wrongly claiming benefits: my dilema

Judy_the_Judge

I am posting under a new username due to the sensitivity of the subject.
From my previous posts it would be pretty easy for anyone who knows me to blow my cover.

Anyway I am truly torn with the situation I have found myself in.

Background:

My friend "louise", has a 6 month old baby boy. Her partner "Phil" is regional manager of a retail chain earning circa £40k. Louise works full time also earning circa £20k.

Phil part-owns a 4-bed house with his ex. Due to the housing slump they rent this out to family. Phil makes apx £300 per month from the rental. None of this is declared and on paper, phil lives here and has all bills, Council Tax registered in his name.

Louise & Phil both live with her parents, rent free as parents are extremely well off. Baby has his own room, parents have their room, younger sister in another room & Louise and Phil have theirs.

Now, Louise is claiming to be a single parent and is claiming tax credits as such.

Both sets of parents take care of baby boy, for free, whilst louise and phil work. phil however, knows a registered childminder who has given him her "number" for tax credit purposes. Louise therefore claims for full time childcare and gives the registered childminder a "back hander" for taking up one of her spaces.

Me and my partner both work very hard to support our child and have only just been able to save a deposit to rent a house. We are not eligible to claim anything but cannot afford to go on holiday and struggle to afford school meals, trips etc.

We share a 9 year old car which is at the end of its life but we cannot afford to renew.

Neither myself or my partner drink or smoke, and do not go out due to lack of leisure money.

Louise & Phil have been on 2 foreign holidays this year, both on their own without son. They have 2 cars, both less than a year old. They are out drinking or away at a hotel every weekend, constantly leaving their son with parents.

I know to some this may come across as "sour grapes" and I guess part of it is. I resent his constant "bragging" about the latest phone, tv, car etc. It just doesnt seem right.

I feel I have a moral duty to inform tax credits - but fear they would find out it was me.

Also, I truly love Louise and do not wish to cause her or her son any harm or upset.

I just dont see why they should have a better life out of taxpayers pockets when everyone else in the country is struggling to make ends meet.

What would you do?

NewKittenHelp

Report them anonymously online. Job done.

mrschaucer

They are costing ME money and I genuinely can't afford to subsidise people like this. Please do the right thing for the sake of the majority of people on benefits in this country who DO need help, and report anonymously. Oh, AND the childminder too.

NAR

JtJ you are fully aware they are taking the mickey and sticking their tongues out at the system. It is people like this that reduce the amount genuine claimants could have. Report them and have no feelings of guilt; they are spongers off the rest of us.

Tropez

The penalties for wrongly and knowingly claiming benefits that you are not entitled to can be quite severe, including prison, which of course has the wonderful consequence of making a person difficult to employ in the future so they have to claim more benefits.

If you do love "Louise" then you can either try and convince her that what she is doing is illegal and that if the authorities were to find out, which often they will anyway, she will be looking at a potential prison sentence, or you can flat out threaten her and give her a chance to stop or you'll have no choice but to report her. If she loves you back, she would stop.

Or, as said, you can do it anonymously online and she'll be investigated and likely charged with, amongst other things, fraud and the child minder will also be charged for knowingly assisting a criminal offence.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/BenefitFraud/DG_10014876

shegirl

Doesn't make sense to me.

The childminder fakely has one of her spaces taken up and gets a backhander for this.why would either of them do that?The childminder would get more money if that space was actually taken and 'Louise' won't be getting much money out of that if she's paying back handers.

What's the point?

And yes,if what you have posted is true you need to report it.

Tropez

shegirl wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me.

The childminder fakely has one of her spaces taken up and gets a backhander for this.why would either of them do that?The childminder would get more money if that space was actually taken and 'Louise' won't be getting much money out of that if she's paying back handers.

Depends how big the back hander is, I suppose and perhaps the child minder is just a bit lazy and sees it as money for nothing? Perhaps the child minder couldn't even fill up all her spaces for whatever reason (such as a bad rep for being involved in criminal enterprises ) so takes a few quid now and again to say that the space is taken?

FBaby

I wouldn't think twice and report. This involved in depth planning and manipulating for the sole purpose of greed. No excuse of 'I didn't know, I forgot', but a clear case of having gone to length to cheat the system.

Your feelings are irrelevant. This is blatant stealing. I really really really hope they get caught and treated like the theives they are.

sunflower_2

shegirl wrote: »

Doesn't make sense to me.

The childminder fakely has one of her spaces taken up and gets a backhander for this.why would either of them do that?The childminder would get more money if that space was actually taken and 'Louise' won't be getting much money out of that if she's paying back handers.

What's the point?

And yes,if what you have posted is true you need to report it.

i actually knew a childminder who did this for a while.


she was generally lazy and didnt want to take on any more kids, even though she could have an extra baby/toddler if she wanted to.

in her own words she "sold the space to a neighbour on benefits". the neighbour split the benefits she got 50/50.

the childminder was very pleased with her cleverness.:mad:

needless to say we are no longer associated in any way.

jetplane

Sorry if I am going to be controversial here, but I would say that even if you report it they have their backs covered. I do not agree with or condone what they are doing, it is disgraceful organised fraud, but how will it be proven?

1) Phil has his own address with bills in his name, therefore he can use this as evidence that he does not live with Louise, therefore his income is irrelevant. He rents out to family which is not declared, so he tells the authorities that they all live together.

2) Louise claims benefits as a single person and has proof that she lives in her parents home, any money that Phil gives her in maintenance for the child is not counted for any benefit purposes.

3) The childminder states that she looks after a child and completes the forms, she is not going to tell the authorities that she does not have the child as this would incriminate herself. She may keep records and journals as if she has the child and put payments through her books and offset costs for this child. Not all childminders are honest and this was a commonplace scam with minders and nurseries when tax credits were first introduced.

Now I would be well and truly !!!!!! off with this and at least if you report it you know that you will have tried. But don't be surprised if the authorities are unable to dispute what Phil and Louise claim. Unfortunately it would take a huge amount of time, surveillance and investigation to gather enough evidence.

sassyblue

They certainly have their grubby fingers in a lot of pies don't they. :mad: I would report them in a heartbeat, l have no problem with anyone on benefits apart from those like your friends.

I've reported someone for playing the system before and they didn't even get a letter or a visit from anyone.

When l say 'playing the system' l mean theft.

I think there are too many people being reported and not enough people to uncover their antics sadly.