can someone apply for housing benefit for you without your knowledge?

sooz

title says it all really.

my friend is getting very concerned about some wierd letters that have been arriving - when she has never applied.


thanks

hjb123

I would ring the council up and check that her national insurance number hasnt been mistakenly used or someone is using it fraudulantly.

Is your friend working etc - ie would she be eligible for housing benefit?

robnye

in short answer..... No
in reality... this day and age..... fraud cases are 9 to the dozen

tell your friend to give the local benefits office a call.... and explain..... sounds like someone is trying a litttle fiddle

filigree_2

Years ago I lived in a flat over a shop that shared a letter box with the two other flats. Someone in the first floor flat was using our address to make multiple housing benefit claims - all they needed to do was get downstairs before anyone else and pick up fistfuls of giros :mad: When I realised what was going on I sent the post back to the council, my flatmate also phoned and complained but the cheques kept arriving. Eventually the Poll Tax collectors started to wonder why FIFTEEN people allegedly living in our flat weren't paying their Poll Tax :eek: ! By then I'd moved out, but my flatmate had to cope with bailiffs on the doorstep trying to take all her possessions in lieu of £££££s unpaid Poll Tax. She did finally get the council to drop the case but it was very unpleasant.

I'm disgusted that the council didn't notice that 15 people seemed to be living in one 2-bed flat! They happily paid out on fraudulent claims for months after we told them there was something dodgy going on. This was Haringey and we had the highest Poll Tax in the country - no flipping wonder!

If the OPs friend lives in a block with shared letter boxes then one of the neighbours might be committing fraud. Another possibility is that if the friend only moved in recently, perhaps there is an old claim dating from whoever lived there before. I know that Poll Tax isn't an issue these days, but the friend might lose their single person Council Tax discount if the council think there is more than one person at the address.

I realise after my past experience that we should have dealt with this much more forcefully. Like with any complaint:

Phone the council in the first instance and explain what is happening. Note the name of the person you speak to.

Take copies of ALL correspondence, then send it back to the council with a covering note explaining that the person isn't claiming HB. Send all letters by recorded delivery.

Harrass the council constantly till they sort the problem out, and get them to put everything in writing. Keep every letter they send.

It sounds like a waste of time I know, but honestly it's very important to be extra vigilant so they can't accuse you of fraud at some point in the future.

More recently in these flats we had ex-neighbours using the address to apply for loans after they moved out. We changed the locks to stop them coming in to pick up any post, just in case they were expecting cheques to arrive. If the OPs friend has moved recently I recommend changing the locks.