Interview Under Caution

[bluesmile]

Hello All!

Today I have received a letter from my local council regarding claiming for housing benefit and how they want me to attend a 'interview under caution' as they have reason to believe I have failed to inform them of certain changes, that would obviously affect the housing benefit.

Now as the current claim is in joint names and some of the information they are concerned about regards my partner, does anybody know why they would want to interview only me?

Could it be because I have over two years ago (before my partner and I were together) claimed housing benefit for then, even though I stopped claiming after my partner moved in as obviously our incomes were above the minimum amount to claim for housing benefit?

Can they decide to investigate a claim that was made a couple of years ago even though this claim is obviously not a current one anymore?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks Amy

[ummmm]

If you haven't done anything wrong then I wouldn't worry too much. You'll just have answer what questions they have.

If you have done something wrong they are likely to have some evidence.

[sara3]

yes, if info has only recently come to their attention they can call you in for an IUC.

I'm not quite sure what you think you're being investigated for. you could ring them and ask before your interview date.

they wouldn't attempt to interview you and your partner together, but they may send your partner an interview letter for another time.

[bluesmile]

Thanks for your help.

I was going to ring them this morning after I had gotten over the shock but then I did some investigating on the internet. And apparently this is even more serious than even I originally thought, and the general sense was to say little and seek some legal advice, whether guilty or not.

Have I just read the wrong websites where scaremongering is going on. Or could this be right?

[sara3]

honestly? an IUC happens when they feel they have evidence of a criminal offence. you can get legal advice or take someone with you to the interview (not your partner), but it is just an opportunity to explain the facts.

going "no comment" without legal advice (in my opinion) isn't the best thing to do.

[themas]

You are being asked to go to an IUC without being given any information about the reasons & - it seems - about something which occurred (if anything occurred at all) over 2 years ago.

Depending on what information they have & how they conduct the interview you could be led into making statements (& it will all be recorded) which are not accurate - either because you don't recall events after such a time lapse or because of the way the questions are put. In my view you are right to be concerned.

If it is possible for you to get a welfare benefits adviser (from CAB or another local advice service) to go with you, or to get a solicitor to go then I think it is advisable to do so. If you are eligible for legal aid, you need a solicitor who deals with criminal matters under an LSC contract.

I agree with Sara that, if you can't get anyone experienced to go with you, you can't just keep saying "no comment". But be very careful what you do say & if you genuinely can't remember things because of the time lapse say so.

Incidentally, you are not entitled to a copy of the recording unless they decide to charge you.

[sherrardk]

My husband had to attend an interview under caution in March - it was all due to a mix up (he had come off Job Seekers Allowance to become Self-employed) and the information from one agency took ages to get to the Housing Benefit people. We were very worried about it but it all turned out ok. Try not to worry but it is done in a very formal way.

[27082002]

Take a Solicitor with you. Guilty or not Guilty take one with you as The Housing Benefit people will ask you leading questions and you could dig a hole for yourself.

[bluesmile]

Thanks for all your help.

I am currently waiting for a solicitor to call me back, will feel more settled after I have spoken to them.

Will keep you posted!

[bluesmile]

Well after speaking to a solicitor she put it better in perspective for me, yes you do have to be careful what you say if you phone them so she advised me what to say when I did phone them. I also learned that this is a legal matter that is not covered by Legal Aid- however if the interview would be taking place at the police station then it would be! How crazy is that!!

So I phoned them and feel a lot more at ease- the gentleman I spoke to seemed very helpful and I understand a lot more about what the interview is about.

I will keep this thread updated as there does seem to be so much scaremongering on the net about this, that a sensible approach if someone else is in the same boat as I is better as I was so very worried and worked up about it and all the horror stories I'd read about.

[sara3]

bluesmile, well done for getting some legal advice. I used to do IUC's for a government dept (not a Local Authority) and I will tell you this. they should not ask you "leading" questions but obviously any answer you give could alter the line of questioning. a copy of the tape will be available to you, and you will be given a note to explain how you can request a copy.

if you phone, they can not discuss the potential offence as you will not be under caution. when they call you in, you will be cautioned and the interview will be taped. you can take a friend if the legal advisor won't/can't attend, but they can't speak for you during the interview.

anyway, give me a shout if you need any more info.