just phoned benefit fraud line to report my son's friend's mum.

[foogle]

I have sat on the info for ages and didn't do anything except get angrier and angrier.

For christmas son's friend got a pony, bmx bike, x box, ipod and family ski trip.

My son got a second hand lego set as that is all we could afford this year.

Son's friend gets free school meals and all school trips paid for.

We can't afford school dinners and scrimp and save for son to go on school trips.

Son's friend's dad lives with them and works but I know she claims benefits as a single mum.

She earns £25 an hour cash in hand at a racing stables.

She gets everything paid for, including housing benefit etc.

We can't afford ponies nor lessons yet she has 2 competition horses.

I never thought I 'd do this as she's a nice person but I've had enough.

Night Bird as it so to speak lol

You can't cheer Dolcelatte, she totally invoked Godwin's Law. If there ain't a rule about that there ought to be.

You'd think they would filter out the crap early on, but close to 80,000 innocent claimants are investigated each year, at considerable cost to the taxpayer.

Good on you for shopping the criminal!

I know it's not great, but I feel very icky about the thought of snitching on someone I know. Would rather ask them directly than be underhand.

I guide people through prosecutions everyday (inc DWP) fair to say not only their lives can be ruined, but their families too. If an investigation does not result in conviction their lives are turned upside down for nothing.

What Dolce and Dreaming makes most sense to me.

If the £1.2 billion people claiming benefits fraudulently didn't get caught, then how on earth do you know that they are claiming fraudulently?

It was a link starlight, it's their estimate. I guess that figure includes the ones they caught and the ones they think they didn't. I don't know how the dwp estimated it - could submit a FOI request to find out!

And I do agree with Shilling, I do find it hard to get too wound up about this with all the other shit going on.

I actually hope this IS made up. Otherwise the idea of someone being so vindictive over a little boy's christmas presents is just awful.

Btw am skint myself. Not an excuse for such jealousy. Tend to your own house and all that.

We're skint, but we have a Wii and DS2 got a 3DS for Christmas. How could we afford it? We got both of them through MN, one through product testing and one by winning a draw. DS3 got a massive little tykes play kitchen for Christmas - which we got for £10 on ebay with local pick-up. It looks like new, and he obviously doesn't know the difference. A child may not notice that something they have gotten for Christmas is secondhand, or a gift may have been from a grandparent or other relative. I just find it appalling that the OP bases this on a child's facebook posts about his Christmas presents.

Sorry, not just fb postings, we know family pretty well, sorry if I gave impression this is made up. Mum is well qualified professional but can't out her here though actually feel like it.

Getting free school dinners and school trips paid while getting cash in hand as a professional... interesting for those who think it is mean of me to report her but then I did want to guage opinions as this is aibu.

Oh please. You don't want to "gauge" opinions. If you really did, you'd have asked PRIOR to phoning the fraud line. You just want everyone to tell you what a good girl you've been, and seem to be annoyed that we don't all jump on the bandwagon.

Maybe they need to open a new section on MN... IKIANBU, but just wanted to boast or rant and have everyone agree with me... Or since most of these seem to be about benefit fraud suspicion or trashing benefits in general, maybe they can label it accordingly.

I notice that this is a new poster. We seem to be getting quite a few of them at the moment. Interesting that so many of them just happen to have friends who are diddling the system in interesting and implausible ways.

though at least the woman on this thread is not disabled

I don't really think a professional (by that I assume you mean lawyer, accountant, surveyor, medical dr etc) would be working cash in hand. If they were (no doubt some do) i'd be equally doubtful that they'd risk so much for a few hundred quid a week, and do it so openly.

She might do a bit of cash in hand but let the benefits people investigate. You probbaly don't know for sure. That's fine; the public are not meant to take the investigator role, but just to report suspicions.

I think it was mean because that poor boy your son's friend!! is about to suffer terribly no doubt, through no fault of his own.

If you are indeed close, how are you going to respond when she comes to you in tears as her life is turned upside down? How will you look her in the eye knowing you turned her in? What are you going to tell your son if his friend loses everything, has to move away, etc?

You didn't do this to 'do the right thing', you did this out of spite.

I note that all the things winding you up are related to her son -- his christmas presents, free dinners, school trips. Why would you begrudge a child these things?

given it has no impact on you whatsoever what she does i think you are being nean and spiteful. try concentrating on what you've got instead of being bitter about what someone else (and really - some elses child) has got. what do you care where her money comes from? try minding your own business?

i hope you can look yourself in the mirror when your sons friends life is turned upside down. if all goes well he wont be getting those school dinners and trips you so begrudge him. i hope you enjoy that victory

There certainly used to be fraud teams. Have a retired friend who worked for one doing things such as surveillance.

Don't be so bloody ridiculous, there isno doubt if she if fiddling it's going to be a vey tough and humiliating time. But when you break the law you are dealt with in this way, and that's the way it is. Would you not prosecute people pulled over and found to be over the dd limit because it would be humiliating and costly and they probably need their license?

There are some strange people about.