Benefit Fraud

seekinghelp81

Hello... I've been doing some reading up today and it led me here, I'm hoping someone can answer my questions.

Basically, I've filed a report about my neighbour with the fraud hotline. It came to my attention that the lady next door has been claiming working & child tax credit for years and continued to claim as a single parent after her partner moved in. At the very least she has been claiming as a single person for nearly 18 months (at over £400 a month) whilst the partner has been living there. We found this out when my husband was on a night out and got talking to the neighbours boyfriend, over a drunken conversation the boyfriend was mouthing off that the neighbour wouldn't cancel her claim and had even renewed it after he'd already been there for 6 months!!

Me and my husband both work full time, we work opposite shifts so we can balance child care and aside from child benefit we get no help what so ever so it really gets me that the neighbour can blatantly abuse the system.
Now I have reported this what will happen? is there a time line in how these matters are dealt with? I'd hopped to be able to keep track of the report but they don't allow you to do this.

Thanks

[Deleted User]

Have you stopped to think that it just might have been some drunken bragging?

Happily you are now out of the loop and action may or may not be taken.
Just one other thought have you ever paid anyone for work done "cash in hand"? and did you report them for potential tax fraud?
I'm not having a go but whilst we are not here to encourage benefit fraud neither do we condone people who may not be in full possession of the facts making such reports.
BTW welcome to MSE

PasturesNew

Well done. Probably gets something towards the rent too... and council tax... and a raft of other freebies due to being on XYZ already.

seekinghelp81

venison wrote: »

Have you stopped to think that it just might have been some drunken bragging?

Happily you are now out of the loop and action may or may not be taken.
Just one other thought have you ever paid anyone for work done "cash in hand"? and did you report them for potential tax fraud?
I'm not having a go but whilst we are not here to encourage benefit fraud neither do we condone people who may not be in full possession of the facts making such reports.
BTW welcome to MSE

Point taken, but what the boyfriend said made sense, they appear to be living beyond their means so maybe its true

seekinghelp81

venison wrote: »

Something non of us know for an absolute FACT

Which is why I reported my concerns. My question was, what would happen now?

PasturesNew

venison wrote: »

Something non of us know for an absolute FACT

Don't need to. OP was just doing "the right thing" and informing the authorities that fraud might be taking place... and that's that.

OP's probably on the money though. People don't brag about this stuff unless it's true, unless they're in the bottom 1% when IQ's are totted up.

discat11

I genuinely don't think that some people 'get it' with dishonesty today.
My ex was a DWP fraud officer and the sort of sanctions that the real pi$$ takers caught for tens of thousands of fraud get are pathetic.

OK, not fair to report someone if you have any real doubt, but for everything else more power to your elbow I say -it isn't a victimless crime -the victims are everyone who works or has ever worked and pays tax.
The person reported will be investigated before the DWP actually make a decision anyway.

I sincerely wish more dishonesty would be called out - I popped into a local shop tonight and 2 chavs dropped a crate of beer on their way out and then had the brass neck to take it back into the shop & claim it was 'leaking' and they'd only just noticed! I don't suppose I'm going to be on their xmas card list after I said loudly 'it wasn't leaking until you dropped it lads!' :-)

[Deleted User]

seekinghelp81 wrote: »

Point taken, but what the boyfriend said made sense, they appear to be living beyond their means so maybe its true

Could be they are maxing out the credit cards? Or one of a number of possibilities not all of them bad.

The truth is that the amount of benefit fraud is minuscule compared to the overall expense, whilst the amount of tax fraud is eye watering.

I'm afraid it would take more than a drunken conversation to make me report anyone for anything except probably murder.

TELLIT01

venison wrote: »

Have you stopped to think that it just might have been some drunken bragging?

I'm not having a go but whilst we are not here to encourage benefit fraud neither do we condone people who may not be in full possession of the facts making such reports.
BTW welcome to MSE

The OP has acted on the information available to them and should be commended for that, not criticised in any way in my view. The Fraud team will undertake the necessary investigation and act according to the outcome of that investigation.
I would suggest that very few people who report suspected fraud are in full possession of all the facts. If they were there would be no need for a fraud investigation team.
If people only reported their suspicions on the basis of the parameters you set there would be very few investigations. Much drunken bragging has an element of truth behind it. "In Vino Veritas"

TELLIT01

venison wrote: »

Could be they are maxing out the credit cards? Or one of a number of possibilities not all of them bad.

The truth is that the amount of benefit fraud is minuscule compared to the overall expense, whilst the amount of tax fraud is eye watering.

So that makes it alright then.

The 'overall expense' of benefits is eyewatering so even by your calculation the amount of benefit fraud isn't a trivial amount. Whatever the amount, it's too much and needs to be stopped. As does tax fraud. The two issues aren't mutually exclusive.

elsien

seekinghelp81 wrote: »

Which is why I reported my concerns. My question was, what would happen now?

DWP will decide whether to investigate or not. Chances are you won't find out anything more unless at some point she's prosecuted and ends up in the local paper.