Every person who claims any type of benefit from the government will have all of the details they have declared checked for accuracy.
This not only happens at the onset of a claim but also anytime the benefit is received. It is your legal responsibility to declare any changes in your personal circumstance which may affect the amount of any benefit you may receive or be in receipt of.
Routine checks will be made by officers working for the Department of Works and Pensions. As such you may be asked to produce supporting evidence to substantiate and confirm the details of your benefit claims.
If any enquiries made by the officers are found not to match your claim you may be asked to attend an interview. This will give you the opportunity to provide supporting evidence or give explanations.
Receiving a letter asking you to attend an interview can be a very daunting and worrying prospect. If this does happen it is advisable to seek advice from an expert who deals with accusations of benefit fraud.
To find such a defence lawyer the easiest course of action to take is to go online and carry out a local search. This will provide you with a list of law firms within your area.
Visit their websites and either make an enquiry by using their free phone number, this will be displayed in a prominent place on their home page or banner, or fill in an enquiry box giving brief details of your case. The lawyers will then return your enquiry either by phone or email.
Some of the law firms also offer a direct free phone contact number to a criminal defence lawyer who is a partner within the law firm. This saves the embarrassment of having to explain your circumstances to different people.
If the officers from The Department of Works and Pensions have reason to believe more serious benefit fraud has taken places their investigations will become more in-depth. They may gather further information about you and/or your family members to use as a comparison against the information you have supplied on your claim form or during an interview.
The officers may also obtain further information about you from other public or private companies such as banks and building societies, credit card companies, insurance companies, utility companies or overseas authorities.
However, they can only make these detailed enquires if they have reason to believe you are committing serious benefit fraud or helping someone else to do so.
Any information which is gathered about you is allowed to be legally shared between or cross checked with other specific organisations. Under the Data Protection Act 1988 you are entitled to know information is held about you by these organisations.
As the world of criminal defence law is complex, it is advisable and highly recommended to seek the help and guidance of an expert criminal defence lawyer to help your through the ordeal of facing a benefit fraud interview.
Contact a local law firm to ensure you are given correct representation during your benefit fraud interview and at court if required.
Author Resource:-
For further information and legal advice on attending a benefit fraud interview contact DPP Law
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