housing benefit fraud

snailz

hi all i need some help please. here is my situation. i have been in a on/off relationship with my boyfriend for several years, we decided that we are not ready to live together yet as we are just not ready for that step. i have a disabled daughter who needs 24 hour care and im sick myself, i have M.E and fibromyalgia. my daughter receives high rate care as she needs to be watched during the night, due to my illness i am not always able to do this. my boyfriend is her registered carer. he comes over to my house to care for her, sometimes he stays over to watch her during the night and sometimes during the day. somebody has reported me for fraud and says he lives here, which he doesnt, he has his own place where he spends time out of his caring hours. pls dont judge me for this but i am just simply not well enough to be her carer myself. he does not contribute to my bills nor do i to his. i have an interview on the 8th aug. will i be in trouble for this? the same situation happened 3 years ago and the same lady came out to my house and dismissed the case saying i was doing nothing wrong, that as long as he wasnt living with me i was not breaking the law, however that file has been destroyed as they do not save them for than 2 years. im very worried.

jacques_chirac

It depends on several factors, including what amounts to 'sometimes'? Is he the father of your children?

pmlindyloo

Please try not to worry.

We always say on here that if you have done nothing wrong then you have nothing to worry about.

They have a duty to investigate if someone reports anything. This is just the way it is when people need state help.

If your daughter's carer has his own house, pays his own bills etc etc then this is ample evidence that you are not living together as man and wife.

snailz

he is paid for 35 hours a week. he spends his time doing things with my daughter. the time he spends here varies, some weeks he will saty over 4 nights as she up all night, some weeks he will only stay 2 nights, it all depends on her mood, she is very hard work and needs constant care, hence why he is her carer. no week is the same. i always thought if you had a registered carer they were able to come round and care as that is their job?

snailz

sorry i meant stay not saty

snailz

he is the father of my youngest but not my disabled child. we argue a lot and i dont want to be forced to live with him until we are ready for that.

jacques_chirac

snailz wrote: »

he is paid for 35 hours a week. he spends his time doing things with my daughter. the time he spends here varies, some weeks he will saty over 4 nights as she up all night, some weeks he will only stay 2 nights, it all depends on her mood, she is very hard work and needs constant care, hence why he is her carer. no week is the same. i always thought if you had a registered carer they were able to come round and care as that is their job?

They are, but in some cases there is a fine line between being there to provide care and living at the property. Be honest with the compliance officer, they will make a decision based on your full circumstances.

snailz

thank you, i just dont know what else i can do, she needs a carer to watch over her, i cant just say to him oh go and take her out of the house for 35 hours a week

snailz

and if i have crossed the line of what they see suitable, what happens then? will they put me in prison? stop him from being her carer? if i have done something wrong it has been totally because iv not been aware that i was breaking the law. will they see me as someone who gone out to commit a fraud?

SHIRAZ

you have a child together, you trust him enough to be your other child's carer yet your not "ready" to live together?
I'm not surprised someone has reported you, it sounds like you do live together but just have separate addresses to claim maximum benefits...

princessdon

Does he come over when she's at school?

My husband rents elsewhere and pays council tax etc, yet we are a couple.
Do you do couple things, go out as a family, cook and eat etc

Where does he sleep when he stays over?