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Lanzarote1938

JaneD1980 wrote: »

He's just borrowing money or working for family to pay this

for 4 years?

JaneD1980

missapril75 wrote: »

No they don't.

As a father of the kids, if he was spending a significant amount of time at the home - overnight, family meals etc - that could conceivably be taken as living together - just as if you were two single, childless, people in a relationship including overnighting could be taken as living together.

Option 2 sounds like the old Specialist Claims Control units that used to tour the country in the 70s/80s with no evidence (if they did then they would end the claim themselves and then recover overpayments and possibly prosecute)

Just getting people to "come clean" under promise of amnesty makes them appear to be doing a good job because they claim benefit savings even though there may be none and that's even forgetting whether there's any offence.

If he doesn't stay, for you to be in trouble they have to prove otherwise.

Even if he has stayed overnight - missed last bus or ill or something, on occasion - it's still for them to prove it.

If he maintains a home elsewhere it helps your case. There are really no black and white rules - except that living together absolutely has to include sharing a household. It's what the law says.

It's been fairly common to agree living together from a current date - or just a few days ago. No overpayment because it "only just happened", no prosecution and they get their 'result' too.

Do you know anyone who did this? Changed their circumstances at a meeting and that was the case closed?

JaneD1980

FBaby wrote: »

The problem is that it wasn't just a random check someone actually reported you as they believed he lives with you. Do you know who that might be?

No it was because they had a phonecall stating we lived together.
99% sure his brothers girlfriend as we've had a fall out and she has caused trouble ever since, saying my ex partner cheated when we were together, putting fb statuses about me, sending me abusive msgs or fone calls and threatening to come to mine if I get cheeky with her! She's an evil person x

Lanzarote1938

JaneD1980 wrote: »

No it was because they had a phonecall stating we lived together.
99% sure his brothers girlfriend as we've had a fall out and she has caused trouble ever since, saying my ex partner cheated when we were together, putting fb statuses about me, sending me abusive msgs or fone calls and threatening to come to mine if I get cheeky with her! She's an evil person x

She would be in a position to know the truth, whatever that may be.
Is it likely that the DWP have asked her for proof of her allegations and she has been able to provide it?

Caz3121

does he ever stay overnight at your house? does his car remain there overnight? If they received an allegation they may well have been watching your property for some time before calling you in.

teddysmum

I would worry that, if he doesn't live and base his car there, the insurance would be invalid and children are being risked in that car.

missapril75

JaneD1980 wrote: »

Do you know anyone who did this? Changed their circumstances at a meeting and that was the case closed?

Yes. A friend was a member of the Fraud department. They had targets to have a certain number of claims ended and they had targets relating to "benefit savings" - a calculation based on what had been in payment even if it didn't actually save money if a new claim followed or a different benefit was claimed instead.

But they had to meet targets and it was easy to do so by getting single parents (providing they had more than just a suspicion - observation, for example) to agree they had a live-in partner from "the weekend just gone" or next payday sort of thing.

ohreally

Why did you become involved with this especially if he has nothing to do with you?

FBaby

99% sure his brothers girlfriend as we've had a fall out and she has caused trouble ever since, saying my ex partner cheated when we were together, putting fb statuses about me, sending me abusive msgs or fone calls and threatening to come to mine if I get cheeky with her!

I wonder if she's the poster who came and asked a few months ago about reporting her brother and his girlfriend as she was tired of them cheating the system pretending not to be a couple when they very much were. After a couple of weeks, she said she'd taken the steps and done it and reported them.

Placitasgirl

An alcoholic with a car, a car which presumably isn't kept at the address at which it is insured. And an alcoholic who does work "for family" to pay for his car..... and presumably declares the cash in hand he receives for this work as he doesn't have a bank account.

Invalid insurance, children being carried in a car by an alcoholic and fiddling HMRC by not declaring earnings by the look of things. Reckon this is a deep pool with lots of fish in it. Hopefully DWP/HMRC will dig deeper and get to the bottom of this one and take all appropriate actions.