If a relative is defrauding benefits

culpepper

I dont see the children suffering. Where do they think mum and dad get their income from now and how is that effecting their own ambitions in life?

Some people near us were claiming illegally and the father was taken to court and made to pay back the benefits he had claimed in installments.
He had already been to court previously for fraud ( seling insurance but keeping the premiums to spend) so it looks like that is classed as a minor infringement.

Bossyboots

sue_balu wrote:

Hi Bossyboots
Thanks for your post.
I am probably niaive but I assumed if the BA/court found out about the current fraud (since lotto win) they would automatically go back to the start of the claims -which must be over 10 years - find out they have all been dishonest as she never lived alone and did receive other funding (either thro granny or partner) the scale of the fraud could mean prison or heavy fine, thus costing what remains of lotto win. If that happened the kids would suffer....Do you really think she would only have to repay?

We had a big case around here not so long ago where a woman had obtained hundreds of thousands of pounds in benefits while working. She had a huge property worth around 1.3 million locally and another one somewhere else.

Did she go to prison? Did she heck as like. She is still swanning around town like lady muck having been given a probation order. She had to sell the properties to pay all the money back and is now living a two bedroom terrace house with her four youngest children.

I am sorry to say that the children think it is okay to lie and cheat and I know the eldest one steals. Perhaps if she had been caught sooner they might have learned right from wrong. Perhaps if she had been punished properly they would have learned too but the court spared her prison for the sake of her children.

Scarlett1

sue_balu wrote:

I assumed if the BA/court found out about the current fraud (since lotto win) they would automatically go back to the start of the claims -which must be over 10 years

no I think they would want payment back for the benefits she carried on claiming since the lottery win

bexterwho

Another way to look at it would be that, chances are, they will be caught out at some point anyway. The sooner it is, the less they will have to pay back when they get caught out. Its a massive system, so fraud can't be picked up quickly, but I can't imagine that living with a partner and having a couple of 100k lying around will go un-noticed forever. I say, inform the authorities and stop the fraud before it goes too much further.

ILoveHenryJames

Blackmail them for a few thousand.

Take the payment in cash though; if you get annoyed with them in the future you can still report them and there won't be a record of your receipt of payment

I'm ruthless at times!

wobbley

Please report them because I and many other people on this forum are paying for it.
They are not 'benefit fraudsters' they are theives and the longer it goes on the worse it will be for them. It might be a moral dilemma for you but, - you already know which is the RIGHT thing to do.

Dora_the_Explorer_5

For anyone who is in the dilemma of knowing about benefit fraud and wondering if they should report it. Report It ! It's your money that's being stolen, not mine.

jenniferpa

You know, I wonder what they have done with the winnings. If it's not hidden under the bed, but in an account somewhere, HMRS will catch up to it eventually, and then report it to DSS.

If I were you, in this particular case, I would report it. I wouldn't warn them, I'd just do it.

Wizwoo

I had a similar query a while back and I was given the following advice:

"Below is the best way to stop the cycle:

Report a cheat

If you think someone is committing benefit fraud it is important that you report it. The National Benefit Fraud Hotline is a confidential way to report someone you suspect of committing benefit fraud.

You can report a cheat in various ways:

By phone:
Phone the National Benefit Fraud hotline on 0800 854 440 between 7am and 11pm, 7 days a week. If you have a speech or hearing difficulty and are using a textphone dial 0800 328 0512

Online
Use the Report a cheat online form https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/benefitfraud/.

By post
Write to NBFH
PO Box 224
Preston
PR1 1GP

What we need from you
Please provide as much information as you can about the person and why you think they are committing benefit fraud. The more information you provide, the better. The law says that we must have good reason to investigate a person. For example:

Example 1
A. N. Other is working and claiming.
Example 2
A. N. Other is working and claiming benefit, he leaves the house everyday at about 7.30am in oily overalls and returns at approx 5.30pm. He drives an old red Ford Escort.
We would not be able to investigate the first example, as it does not give enough grounds for an investigation. It does not tell us why you think that the person is committing fraud.

We would probably be able to investigate the second example, as it does say why you think the person is committing fraud.

What we do with your report
We look at every report we get.

First of all we decide if there is enough information to start an investigation.

We gather additional information about the suspect from a wide range of sources, such as utility companies, banks and building societies.

We alert the Fraud Investigation Team and send them the report and any additional information we have found.

The Fraud Investigation Team investigates and establishes the facts. Where appropriate they take action – including the withdrawal of benefits or starting a criminal prosecution.

All this can take time.

Unfortunately we cannot comment on cases under investigation. So if you report someone we will not be able to update you on how the investigation is proceeding."

I also got a message in terms of what info would be useful:


"You can do it online - the mail sent is done through an anonymous link, i.e. your IP address will show as xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx - it is untraceable.

They can only take what you have - the basics are a good start:

Name
Address
Approx Age
Other household members
Reasons for suspicion
Car - reg if he / she has one
Any phone numbers (can check bills to see spending habits etc.)
Any known routines?

Don't worry if you can't tell them the life story."


Do it - I will be (got a bit more info in the past few days).
Otherwise, in the long run the children may well learn their parents habits - so do take action.

Turning_into_scrooge

Bossyboots wrote:

We had a big case around here not so long ago where a woman had obtained hundreds of thousands of pounds in benefits while working. She had a huge property worth around 1.3 million locally and another one somewhere else.

Did she go to prison? Did she heck as like. She is still swanning around town like lady muck having been given a probation order. She had to sell the properties to pay all the money back and is now living a two bedroom terrace house with her four youngest children.

I am sorry to say that the children think it is OK to lie and cheat and I know the eldest one steals. Perhaps if she had been caught sooner they might have learned right from wrong. Perhaps if she had been punished properly they would have learned too but the court spared her prison for the sake of her children.

I remember that case BB, can't remember where it was thought but i do remember being really shocked at the sentence being so lenient. If it isn't the one in your area then there must of been 2.

I have no idea what i would do in the OP situation, i do know someone who would be classed as benefit cheat but she is struggling to keep the roof over her head and put food on the table for her children and no they don't have play stations or Nike trainers, they have all second hand and some of the stuff ends up as rags pretty quick. One question though does anyone else know about the Lotto win i mean such as friends not just family. What i'm trying to say here is if you did report them would they be able to work out the person that did it, you need to consider here as you say you love the children would you be at risk of losing them and is it worth it. Don't get me wrong i'm shocked at the amount in savings and still claiming and not being caught out by bank interest and tax.