Are Ebay benefit people cheats?

new_leaf_6

I am being made redundant soon and am looking hard for another job because I hope to stay off benefits if I can. I know some people who claim benefits and make money on Ebay. Don't know whether it's ok or not.

looby75

if you are simply selling your own things, stuff that you have bought in the past but no longer use then selling them on ebay while on benefits is fine. If however you are buying items with the sole purpose of selling them for profit on ebay that is not allowed and then you would be guilty of benefit fraud.

TBH there isn't really that much money to be made on ebay these days, not unless you have a fantastic supplier of a product that is hard to get hold of. I know a lot of people who have had to pack in ebay within the last 12 months, the fees and frauds just didn't make it worth their while anymore.

Good luck with what ever you decide though.

Voyager2002

new_leaf wrote:

I am being made redundant soon and am looking hard for another job because I hope to stay off benefits if I can. I know some people who claim benefits and make money on Ebay. Don't know whether it's ok or not.

It is OK so long as you let the Benefit official know what you are doing. Any net profits that you make count as income and so will be deducted from the benefit you receive (although money deducted in such a way might later be repaid to you as a 'back to work bonus').

Astaroth

Liquidating your own assets is fine and as long as it doesnt push your savings over the limits doesnt have to be declared (or at least that was what I was told) but rarely will it do long term harm to play on the safe side.

Clearly buying and selling will generate and income and therefore would have to be declared, failure to do so would be fraud.

new_leaf_6

I understand that any money made should be declared to the Benefits Agency but do you really think that people on IB and JSA actually report themselves?

looby75

The only money that should be or needs to be declared to the benefits agency is money that is PROFIT. (this has been confirmed to me by neighbour who works for the DWP in the fraud investigations department)

So if for eg you had a load of books you had purchased for £4.99 each read and then put them on ebay and sold for £1 each, you haven't made a profit so you don't need to declare it. If you bought those books from a bootsale for 20p each, with the intention of selling them on ebay for £1 then that is buying and selling for profit and needs to be declared (just and eg obviously)

I doubt many people do report their ebaying to the DWP, but that's probably because the majority of ebayers never make that much of a profit.

Hoddie_2

If you bought those books from a bootsale for 20p each, with the intention of selling them on ebay for £1 then that is buying and selling for profit and needs to be declared

To the tax and national insurance offices also.

skintas_2

what so is that the same as car boots then, you have to declare what you earn, buy selling your own goods, to pay off debt! ...........ok i used to go reguarly and there used to be a man who goes to jumbles to llok for designer clothes and sells them everyweek, you could class this as a business........ how many people do you know who will declare selling they old bits to the dwp................

Hoddie_2

No you're missing the point. You wouldn't have to tell anyone if you're only selling your own stuff. But buying something purely to sell it is a trade, pure and simple. That income becomes taxable and would count for benefit purposes.

A lot of car boot sellers are involved in a trade, some of these will also claim benefits, most of these won't notify the DWP, a handful will be caught and charged. It simply isn't worth the risk.

scatz

Who's gonna know?

Fran

scatz wrote:

Who's gonna know?

If you claim an income related benefit they will ask to see all your bank statements and for details of all the income you have. If you receive regular money through PayPal or similar it will clearly ring bells and they will ask where the money is coming from. If you don't declare it by not telling them about an account, remember that they can now find out what bank accounts you have and that the different agencies can share information. Also any neighbours you might have mentioned that you use ebay that know you're on benefits might decide to report you.