CCM10740 – Penalties and Interest: Incorrect Claims – Meaning of Serious Error - Enquiries or Examinations Opened on or after 6 April 2008

Where an over-claim arose from an error which was the result of a Serious Error we will charge a penalty of 25% of the over-claim (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

Serious Error includes circumstances when:

there is a repetition of a Failure to Take Reasonable Care, see CCM10730, in a subsequent enquiry on the same issue

• the over-claim resulted from a substantial error in the information provided
• the error was so careless that it deserves a higher penalty.

• (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
• (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

Note: When considering whether there is a repetition of a Failure to Take Reasonable Care, you should not treat the outcome of an examination or enquiry opened on or before 5 April 2008 to be a ‘first offence’ because the behaviour of the claimant will not have been established in the same way.

See CCM10745 for examples of Serious Error.