For example some benefits are not counted as income in most cases – Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Child Benefit for example – however others are such as wages, income from savings as well as Child Tax Credits. For the average person this can all be highly confusing and it actually leads to many people being accused of benefit fraud.
Essentially people can be accused of benefit fraud by either purposely claiming benefits that they are not entitled to or their circumstances have changed and they have not informed the relevant authorities.
The latest estimates determine that benefit fraud costs the UK around £73 billion every year and while there is often a lot made of people claiming benefits that they are not entitled to the numbers are not as troublesome as they first appear. For instance many people claim benefits or rather they claim amounts that they are not entitled to. For instance they might not have declared some income when filling out their claim form and have been getting the full amount paid to them when, perhaps, £20 should be taken off every week.
For a solicitor that specialises in benefit fraud, they are more likely to find clients that are seeking legal advice because of these errors rather than those who are consciously trying to get money they shouldn't or are not eligible to receive. Even though there are many people who do purposely try and get money they shouldn't be able to claim, benefit fraud itself only makes up about 2% of all fraud in the UK and in most cases this is people not informing the benefits office of a change in circumstances.
So what happens if you have been accused of benefit fraud?
The first thing to do is to seek legal advice from a qualified solicitor. Always try and look for a local solicitor. If you are in London then look for benefit fraud advice that is based in London.
While we always hear about the big benefit fraud cases in the UK and how people have went to prison for wrongly claiming tens of thousands of pounds, the majority of cases are actually for a much lesser value.
You might find that you have been receiving £10 higher every week than you should have been getting due to interest on savings or investments and that this needs to be paid back. Even though for someone who is claiming a benefit this can be a lot every week it is nowhere near the totals you often hear about and custodial sentences are quite rare.
Rather than simply ignoring letters explaining that you have been receiving money you are not entitled to or trying to fight the case yourself seek a solicitor who has experience in dealing with the authorities on these matters. It could be the difference between a successful and amicable outcome or receiving a criminal record for fraud.
To speak with a solicitor call 02077925649.
