DWP investigation
Posted: May 29th, 2017, 12:14 pm
*Warning, this is a long post* but I would appreciate some advice about a situation my daughter is in.
As a short back history, my daughter and two young children were in an abusive situation and left the marital home. In 1998 I bought (on mortgage) a small Victorian terrace house for them, after the council advised us that she could claim housing benefit, as long as it was an arm's length contract. She was intending to go to uni, get a degree and from there a career. She knew she had a struggle ahead, but was determined. The reality was however, very different
Since that time she has struggled with drug and drink addiction, debt and bankruptcy. She has worked whenever she has been able, and has been on and off benefits throughout that time. There have been times when I would let her off some of the rent so that she could afford to pay the bills and buy food, and I thought nothing about it.
However, last year, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, requiring extreme surgery. When she applied for housing benefit, I was sent a form, as her landlady, and was also asked to provide bank statements and accounts. I was not prepared to give the Council my financial statements, and instead sent a reply by email, answering the quetions. Additionally, I told my daughter that I would waive her rent during the period of her treatment, and we would take it from there, she did not need to go back on benefit. ( I wanted to do this as a parent for my child. Fortunately she has made an incredible recovery, and is now well, needing only 3 monthly checks from here on in. We are so fortunate in this.)
But back to the story. Last October my daughter was told she was being investigated by the Council for overpayment of benefit. She supplied bank statements back to 2010 together with her contract with me, and was then told she was not entitled to any benefit as she was living in my house. She was told she had to repay four years' worth of benefit. She bgan repaying
Then we both heard from DWP; my daughter was called for interview under caution, and I was asked to attend for interview. In my interview, it transpired that because I had not always demanded the full rent, and indeed when my grandson became ill with mental health problems, I let her pay nothing for a couple of months, the contract was not a commerical contract, and therefore invalid. I should have evicted her for non payment of rent. If I had received the rent and then paid money into her account, there would have been no problem, but as it was, she had to repay all the housing benefit she had received, and indeed might be subject to a criminal prosecution. I protested that when I could no longer afford to keep up the level of support, I had indeed issued notices to quit to her and her son and his partner and toddler son, but that was ignored.
Then on Easter Saturday, my daughter was called to a second interview under caution, set for the beginning of May. She attended, and has been told that she may be charged criminally, as during one time she applied to benefits over the phone, when asked whether she rented from a friend or relationship, she replied "only my landlady". I know that is ambiguous, but from the beginning this has been a familial contract, and also in common parlance "relationship" implies something different from "relation". Also, she was in alcohol detox, and on a cocktail of drugs to help, so not in a good place to answer. If only she had been sent a form to fill in. They had gone through the records and transcribed this conversation. She was told she would hear whether she is to be charged.
In the meantime, she had moved house, and a letter from the council was sent to her old address, (she had given her new details) dated 2nd May which I picked up last week, when I went to the empty house. In that letter she was told that she was not considered to have attempted to defraud, although still expected to repay the monies as she and I did not have a valid contract. She now has until the 6th June to appeal this judgement
My questions are:
1. Is the DWP continuing the investigation - she has heard nothing from them on that second interview, even though the Council have said that there was no intent to defraud. If so, for what?
2. Does my daughter have any grounds to appeal theCouncil judgement? We accept that the law supports the decision, but this seems to be an unintended consequence, since if they had not been paying for her to live in my house, they would have had to pay her to live elsewhere. I was only attempting to help give my grandchildren and their mother a more stable existence
Thank you for reading this. Any thoughts will be muuch appreciated.
amh4
As a short back history, my daughter and two young children were in an abusive situation and left the marital home. In 1998 I bought (on mortgage) a small Victorian terrace house for them, after the council advised us that she could claim housing benefit, as long as it was an arm's length contract. She was intending to go to uni, get a degree and from there a career. She knew she had a struggle ahead, but was determined. The reality was however, very different
Since that time she has struggled with drug and drink addiction, debt and bankruptcy. She has worked whenever she has been able, and has been on and off benefits throughout that time. There have been times when I would let her off some of the rent so that she could afford to pay the bills and buy food, and I thought nothing about it.
However, last year, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, requiring extreme surgery. When she applied for housing benefit, I was sent a form, as her landlady, and was also asked to provide bank statements and accounts. I was not prepared to give the Council my financial statements, and instead sent a reply by email, answering the quetions. Additionally, I told my daughter that I would waive her rent during the period of her treatment, and we would take it from there, she did not need to go back on benefit. ( I wanted to do this as a parent for my child. Fortunately she has made an incredible recovery, and is now well, needing only 3 monthly checks from here on in. We are so fortunate in this.)
But back to the story. Last October my daughter was told she was being investigated by the Council for overpayment of benefit. She supplied bank statements back to 2010 together with her contract with me, and was then told she was not entitled to any benefit as she was living in my house. She was told she had to repay four years' worth of benefit. She bgan repaying
Then we both heard from DWP; my daughter was called for interview under caution, and I was asked to attend for interview. In my interview, it transpired that because I had not always demanded the full rent, and indeed when my grandson became ill with mental health problems, I let her pay nothing for a couple of months, the contract was not a commerical contract, and therefore invalid. I should have evicted her for non payment of rent. If I had received the rent and then paid money into her account, there would have been no problem, but as it was, she had to repay all the housing benefit she had received, and indeed might be subject to a criminal prosecution. I protested that when I could no longer afford to keep up the level of support, I had indeed issued notices to quit to her and her son and his partner and toddler son, but that was ignored.
Then on Easter Saturday, my daughter was called to a second interview under caution, set for the beginning of May. She attended, and has been told that she may be charged criminally, as during one time she applied to benefits over the phone, when asked whether she rented from a friend or relationship, she replied "only my landlady". I know that is ambiguous, but from the beginning this has been a familial contract, and also in common parlance "relationship" implies something different from "relation". Also, she was in alcohol detox, and on a cocktail of drugs to help, so not in a good place to answer. If only she had been sent a form to fill in. They had gone through the records and transcribed this conversation. She was told she would hear whether she is to be charged.
In the meantime, she had moved house, and a letter from the council was sent to her old address, (she had given her new details) dated 2nd May which I picked up last week, when I went to the empty house. In that letter she was told that she was not considered to have attempted to defraud, although still expected to repay the monies as she and I did not have a valid contract. She now has until the 6th June to appeal this judgement
My questions are:
1. Is the DWP continuing the investigation - she has heard nothing from them on that second interview, even though the Council have said that there was no intent to defraud. If so, for what?
2. Does my daughter have any grounds to appeal theCouncil judgement? We accept that the law supports the decision, but this seems to be an unintended consequence, since if they had not been paying for her to live in my house, they would have had to pay her to live elsewhere. I was only attempting to help give my grandchildren and their mother a more stable existence
Thank you for reading this. Any thoughts will be muuch appreciated.
amh4