Why can't they find out

forexbert

My brother is a self-employed plasterer who has recently been laid off. Anyway, for the first time in his life he went to make a claim and has got nothing. Tell a lie he has been told he can get free eye tests and a dental check-up. That is of course if he can find a dentist. The reason they gave him was that he has more than 16K in the bank. The actual figure is £16243. This is the total of 3 bank accounts he has. If he hadn't sold his car in order to save money then he wouldn't have passed the magic 16 figure and would have been better off. CRAZY!! What made him even more mad was that when he was in the pub and mentioned it some clown he knows called him a t**t for telling them about all his bank accounts. He then went on to tell my brother that hes been claiming for some time and when he first applied he only told them about 1 of his accounts with a few hundred quid in. He has around 40K in total! How come the benefits agency didn't find out he had other accounts? My brother wants to shop him. Thing is he is a nasty piece of work and he would know where the info came from. My brother is cheesed off.

[Deleted User]

What benefit(s)was he trying to claim?if they were means tested ones like income support,or housing/council tax benefits then once his savings are below 16k he can try again,although between 6k and 16k they are reduced by £1 for every £250 of savings,i`m not sure why he`s been told he can get free eye test/dentist if he`s not getting any benefits that seems abit odd.
As for the other guy bragging he`s got 40k he could of course be telling porkies,either that or taking a big risk as the benefits agencies are doing more and more random checks.

stazi

Shop him here-
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/campaigns/benefit-thieves/

far

The NHS Low Income Scheme has similar guidelines to Income Support, including the savings cut-off. In other words, if the claimant or claimant couple's savings are above £16,000 no help is given with health costs so I'm afraid it looks like you've been given wrong advice even on that.

forexbert

Thanks for the replies. He just went to see what he would be entitled as he'd always been self-employed and paid his tax and NI. His house is paid for so he wasn't expecting any housing benefit. Seems he would be better off with no savings. The person who interviewed him at the job shop said to spend some of his savings then re-apply. Then also added "don't say that I told you that". As for the person with all the money and claiming, he was showing his bank statement to his cronies in the pub and its actually more than that. How come when he started claiming they didn't know about this other bank account? He also drives around in new Porsche Cayenne. Have a guess what "business" he is in and then you will understand why its a bit risky to shop him at the moment. It still puzzles me as to how they don't know about the account with the money in.

Just heard my brother has got a few days work.

[Deleted User]

Give it a few weeks then report him - for everything. The benefits and his business dealings.

SuziQ

At least he does have savings and can keep the wolf from the door a while-then once his need is greater due to no savings the benefits will kick in,which is what they are for.
The guy bragging in the pub will probably get caught! No-on likes a braggart and things do get reported now,I also know of someone who was caught because they were overheard bragging in a club by the husband of someone working in the fraud part of benefits.
I'm glad he has just got a few days work-he sounds like the sort of guy who is unlikely to be down for long and I hope he quickly gets long term work again.

forexbert

Thanks again for the replies. The ironic (not sure if correct word) thing is he has now got to buy a car to get him to work and will now below the 16k. He has just had his phone ringing for offering work. So now he has a couple of months work. We both still don't understand how the job-shop couldn't find out about the blokes bank accounts. Why can't they get this info? Seems a case of "only tell them what you want them to know". Crazy. He also told me when he went for his interview at the job-shop he saw quite a few people who knew for a fact were working. Blimey it would cost him a fortune in phone bills to shop all this lot. He will give it a few months and then make the call. Wonder if they give a reward?

subsoniccoyote: SNIP>his business dealings<SNIP That made me laugh.

He will give it a few months and then make the call. Wonder if they give a reward?

tom9980

Dont wait a few months to report them because he will be working and "too busy" people like you describe should be reported because they give the genuine claimants and those who decide not to claim due to the stigma a bad name. I and my partner tend not to tell people i claim despite the fact i have nothing to hide and have been genuinley ill for 10+ years with an illness that often leaves me housebound.

Simply use the online form https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/benefitfraud/ or ring the number 0800 854 440 between 7.00am and 11.00pm, seven days a week.

Detail the pub incident it will take him 5-10 minutes at most to sort this out.

milliebear00001

far wrote: »

The NHS Low Income Scheme has similar guidelines to Income Support, including the savings cut-off. In other words, if the claimant or claimant couple's savings are above £16,000 no help is given with health costs so I'm afraid it looks like you've been given wrong advice even on that.

There must be some exceptions to this as I have over £16000 in savings and yet still qualify for a Tax Credit Exemption Certificate which qualifies me for free dental care, eye care and prescriptions etc. I don't qualify for any means-tested benefits.

[Deleted User]

You will qualify because of your income not your savings. Tax Credits are not interested in your savings, only the interest gained.

The NHS Low Income Scheme is for those who dont automatically qualify through other avenues such as Tax Credits.

Tax Credits is a mean-tested benefit.