Crime Solicitors

If you have been suspected of committing benefit fraud, then it is very likely that you will receive a letter requesting you to attend what is known as an Interview Under Caution.

Should you be called for an Interview Under Caution, then it is vital that you seek the legal representation from a Benefit Fraud Solicitor.

Benefit fraud is a serious criminal offence in the eyes of the law, and should you have been suspected of having committed it, then the legal repercussions brought against you can be very serious.

According to the GOV.UK website, there are two ways to commit benefit fraud. These are;

· Intentionally not reporting a change in your circumstances?

· ?Being dishonest in order to get benefits?

If you are suspected of committing benefit fraud, you will be contacted either by the Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs, the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency or your local authority. Furthermore, you may be visited by Fraud Investigations Officers or asked to attend an Interview Under Caution to discuss your suspected benefit fraud.

During the period of time that your matter is being investigated, your benefits may be stopped.

The personal implications that benefit fraud can have on you are serious. If the Fraud Investigation Officers that are investigating your case find that there is evidence that you are guilty of committing benefit fraud you could find that you will be subjected to any of the following;

· You may be taken to court

· You may be asked to pay a penalty (between £350 and £2,000) instead of going to court

· Your benefit may be reduced or stopped

· You'?ll be asked to pay back the overpaid benefit

As well as these short term implications, you will also find that your benefits may be stopped for up to three years, dependant on the amount of times that you have committed benefit fraud.

Legal Advice Before and During An Interview Under Caution

While, you are not legally obliged to attend an Interview Under Caution, it is highly recommended that you do. Failure to attend will only marre your defence and will make it much more difficult to explain your innocence if you were to be prosecuted.

At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, we advise that you absolutely do not attend an Interview Under Caution without a Crime Solicitor. When you receive your letter stating that you should attend an Interview Under Caution, do not contact the benefit authorities, instead seek legal advice from a Crime Solicitor.

It is your right to have access to legal advice and assistance, and it is not a sign that you are guilty.

Even if you believe that you have done nothing wrong, or that you can explain your innocence, not seeking legal advice from a crime solicitor can make the situation much worse for yourself because you may not understand exactly how you may have broken the law. In most cases, those who are facing benefit fraud allegations are entitled to free legal help with an Interview Under Caution.

You should also seek to contact an independent advisor who specialises in welfare benefits, for example a solicitor?s firm, a law centre, Citizen?s Advice Bureau or council welfare rights service. Once you have sought the assistance of these two advisories, you should ask them to liaise with each other to discuss the interview.

If circumstances lead to you not being able to attend the time and date for the interview, or in the event that you haven?t been able to seek legal advice, you should write a short letter to the benefits office explaining to them why you could not attend (and ensure you also keep a copy).

Your actual Interview Under Caution is the time where it is the most vital that you have the assistance of a benefit fraud or crime solicitor, as the law regarding benefit fraud is complex and requires the knowledge and experience of a Solicitor that has worked with many similar cases prior to yours.

At the interview, your Crime Solicitor can ask for ?prior disclosure? which means that they should be told what evidence is held against you. While they may not have the right to be told about all the evidence that is held against you, they must be informed of enough so they can advise you properly.

During the interview, you also have the right to speak to your Solicitor privately about the evidence, so that you can be advised on what on how to respond to any evidence brought against you.

Depending on your case, your Solicitor may advise you whether you should or shouldn?t answer certain questions. They may also advise you to hand in a written statement explaining your side of things.

During the course of the Interview Under Caution, the investigator will pose to you questions about what you know about the benefits system, why they think that you did not disclose certain information and as to whether you believe what you did was wrong.

If new evidence is introduced during your interview, your crime or benefit fraud solicitor can ask for it to be stopped so that you can receive more advice.

The benefit authorities cannot force you to attend an Interview Under Caution through doing things like suspending your benefit; if this happens then you will need to seek advice on how to challenge this.

Legal Advice After An Interview Under Caution

Following an Interview Under Caution a decision will be made as to whether or not you will face prosecution. You may also receive a letter stating that you have been overpaid benefits, or that your benefit has been stopped.

In the event of this, you have the right to appeal against an overpayment or stopping benefit to an independent Tribunal. At Duncan Lewis Solicitors, we always recommend that you write to state that you wish to appeal, even if you think that you have a weak case as most benefit overpayments work out to be erroneous in one way or another and expert help is needed to spot the errors.

Following these notifications, you have one month in which time you can appeal; though you may still be able to appeal after one month if it is within 13 months of having been written to and you can prove legit reasons as to why you have appealed late.

You should note that it is extremely important that you seek independent welfare benefits advice when it comes to appealing, and even if you do not appeal and instead agree to pay back the money, you may still face prosecution.

By making an appeal to the Tribunal, you safeguard yourself to only paying back what you actually are legally liable for, and if you are prosecuted your solicitor can ask for it to be heard before the Court to establish exactly the amount that you owe.

Social Security, and benefit law is an extremely technical and complex are of the law to understand. This is why it is vital that you seek the assistance of an experienced crime solicitor if you are accused of committing benefit fraud.

If you are to face prosecution, you will receive a set of papers telling you so. In the event of prosecution, you should never hesitate to contact a benefit or crime solicitor, who is experienced in benefit fraud straight away.

If you are going to face prosecution, then you should also receive a letter telling you so.

Welfare benefits and fraud Solicitors

If you are being accused of benefit fraud, or being asked to attend an Interview Under Caution, then it is vital that you seek the help of a Crime Solicitor immediately.

At Duncan Lewis our team of crime solicitors are experienced in representing clients at Interviews Under Caution and are waiting to help you with your case. For advice and representation for your Interview Under Caution, get in touch today.