Compliance ...new baby!

hips12

bloolagoon wrote: »

Many couples spend weekends and holidays together but live apart and are still a couple. Is there a chance he has attempted to claim benefits for the baby - for example an extra room rate in housing?

No definitely not.
He has had his daughter to stay every other weekend for the last 3 years and does not claim anything for her either ( in his defence, his wife wanted the marriage to end, not him, he didn't walk out on them or anything )

Hips

hips12

Mojisola wrote: »

She calls him her partner. They spend every weekend together. They've just had a baby together. They have a joint bank account. They holiday together.

How are they not a couple?

They do not live together, they have separate bank accounts, they opened up a joint savings account for a "family holiday" but never seem to manage to save.
The baby was not planned, he was an "accident" for want of a better word, but he is my grandson and I adore both my grandchildren and have supported her to the best of my ability.
She works tirelessly as a mum and my carer, and yes they spend weekends together because he is the baby's father and wants to see him!!!!
I did not say they are not a couple, but they do not live as man and wife!

Hips

hips12

I did not say they are not a couple ...but they are not living as man and wife.

hips12

rogerblack wrote: »

Making assumptions.
Assuming your daughter has changed her name, and things haven't been tracked as well as they should have.

It's possible they believe you may be in a relationship with an unrelated to you female.
This would trigger various things as in many cases they must be informed.

However, if this is the case, her relationship to you is a simple and concrete defense against that that they can't ignore.

Lol, but I see your point.
No she still has her maiden name, the same name as me, and is registered for Carers Allowance as my daughter.
I didn't even think to question that they may have thought she was MY partner.
Sadly I am just her widowed mum.

Thanks
Hips

Poppie68

The joint bank account and matching the name on the babies birth certificate are the likely culprits.... even the time spent in the school holidays and every weekend could see them as living as a couple.

merlin68

If they have evidence of spending weekends together, you might be up a creek if dwp have filmed them. sorry but to me they sound like a couple.
Doesn't matter if the joint account is empty. They look at all sorts of things, if you spend times as a family, if you go shopping or on holiday together. Its not just a case of living separately and having separate finances.

pmlindyloo

Mojisola wrote: »

She calls him her partner. They spend every weekend together. They've just had a baby together. They have a joint bank account. They holiday together.

How are they not a couple?

It would be interesting to read Blondbubbles view of this as regarding the claim for tax credits.

Setting aside the point that it is not up to us to decide whether they are living as man and wife I do question the daughter and partner's relationship and whether it has been set up to take advantage of the benefit system.

They seem to have a stable relationship in that they spend every weekend together and some of the holidays and did set up a joint bank account together. OP's also talks of their intending to live together but not for a long time.

And this is where I think the daughter might need to be wary.

Divorce is not expensive and if both parties agree can be fairly straightforward. Five years is a long time.

If they lived together now they may be entitled to help from benefits. Personally I do not see that the financial situation is a reason not to live together.

If the real reason is that they are unsure that their relationship is going to be permanent then fair enough. They are then, despite the child, more like boyfriend and girlfriend.

If the reason is that they can't live together is because the daughter would be unable to drive mum's car as the miles criteria would be breached as regards the mobility scheme and she would not be able to perform her the caring duties then they could move nearer or partner could move in with daughter in mother's house?

I am trying very hard not to be judgemental just alerting the OP to possible inaccuracies in the daughter's story which she may be thinking of telling.

Perhaps I am wrong and they will not be interested in anything other than the facts and evidence to support them.

bloolagoon

hips12 wrote: »

I understand your point, but she lives with me, with her 2 children, she is not even engaged to her partner!
If we had known she was pregnant we certainly would have re-evaluated her moving in with me, but she was here most of the time anyway and it seemed wrong for her to have a 2 bed house when so many are desperate for housing, which swung the decision.
Within a week of handing in her tenancy notice she found out she was pregnant.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing..and of course she would be better off having kept her home, as we now realise.

Thanks
Hips

She simply needs to attend the compliance interview and explain. No one can 2nd guess the outcome, but at least you may have an idea of what it's in regard to. Of course it could be something different but IME compliance normally means they want to check something out.

Its not an interview under caution merely a fact finding exercise based on information they have. Your daughter can then respond and they will then decide the next action.

hips12

Poppie68 wrote: »

The joint bank account and matching the name on the babies birth certificate are the likely culprits.... even the time spent in the school holidays and every weekend could see them as living as a couple.

Thank you.
Separate current accounts, just a joint savings account.
Cannot see how they could be classed as living as a couple when he has his own bank account, rent account, bills etc and she pays me a set amount for food and utilities to help with the bills as she lives here.
It will all be in black and white on their bank statements.
He has a 1 bed flat, I bought them a set of bunk beds for the children ( my eldest grandson, and his potential step dads daughter ) so he has had to put his own bed in his lounge, so really no space to live as a family...would have been different if she had kept her house of course, then they could all be together when they are ready.
Also eldest grandson is at local school here.

Thanks
Hips

hips12

bloolagoon wrote: »

She simply needs to attend the compliance interview and explain. No one can 2nd guess the outcome, but at least you may have an idea of what it's in regard to. Of course it could be something different but IME compliance normally means they want to check something out.

Its not an interview under caution merely a fact finding exercise based on information they have. Your daughter can then respond and they will then decide the next action.

Thank you for your kind and sensible response.
Partner is on babies birth certificate, at his own address, would you suggest my daughter gets copies of his rent account and bank statements to prove that he lives in his own place, or will they be able to get that information themselves if they want it?
Just trying to pre-empt everything so my daughter doesn't get stressed as she is suffering from PND too.

Hips