A PENSIONER says he was interrogated under caution after trying to claim council tax benefit available to pensioners.

Mel Shaw, 68, applied like many thousands of others for the benefit, but says he faced ‘interrogation’ after being accused of council tax fraud.

Investigating officers claimed the alleged fraud related to an ISA savings account – but Mr Shaw says he had closed the account two years before and used the money to buy his home.

Mr Shaw, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Crosland Moor, said: “I’m glad they are investigating but I wish they would do it in the right way. One phone call to me could have told them the answer, but they brought me in, two people interviewed me with a tape recording and I was interviewed under caution.

“Even now when I have proven the account doesn’t exist, it’s still not over.”

Mr Shaw was interviewed on November 7, but was not told beforehand what the problem was.

He added: “I was a bit bamboozled about how they came up with this old account as the information was out of date.

“I had to go away and prove my innocence, which I did. I got a letter saying no further action will be taken, but they are watching me.

“So even when I do prove I’ve done nothing wrong they still can’t drop it. It is all quite alarming.”

The grandfather-of-five started work in 1954 and worked for 57 years. He served in the Army and was an engineer before going to work for the Methodist Mission, before he retired last year aged 67.

Even after his wife, Christine, died while his two children were at school, Mr Shaw continued to work and had never claimed benefits until now.

He added: “I understand they need to stop people fiddling the system, but someone should be scratching their heads and questioning this, not going at it like a bull in a China shop.

“By cautioning people they are criminalising people who aren’t criminals. If this is common, then it is wrong.”

A spokesman from Revenues and Benefits said Mr Shaw had not declared savings on his form and claimed that they were obliged to investigate the discrepancy by a formal interview under caution.

The spokesman added: “At the interview, Mr Shaw confirmed he held bank accounts that he had not declared on his claim form.

“We explained to Mr Shaw that he should have declared these bank accounts and explained the situation to us at the point he claimed benefit. On November 9, as Mr Shaw had provided a full and reasonable explanation about these additional savings, we took the decision that he would not be prosecuted for fraud and have notified him of this.

“I am very sorry if Mr Shaw was upset by his experience, but the situation demonstrates that customers claiming benefit must tell us about their full financial circumstances. In this case, Mr Shaw’s failure to do so meant that he was invited to attend an interview under caution and an investigation officer’s time was taken up with determining a situation that Mr Shaw should have declared as part of his original claim for benefit.”