accused of working and child benefit fraud

[sham13]

hi anyone come across this one from one of the governments fantastic services the H.M.R.C working and child tax credits to keep it short me and wife + family over the past two years have had a very bad marriage causing all sorts of problems had a split last year for around 11 months she stayed with the kids at our home me sleeping around at sisters daughters and me caravan and so on, then 11 months on got back together was back home for about 1 month talking things threw about our marriage then had a letter from the good people who are there to help famils HMRC saying my wife put a claim in as a signall person but they had information from one of there third parties, that i was living there all the time (no i was not ) sent letters out to say we have to pay 9.000 back we can appeall to a tribunal ect but we had a good read about the scary letter and basically we both have good jobs with a steady income so if we appeal could end up going court then may risk loosing our jobs if found guilty, so either way we can,t win i never want to have any help from the government system again it stinks?? and do third parties have the right to give information out, p.s there saying its because the third party has given them information that i have not separated any accounts or put the house up for sale and not separated under a court order ho sorry for not trying to keep my marriage and keeping my children from been upset at such a vital time in there education, there i.v got it of my chest and it stinks??? .

[sir_gilmour]

sham13 welcome to The Consumer Action Group community.

 

You haven't received any replies to your problem yet so you might be better off posting your story again directly in the sub-forum which deals with your kind of situation. You will get lots of support there.

 

Also, spend some time looking round the forum. Once you understand the layout, you will be able to get best use from this Consumer Community. It is a big forumm and may take some time. But it will be worth doing.

Good luck.

[scotgal68]

The 3rd party they are referring to is a credit reference agency they use Experian.

Did your wife not receive any notification that they were looking at her claim before they issued the overpayment, to give her time to explain?

Also if you appeal it doesnt mean you will go to court, lose your jobs.

You said Child Benefit fraud? How did that occur?

[sham13]

thanks for the reply, we had a letter saying we have been selected for our award review working closely with a credit agency who are sending information to hmrc because the wife made a claim as sinlel person( as talked about before on the thread) she had to phone them told them what happened i remember her saying they are rude she told them about separation me living in caravan and sisters etc but just told her she will have to pay it back no more question then had letter from them i have concluded that we were a married couple and not separated under court order or separated that were likely to be permanent for tax purposes we will send a letter of what we need to pay back etc etc my wife was shocked also me on how we could be so helpless the wife decided to phone the number that we had to make the payments back to, he was more understanding but could not help with our situation we now pay £30 per week cant really aford it but did say if we have problems to call back lets face it its not there money and can take as much time as they want within all there departments taking people court etc the honest get punished the not honest get away sorry for sounding bitter thanks for your time.

Edited April 10, 2013 by sham13

[scotgal68]

You can still appeal against the decision, did they ask your wife for evidence to support her claim?

Eg . Proof you were living elsewhere, proof she was responsible for managing the single household.

 

You can also ask them to reduce your payments if it's causing you hardship.

[sham13]

hi sorry not been back sooner anyone) the wife told them over the phone that i was living in my caravan and sister and daughters on and off so i could give one and other space but they were not to botherd just saying i made no attempt to get anywhere, but money was tight not wanting to have the kids depart there home at such a vital time in there education things may of been different if there was no kids involved and you would assume they would understand she was looking after everything within the home, and yes thats a good point that i may look into about the hardship to reduce payments.untill the kids get older thanks

[sham13]

thanks for the advice will have a look around the forum have just been searching for the sub forum but can,t find it yet ill get there one day thanks.

[Conniff]

Have moved your thread to the Benefits and HMRC section.

[estellyn]

Appealing gives no risk of being prosecuted. When you appeal you go to a civil Tribunal and they decide on a balance of probabilities whether or not you were living together. Evidence of both your circumstances would need to be provided. It is best to get professional help for this type of appeal from CAB or Welfare Rights.

 

Criminal prosecution is separate from any civil proceedings and is not triggered by it. HMRC rarely pursue a criminal case unless it is a persistent or prolific fraudster.

[sham13]

thanks thats great i,m not the best person to let loose on a computer saved me loads of time once again thanks ,

[sham13]

thanks for the advice it is just scary for the wife and me as we have never been in any kind of trouble before, i think its all the appealing-prosecuting-tribunal words that are scary and are just thinking about suffering and paying the £30 a week as agreed cant really afford but will just have to cope or may ask for it to be reduced but i do see what you mean thanks for the advice

[jadeybags]

At the moment you think paying it is the lesser of 2 evils, but believe me, once the dust has settled & you're tied in to paying back something you shouldn't for years, gets you a bit bitter tbh.

[sham13]

ye i see what you mean it does cheese me of a lot because the way most government offices spare no expensive in some situations because its not there money been thrown away like i said was just doing the right thing at the time for the kids untill they were older thanks for your help who knows i my just flip