the legal sense.

 

I would always and CAG will always advise you to tell the truth. The reason being that other than the fact that CAG do not advocate fraud and will not help you to evade detection, further dishonesty will only worsen things. Honesty at the earliest possible stage leads to courts being far more leniant that they are when people continue to try and get out of it.

 

However, it may not be the case that either one of you would be prosecuted. It will all depend on what information they have obtained already and whether that information is enough to prove a case.

 

Your employer has to provide the information that they have asked for. If he does not then he himself is commiting an offence. He is legally obliged to provide the information to them.

[mesione]

Thank you. Have jsut been told that I have to have a meeting with my bosses to discuss the DWP calling my work and asking for information., the situation gets worse and worse.

[mesione]

Will DWP come to my work or now they have had forms back from my employer will that be it?

[ErikaPNP]

It's impossible to say with any certainty but it is highly unlikely. They very rarely visit employers in person.