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income support fraud case

  • Wessex Disability Advice Service
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12 years 2 months ago #78933 by Wessex Disability Advice Service
income support fraud case was created by Wessex Disability Advice Service
A client has recently been taken to court over fraud relating to income support. The perosn recieved an amount of money in 2007 specifically to buy a house and only managed to purchase one in 2011. However in late 2011 is claimed that this was extra income not accounted for. Is this right or am i right in thinking that income for a house purchase doesnt count as asset money?

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12 years 2 months ago #78941 by Derek4
Replied by Derek4 on topic Re:income support fraud case
Hi

I'm afraid we can't give much advice regarding means-tested benefits due to the complexity and number of factors that need to be considered.

The income and capital rules and regulations are extremely complex, but off the top of my head, I believe the length of time that the money was held for may be relevant. Your best bet would be to seek face-to-face advice.

Good luck to your client.

Derek

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  • pata1
12 years 2 months ago #78965 by pata1
Replied by pata1 on topic Re:income support fraud case
Hi Derek,

Not sure if you've noticed but this query is from Wessex Disability Advice Service who are probably an organisational member, so who do you suggest they seek 'face to face' advice from ?

However, I'd have expected a Disability Advice Centre to be 'au fait' with rules on income and capital.

It should be in the Decision Makers Guide

No offence meant, and I hope none taken.

Kind regards.

Pat

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12 years 2 months ago #78972 by carruthers
Replied by carruthers on topic Re:income support fraud case
Might the Advice Centre in question consider taking out a subscription to rightsnet, which appears to allow that sort of organisation to exchange experience and expertise?

The sorts of advice given there can be sampled by browsing their forums.

www.rightsnet.org.uk

Most of those posting appear to be WROs and similar, and a query there could get feedback from someone else who has already dealt with a similar problem.

They also, I think, deal with legal specifics which are outside what I understand to be the remit of Benefits and Work.

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  • Wessex Disability Advice Service
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12 years 2 months ago #79408 by Wessex Disability Advice Service
Replied by Wessex Disability Advice Service on topic Re:income support fraud case
No offence taken pat. Unfortunatley although yes we are an advice centre we are very small and have limited resources as theres only a few of us! We are quite specific with areas of advice and unfortunatley this area isnt one of those covered by us and our funds! However thank you derek for the advice that you were able to offer. Also i guess the point of being a memebr of this site is to use others knoweldge to help the person with the difficulty. It would be pointless to be a memeber and not use its resources to their advantage!
Thanks everyone though.

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12 years 2 months ago #79444 by Blue Peter
Replied by Blue Peter on topic Re:income support fraud case
I remember looking this up a few years ago when I sold a house, it's 26 weeks, but can be extended if considered to be reasonable as we all know house sales and purchases can drag on and fall through taking you back to square one. It could well take 3 or 4 years for a disabled person to find and purchase a suitable property, especially if the deals keep falling through, but the DWP might not agree.

For this to apply, though, the claimant MUST inform the DWP and keep them posted on developements, sending them documentation to show what is happening. Even if you get away with it inside the 26 weeks, you can still get prosecuter for fraud if they find out.

ANYTHING that could possibly affect a claim MUST be declared. It is the DWP who decide if it is relevant, NOT the claimant. Otherwise they will jump on you like a ton of bricks and demand all the payments back for years, holding a jail sentence over your head. Recently happened to a friend of mine.
Regards
Peter

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