Should I report my cousin's benefit fraud?

No, definitely don't do this.

Is he making some false claims? yes. Does he have severe Depression that has led to suicidal actions and should be enough to qualify for benefits, in the absence of other difficulties- yes. Just leave it alone and focus on your life.

You are so wrong about me tbh

I never said there was anything wrong with medical cannabis, did I? You clearly get prescribed it for a reason. This person is taking drugs and alcohol in other ways, then boasting about getting PIP. It does happen.

Oh you can piss right off! I know all about mental health, my sister was the one who had Bipolar- had a massive breakdown & left with the clothes on her back, we had to get her sectioned for her safety. It was heartbreaking. we got her into a rented house, between us we furnished it. Up & down the country to look after her. It was flipping hard work.
you don’t know me as a person! You don’t know I helped that friend through a divorce. Gave her stuff because the husband had taken the best stuff.
I haven’t said a single word about her to anyone else. I just don’t agree to staying on pip, just case you might have a turn 10 yrs down the line.

Again, people can spend their benefits how they wish. And PIP is not an out of work benefit. Many people rely on PIP to be able to work. The fact you do not know the difference just shows your ignorance on it all.
And an addict can not easily work at all. If you were an employer, would you take them on?

I am the problem? I think the fact you even felt the need to say that suggest that you are. Picking on the lowest hanging fruit. I hope it makes you feel good. Personally, I get my kicks in ways that do not involve punching down.

Gosh you’d hate me, I buy medical cannabis with my PIP.

Who are you to judge who is genuinely disabled and who isn’t? Is this judge and jury of social media? When you have a welfare state, you have to accept that there will be some level of fraud in order to help the majority who are genuine.

You are NEVER, EVER going to get a system where no fraud occurs, so by abolishing it you’re going to harm many more genuine claimants. There are many invisible disabilities and conditions, some people you wouldn’t know needed PIP if you saw them out in public, and neither do they broadcast their personal struggles. What system do you suggest?

Yes I do know this person well and that they can dress. And really, so it's okay for them to blow all of their earnings on drugs and alcohol when that's not what PIP is for and they can easily work? People like you are the problem, you clearly feel personally attacked and I wonder why....

I am confused. Are you on about two different people?
You mention someone who has been on DLA/PIP for 20 years despite not having a bipolar episode in that time....
And then go on about someone with bipolar who takes themselves off of DLA when they feel well.

If you are in hospital for more than 30 days, your PIP is stopped anyway. Maybe that is what is happening with this fictional person that is bipolar with no episodes, but also has them and comes off benefits.

Age Uk often have people who will fill out the forms. they will often do home visits. Also citizens advice or sometimes even DWP home visiting officers will come to the home to help fill out the form. Or you can fill out the form online also.

That's the reason it needs to be abolished. And only genuinely disabled people should get disability benefits.

How you know how he dresses before he goes out? Are you in his house to see?
And people in receipt of benefits can spend it how they wish... even if it is day drinking and smoking weed.

Pip isn't a benefit easy to get, I know people with serious medical conditions that have been refused. He must be a very good actor

The higher rate is not just given for terminally ill people, it is awarded when someone has day and night time care needs. The lower rate is awarded if someone just has day or night time care needs but not both.

Yes absolutely needed it, & it was a nightmare getting them to apply because they thought they were god & didn’t need the help.

oh but if you haven’t had an episode for 20 yrs, do you still stay on DLA/PIPs
my family member had nurses in & out, that’s how I knew they weren’t faking it

I'm going to get flamed for this but people can and do lie and manage to get PIP. I know someone who claims he can't put a coat on or tie laces but manages to use his benefits to go out drinking and smoking weed all day everyday and is certainly capable of putting clothes on and tying his laces up. I'm not benefit bashing at all, it's supposed to be there for genuine reasons though and not to take the pss. People have a right to feel frustrated at others who abuse the benefits system.

I bet your friend can judge your character more than you realise. I mean, I’m not even your friend, you are a total stranger to me and I have a pretty good idea of your character by the fact you are on a public platform slagging off PIP claimants when you clearly have a very limited understanding of how the system works. Very spiteful indeed.

How could they tell me to wind me up, if they didn’t know what reaction I was going to take. The person is the least braggart that I know.

So if they were in and out of a psychiatric hospital they still needed DLA, then? So it wasn’t that they didn’t need it!! So you are talking drivel about them being ashamed and taking themselves off it ‘’when they were better’’ - they sound like they weren’t better - they were manic.

Even if they were free of an episode, as pp said, PIP is meant to keep you well and living independently so if they were better then it was doing its job. Add to that the fact that bipolar is entirely unpredictable so most people wouldn’t take themselves off it at the drop of a bloody hat!

I certainly not talking drivel, when you can go from being so catatonic that you can’t speak, to suddenly you can answer every question in the universe, buying & spending like a whirl wind- you feel on top of the world and that you think there is nothing wrong with you, you suddenly stop taking your medication- that’s when when my family member would take themselves off DLA.
Because they were in & out of a psychiatric hospital for months at a time, the Social Services would help to fill in the DLA forms- they were put back on DLA no problem. I can tell you it was a bloody nightmare. Her psychiatrist said it was one of the worst cases of bipolar he’d ever seen.

I'd report him. It's people like him that make it hard for genuine people trying to claim.

I know a few people on PIP for bipolar. You don't need to be acutely ill to claim. An episode usually last less than the time you would eligible for PIP anyway... but they claim because they need care and adjustments to their life to make sure they stay well and avoid an episode to begin with.

Oh thanks for that info, I’ll pass that on.
granddaughter helps to shower her but she works full time. I personally feel she needs carers in to help her get washed & dressed.
is there someone that could help her fill in these forms? I wouldn’t know where to start tbh. Thanks

People don’t just come off and go back on DLA or PIP like a yo- yo if they have an unpredictable chronic mental health condition. PIP and DLA are far too difficult to get and the process is often gruelling, often taking months or years to get an award. When you get awarded, each award is valid for a certain time period, after which you are reassessed. No one with a genuine serious MH condition like bipolar is just going to go from needing it to not because they can’t possibly know.

No one in their right mind just comes off it on a whim when they don’t know when they could possibly have an episode again, you’re talking drivel. It’s not about ‘’being comfortable on benefits or being ashamed’’ - having a disability or health condition is nothing to be ashamed of at all. Many people brag in front of others whom they know are envious busybodies just to wind them up, so it’s no wonder they told you 🤣

Attendance Allowance is for pension age. It can be applied for at two different rates. Rate 1 is if you need assistance because you have care needs that mean you are unable to look after yourself for the past at least 6 months (£72 pw). Rate 2 is fast tracked and higher rate for those given less than 12 months to live (£108 pw). I believe non-means tested and given on top of pension / pension credits. The associated full time carer can also apply for carer allowance (£82 pw)