Crackdown on tenancy fraud The Government has announced that it is investing £19 million to help councils to identify and prosecute tenancy fraud.  This is all part of a wider scheme to free up council housing by targeting people who are illegally subletting or making false applications for council housing. Councils have also been given new powers... Read More

CPS interview letters Our clients are increasingly finding that letters inviting them to benefit fraud interviews are being sent on Crown Prosecution Service headed notepaper.  The reality is that nothing has changed in the way that these interviews are being conducted; this is simply a scare tactic to intimidate those suspected of fraud. However, if... Read More

The Department of Work and Pensions are introducing a system of credit checks on people convicted of benefit fraud. It aims to identify high-value items such as cars and computers which can then be confiscated to repay benefit over payments. The right advice at an early stage of any benefit fraud investigation can prevent prosecution... Read More

The increase in benefit fraud investigations and prosecutions shows no sign of abating: there were 150,000 interviews under caution last year, and 30,000 prosecutions. Many of these prosecutions will have been brought as a result of the defendant having inadequate legal advice, or none at all. Representation by a specialised solicitor can dramatically improve your... Read More

The CPS(Crown Prosecution Service) has taken over benefit fraud prosecutions from the DWP, which means that specialist DWP prosecutors who were previously dealing with these cases have in some instances been replaced by officers with less experience. We have found that the CPS officers are making fundamental mistakes which, with the right legal advice, can... Read More

We are finding that a lot of people are receiving letters inviting them to a ‘compliance interview’, either by phone or in person. Although these are not conducted under a caution, they can still lead to serious legal consequences so it is worth taking legal advice before attending.

Two brothers in Leeds have received tough sentences for housing benefit fraud, even though they have repaid the money back to the Council in full. They received £23,000 of housing benefit after claiming one of them lived in a property which was actually being rented out. Despite repaying the Council in full before they sentenced,... Read More

As of today, our Bristol base has moved to its new location above the Sofa Project on West Street, Old Market. Just a 10 minute walk from the City Centre and Cabot Circus, there is a lift for disabled access and plenty of on street parking nearby.

We have noticed that the standard letter that the DWP sends out demanding people to attend a fraud interview is now being sent ‘jointly’ with the Crown Prosecution Service. We believe this may be a scare tactic and this only highlights the lengths the DWP will go to in order to intimidate the people it... Read More

Prosecution Costs Where a prosecution is successful, the defendant will usually be ordered to pay the authorities’ court costs. We have noticed that Local Councils and the Crown Prosecution Service are increasingly asking for extravagant amounts that, we believe, are far higher than their actual costs. With 20 years’ experience of dealing with benefit fraud... Read More