Found some disturbing news about family.

[familysnob]

Name changed so not to out myself.

My uncle came to visit us from where he lives. (About 4 hr drive)
We don't see his two adult children very often unless we go to visit them.
My parents insisted we all go to Uni and were very strong on right and wrong. We are a fairly close knit group. Mum and Dad have helped all of us get good stable careers and my brother and I have bought a house while my sister is in the Navy and travels.

I took uncle out to dinner with my partner. He was chatting about one of my cousins whose husband has just started his own business. He told us how he is requesting to be paid in cash and fiddling the tax man. He told us how this guy has large sums of cash in his house so as not to arouse suspicion.

I asked how do they pay their mortgage as all they have is cash. He said they have a council house. Which is another reason why he has to keep his earnings low. My cousin has a touch of anxiety but is exaggerating her illness (which got her the house with her two kids in the first place)
Both kids are asthmatic allegedly and she gets DLA for them which pays for her car. They know someone in a local community group who helps them
Complete the assessment forms to get mid to high rate.

I was stunned. He told us all this as if he was proud of it. Like it was an indication of how clever his daughter is. I changed the subject when I could and was quite quiet the rest of the meal. I felt ready disillusioned by him. I've always loved and looked up to this uncle because he moved to the city when I was young. I always thought he was cool and strong.

When we got home my partner said I acted like a snob. That I came from and entitled family background and I showed myself up.

Am I being a snob. My parents were not rich but they would have gone buck mad if I'd done have what this cousin has done. It's just wrong.

How? When I applied for UC after my husband died they knew I was married and I had to prove he was dead. Even then I couldn’t claim it until his name had been removed from all of the household bills, the mortgage, the deeds and the council tax. In fact the whole process was so exhausting I gave up and went back to work early.

Anyone who has had personal experience of dealing with UC or PIP will know that this kind of fraud would be nigh on impossible.

Morally this is repugnant.
You should report your cousin anonymously here
https://www.gov.uk/report-tax-fraud

If you don’t, you’re just as bad as them.

It's pretty morally repugnant to try and ruin someone's life because of a rumour no? Especially when you can see from one google that this can't be true but either way they'll be sanctioned while the job centre looks into the report.

You need to report them because not reporting someone else's benefit fraud also implicates you.

There’s nothing difficult about it. You should report them. Silence is violence.

This seems a bit off and somebody, whether the OP or the uncle, is being deliberately inflammatory here.

For one thing, once you have a council house, you can't just be kicked out of it because your earnings increase. So why would they be "trying to keep [his earnings] quiet"?

This starts an investigation, that’s all. If there’s nothing to be found, no lives are ruined.
If shes lying then serves her right - she’s a thief

Please don't listen to this and tread really carefully.

It is not a case of "no harm done". The UC system, while working positively for somebody like me with a monthly income and few changes in circumstances, can be really cruel for people already in less stable positions in life.

If this is reported, the claim will be suspended until an investigation is completed, which could take months. The family could be facing eviction by this point.

It is also third hand evidence - it's not like it's the DP or the cousin saying this. It's a weird dodgy uncle who could be saying absolutely anything. NEVER operate on a rumour like this, it's incredibly unwise.

@RedditFinder that's not true. A sanction can be applied while the investigation is happening. If she has two young children how is she going to feed and house them in the meantime?

Interesting you're not reading the posts that state why this must be untrue.

When we got home my partner said I acted like a snob. That I came from and entitled family background and I showed myself up.

Your so-called partner doesn't have your back OP.

“Disturbing news” ffs 🙄

a) nothing the alleged uncle allegedly told you is plausible and/or accurate - for reasons better explained by others above
b) I discovered a family member is a product of incest. That is the type of discovery that “disturbing” should be reserved for

My cousin has a touch of anxiety but is exaggerating her illness (which got her the house with her two kids in the first place)
Both kids are asthmatic allegedly and she gets DLA for them which pays for her car

And no doubt you dislike immigrants if you believe that crap.

She can get a job if her benefits stop.

I have a friend who cannot leave her house alone as her health is so bad. This is a woman who fled domestic violence during Covid, and solo-parents twins with their own needs. She’s currently had her PIP paused while they investigate, which means she is even more isolated than she was.

This is the link the HMRC’s tax avoidance line, not DWP’s.

I'm in masive support of avoiding tax. Why pay it for this new government to just give it away to people in need.
Well done him 👏

@RedditFinder ahh. So you're just a troll. Sorry, should've realised when you ignored all the good information on the thread that you're a troll.

@newnamethanks dont give a child their prescribed medicaion or brown preventative inhaler and then exaggerate sympt9ms of severity of asthma.

No, you’re not being a snob. You’re being a normal principled person.

And a taxpayer. No wonder budgets are squeezed nowadays.

@RedditFinder ‘Silence is violence.’ I think you know it isn’t.

OP I’m guessing your uncle was winding you up.

He probably thinks you are a snob and wanted to enjoy seeing you ‘disturbed.’

Why would he tell tales about his own daughter knowing you’re likely to disapprove?

Just ignore the whole thing.

Needing a low income to get a council house - bollocks
Getting a council house due to anxiety- bollocks
Getting DLA for exaggerated asthma- bollocks

Your Uncle is a misplaced bragger.
I never fail to be surprised by what people say.
Presumably he was unable to say "my kids went to uni and have bought a house" so the implication is that they are getting one over.

There’s no much point arguing about whether this is true or not. The uncle might have been referring to housing benefit rather than the council house per se. I wouldn’t know the difference.
It’s a sad world where so many people are happy to let criminals take the mick. No wonder public services are where they are.
I’m proud to pay my taxes to live in a caring society. People who take advantage of that need to be publicly humiliated.

Ok. Well seems I'm a naive idiot as well as a snob.

I agree maybe the term
Disturbed was inappropriate. I was most definitely shocked at my uncle, a man who i always thought so highly off. I feel even worse about him now it looks like he was lying too.

I'll put it behind me and never mind them. People never cease to amaze me.

@RedditFinder but the things that have been said about them are very clearly untrue, for various reasons mentioned again and again on this thread. Of course it matters if it's true. You could cause immense stress for two people just because someone has very obviously lied. It's very strange you would be okay with that and insinuate they're criminals?