Steve's story - 'They've even mentioned court!'
Steve had only been going out with Chloe for about six months when her landlord gave her notice to leave her flat. Things had been going well between them but it was still early days. They decided that she would move in with Steve temporarily to see if it worked out. It never occurred to him that it would make any difference to his benefit. A couple of months later they decided to make it permanent. They told the landlord that Chloe wanted to be an official tenant too. The landlord said it was fine but that he’d need to tell the Housing Benefit office about it.
A few weeks later Steve received a letter from the council telling him that he'd been paid too much - he shouldn’t have got any benefit once Chloe moved in because she earns a good wage. Steve rang and arranged to pay some back each week. 'I thought it was all sorted,' says Steve, 'But next thing I know, I get another letter from them, this time saying they need to interview me 'under caution’ because of a problem with my benefits!'
Steve rang them up straight away to explain that the overpayment was being dealt with but he was told he needed to speak to the ‘fraud section’ about why he didn’t tell them about Chloe moving in. The fraud section thinks he may have done it deliberately, to get more benefit and want to record the interview in case they have to take him to court.
'I was a bit shook up when I got off the phone,' Steve explains, 'Ok, I know now that I should’ve told the council about Chloe moving in, but at the time I really thought that it wouldn’t make much difference - she wasn’t even on the tenancy and I only got a few quid Housing Benefit anyway. Now it's all so serious! ‘Under caution’ sounds criminal, and they’ve even mentioned court! Chloe’ll go ballistic, and what if my mum finds out?'
If you are unsure about any of the terms in this guide see our jargon buster (in the menu on the right hand side).
If like Steve, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or your local council suspect you may have misled them about something to do with your benefits you might be asked to go to an 'interview under caution'. This could lead to them suspending your benefits and taking you to court.
Use the menu on the right hand side to find out what might happen and how to navigate your way through the process.
