To report benefit fraud?

I have no doubt the OP isn’t being fully honest here…

mots the height of unprofessional behaviour to do what you have alleged to have done.

I just have to say - separately - it’s Motability not Motorbility ffs!! And the mobility comping of DLA or PIP is swapped in its entirety for the leased vehicle from Motability not in addition to DLA.

I always ask people to read through what I have written to check they are happy with it but most don't want to ! It does concern me that I could misinterpret what someone has said. Pleased to hear that you check thoroughly and explore further what has been written.
At the end of the day we can only write down what the claimant says and try to word it and prompt them to expand on their answers and give examples. They are signing the form and there is a PIP assessment to clarify anything that needs clarification !
Personally I worry more about the Attendance Allowance form - rarely an assessment, based entirely on a form and supported often by just a GP summary which barely gives any backing up of what an applicant can and cannot actually do. At least with PIP the medical evidence has to be robust or it just won't be awarded.

Wouldn’t you be committing a breach of confidentiality if you are paid to support this family. I would advise you to speak to your manager first for advice

As a pip assessor can you please clarify to everyone on here pip isnt as easy to get as some make out.

PIP assessor here 👋

Can confirm, the “my worst day” myth is false and that the form (and any subsequent interview) is based on the majority of days. We can generally spot the exaggerators a mile off; they tend to make lots of small errors in what they’re saying which leads to inconsistencies that they can’t account for.

Regarding the CAB/welfare rights charities who help with claims, I couldn’t tell you how many claimants I’ve had who’ve had their form filled in by an advisor and when I’ve asked them about a condition they’ve listed, they have no idea what I’m talking about. “What’s neuropathy? Is that to do with my depression? I don’t know, they filled it in, I just signed it”. Happens all the time.

But that’s why we have a process in place to verify what people are saying.

It specifically says on the form did anyone help you with this form name, address and contact number. So your details are on the form i cant believe you would put yourself in a position like this especially since everything you have written wont be usuable as you havent read the renewal which specifically states only send new information since last assessment. Now your writing about it on the Internet. You need to either admit to your boss how badly you've messed up and how you cant manage to read and fill out a form alone. Or you need to admit you made the whole thread up as their hasnt been a benefit bashing thread today. Either way you just look stupid at this point

It's shocking when people give this advice to fill it in based on your worst day. A worst day could be once a year or once a month and PIP is based on the majority of days. However, PIP assessors do seem to be pretty good at clarifying this and would need medical evidence that the claimant was affected on the majority of days. I have supported a lot of people at PIP assessments and the assessors have always been very thorough with this so hopefully people are not being awarded wrongly.
The 'advice' given on some of those facebook sites is a real eye opener tbh.

You are not supposed to fill it out based on the worse day, not unless that’s a reflection of most days. That in itself is fraud.

I’m in a health group on facebook and people opening admit to writing it up as their worst day. My worse day with my condition was in hospital with a life threatening attack unable to move with pain. If I ever filled in a PIP form to reflect those terrible days when they are not that often and other days I was going out and about and on holiday, it would be fraud.

But everyone just sees it as the way they need to fill it out to qualify and as they do have a genuine quite serious health issue they consider it ok to do this. Things like needing someone to accompany them when leaving the house, unable to walk far, needing someone to administer meds or assist them with washing, they openly admit they do not need unless they were at hospital level pain, which might be once or twice a year at best. Posters on here refuse to believe so many are exaggerating their conditions to qualify, but there are many that are.

A form should not be completed just on someone's worst day. It is fine to describe a worst day but it needs to be explained how many days are worst days.

You need to talk to your manager urgently. You have already doubtless committed a serious breech of your organisations policy in knowingly assisting a client to commit benefit fraud, and are now contemplating breeching client confidentiality, which if you do so off your own bat without following procedure, is serious misconduct. This client and his morality are the least of your worries. I urge you, report yourself to your manager, and request basic training for your role, because bluntly, you are a liability to your organisation at present.

For future reference, should you need it, if its clear a client is lying to claim benefits, you do not go ahead and fill in the form with the lies. It might be his signature, but its you who wrote it, and it wouldn't be the first time a client claimed that "the charity woman put that, I just signed". You end the interview and seek the guidance of your supervisor.

