Surely its benefit fraud, and trouble is ahead?

seasonalbiz

A friend of mine has told the benefits people he is not living with his missus so she can claim as a single mother. He is a bit hard up, but I've told him he's just setting himself up for trouble... but he's adamant he's got it worked out.

He reckons he can stay there 3 nights a week without any problems... and sleep at his mums the other 4 nights. My argument is, he still lives there and is literally leaving his house (or should I say his missus house!) at midnight to go and sleep at his mums place, getting up and going to work. He eats at his missus all the time, goes home for lunch and obviously is there after work till midnight, or sometimes 1 or 2 in the morning... before going to him mums and going straight to bed... so he's at his mums for like a maximum of 24hrs a week.

Surely this isn't right (aside from the moral implication). I've told him he's gonna get in trouble... but I've never had anything to do with benefits claims so perhaps I don't know what I'm talking about... but I just think its fair enough a single mother would be allowed to have their partner stay a couple of nights a week... but when your consistantly following the same pattern of ONLY sleeping at your mums place Mon/Tues/Wed/Thur... then spending the whole rest of the time (other than when your at work) at your missus house (including going there for your dinner).. then the benefits agency are going to see it as you do live there - and therefore are pulling a scam, and you'll end up paying it all back.

McKneff

If someone twigs and he is reported it is not only him that would be in trouble, she would too. They are both committing benefit fraud,
There is no set time that you can spend at a partners house, if the social services watched them, they would see a pattern and the pattern you describe is exactly what they would spot as fraud.

They would have to pay it all back, and be fined/imprisoned in some cases. and would end up with a criminal record. Along side that they would never get insurance for anything, job applications would never result in a job in most cases, etc. etc, etc.

Your mate is making the mistake of thinking he/they will never get caught, he is making the mistake of thinking his neighbours/dwp are stupid. I have no doubt who is the stupid one.

Personally, I wouldnt hesitate to shop them, after all, it's us who's paying for him/them.

CIS

The most easily applied test is whether someone looking in from outside would consider them a couple & living together - he'd fail to convince people he's not on that one straight away without them having to dig further for evidence.

Mojisola

I've never understood the people who decide to commit fraud and then go round telling people what they're doing!

nannytone_2

they tell people because they think theyre 'clever' and want all their friends to know how 'clever' they are!

Starrystarrynight

Report him and, hopefully, he'll find out that he's wrong!

mum2one

I was told that if there was a partner involved, that they could stay upto 3/4 nights a week, that was by a fraud officer, as I had a "friend" who decided to do as much trouble as they could, even thou it was all untrue, I was single....... but again it would go by how much time is spent there, again as you mention the pattern, and whether simple things like where his clothes are, it does sound like that he his commiting fraud, but it would depend on how convincing they make the story, also whether he has any post going to the house, contrubutes to the bills etc.......

any phone calls made you don't leave a name........

CIS

I was told that if there was a partner involved, that they could stay upto 3/4 nights a week

Thats a very rough guideline - it had no real status in law. You can spend no nights in the property with a person and still be their partner for benefit purposes.

joeblack066

Also the Benefits Agencies are increasingly using credit reference agencies to verify who lives where. They will find out. And I for one hope they do, and so should you. Otherwise this man is illegally pocketing some of yours and my taxes!

Aarons_mummy

He'll get caught eventually. See if he and she thinks it's a good idea then.

PrincessDonna2009

It's just ridicolous what people can get away with in the day and age! Here's me and my partner struggling on his low wages and we are genuine people and here's people like him and his girlfriend getting loads of money coming in on benefit's and lying at the same time....ludicrous!