I think you should have told the man you can't write some things because they are not true.

"I did say at the time that I was just going to have to copy the previous application or it will look like he's been miraculously cured."

It sounds like the fraud was your idea OP! Probably best speaking to your manager and being honest because this could come back to bite you, especially if you decide to report him.

I work in a similar role, for me, I would consider the reason for the exaggeration. Is he just talking about what happens on his worst days? That is how the form should be completed.

Is he unable to work? Benefits without the PIP element are not sufficient for living on, nor is carers allowance and you say he is a carer. If PIP prevents a carer of a vulnerable person being in poverty I'd say it is morally wrong for you to report him and push him in to poverty. You also risk causing a huge amount of stress to the claimant and the cared for person. If this cared for person is completely dependent on him and he ends up in a position where he can't care for her effectively the cost to the tax payer is going to be much greater than his PIP payments. It can be a few grand a week for adult social care to fund a person's care.

The government is losing money hand over fist because of benefit fraud. And just look how those who genuinely need the money have been affected by the threat of losing money they depend on

report immediately

That’s correct. No idea where this “describe your worst day” thing comes from.

Majority of days is what’s important, like you say. Along with robust evidence, proof of treatment, any scan/X-ray reports etc.

If people are being told this they are being advised incorrectly. PIP is based on the majority of days. Unless all days are the same people are usually encouraged to explain how many days they struggle with an activity for example "4 days out of 7 I struggle to prepare food because....."

Tbh i think you should have asked him to tell you what to include not suggesting duplication of a prior years

I think you should have started from scratch rather than copy or at least question things you believed to not be correct. You've made yourself morally complicit despite him signing the form.
However, he won't be refused just on your say so, all that might happen is that he will be investigated.

That's what I was just thinking. If op has chosen to fraudulently put down info on a form that is a massive problem. Likely a sackable offence at minimum.

The level of detail needed for these sorts of forms is very high. An adviser would need to ask questions, and surely if op had seen evidence to the contrary that would be something needing checked (to make sure the correct info was on the form e.g. if a condition fluctuates etc, nit necessarily to stop the application).

The assessment part is such a small part of the process the thing that is most needed is strong medical evidence mainly from secondary care.

You need to report it. These assessments are relying on people being truthful & many of them aren’t. It’s much easier for people to exaggerate now, when most assessments are by phone.

As well as asking for advice on mumsnet,....

I did say at the time that I was just going to have to copy the previous application or it will look like he's been miraculously cured.
But this isnt even how you fill out a renewal iv just done mine and the form is completely different to the original one you do and the dwp are only interested in any changes since the last form. So not only did you apparently lie on the form you also didn't read it. You sound so professional.

Another one to say that variable conditions are real. I have an autoimmune arthritis. My injections are every two weeks. On day 2-4 I’m actually ok, I can walk arrive an average Lidl and even put my shopping away. Day 5-14 though I’m far from great, rely heavily on a stick or just taking it easy. If I am on steroids, I might get two weeks of being almost normal. But if I get sick ( very common, every 4-6 weeks) then I have to miss an injection and often am house or bed bound for that time. But Pele, close friends, support people, only tend to see me at my very best as I totally and utterly try to hide when in bad as NOBODY likes to hear “actually no in not ok” on a regular basis. It reduces intimacy with friends and as a result my world is very small with just two good friends and my 2 sisters left. They know the truth of how my illnesses affect me, but very few other people see the reality of me needing electric veg peelers, help cleaning myself, shower stools, and popping pills like smarties just to get through the tough times. My drs know, and they offer me the paper work trail I need to access sort and it’s backed up with X-rays, blood results etc. but if my next door neighbour knew I was on benefits she would probably report me as she’s sees me pottering in my greenhouse, watering plants and SHOCK HORROR walking to the shop 25m away over a week to get milk.

I’m not saying don’t report, but I had to show a huge amount of stuff from drs etc and the dwp can and do access medical records and contact support workers etc.

People are told to report everything as if it was their worst day, so I assume there is a bit of leeway there. Because you have filled out the form and it seems like you didn't question it at the time, I would feel guilty at then going on to report him.