Is this benefit fraud?

[SecretMinceRinser]

I've got a friend who claims as a single mum. Her fiance (and father of her child) works in another city and spends 4 nights a week staying there and 3 nights a week with my friend (different nights depending on work but always 3). He contributes a bit financially (but not much by all accounts) and friend relies heavily on her dad to subsidise her. I've often wondered if she should really be claiming as a single person. Would her fiance be classed as living there?
Will probably be flamed for this but even if she shouldn't be claiming I won't be grassing her up because she is a friend and her fiance is a waste of space and won't support her and her child will suffer. I'm just curious as to how it works.

This is probably why it goes on. Because a lot of it is because of cocklodgers or tightwads.

Well either they are together - in which case both contributing to their child's upbringing - or he should be paying child support, surely?

Otherwise he's allowing the state to pay for his child while working and that isn't right!

there is not a set number of nights someone can stay, 3 is a bit of an urban myth - the fact is if she is receiving money from anyone, father, fiance whoever then she is committing benefit fraud. It is being financially linked or receiving money from others which counts as fraud.

It is a bit weird though that a married couple could live apart in the weeke but I presume they would both have to declare the same address? I am not trying to be inflamatory either, but we have had to have periods of our marriage where my husband lived away (sometimes for 3 weeks at a time) and I never claimed I was a single parent. he just lived in really scummy bedsits and we got on with it

They aren't married. They are engaged and have a child together.

Agincourt I agree it is weird and I'm going to put my head above the parapet and say that this is one reason why perhaps it would be fair to give some sort of recognition of marriage/civil partnerships in the tax system.

It doesn't matter if they aren't married does it? If they are in a committed relationship and they have a child together and he just works away in the week because his employment is elsewhere, she isn't a single a Mother, just like I was never one.

I am usually the last person to squeal benefit fraud, but this sounds very much like people playing the system to their own advantage

I think it's different if they both have their own addresses but it sounds as though they are together but he just works away.

He has some clothes and stuff there.
To all purposes as far as I can see she IS a single mother. He doesn't contribute anything like a father should financially, he doesn't help out with the kids, he doesn't live there half the week and when he is there he doesn't interact with the kids or even my friend much.
I was just wondering if legally she was a single mother.

If it's true that he doesn't really contribute to his children, why is she thinking of marrying him? If she does, her benefits will stop and then she's relying on him financially. As a friend, I'd be more worried about that than her current arrangement.

Well she loves him I guess. I'm hoping she won't actually marry him.

It depends what benefits she is claiming, they're definition of 'lone parent' is different for different benefits.
If she's claiming income support then they consider someone who only stays 3 nights per week as not living there, altho im not sure what their opinion is of someone who contributes.
HMRC consider someone as a lone parent if the other party doesn't financially contribute, so yes as far as her tax credits are concerned then she is committing benefit fraud as he contributes.

This is an area that really pisses me off because I have been a lone parent and really really struggled financially and then met people who claim that they are a lone parent when they aren't one woman said to me ''yeah I say I'm a lone parent, otherwise id hardly get anything'' yes love that's because you're not entitled to anything!

It doesn't matter how often he stays. It's to do with whether or not they are financially linked and whether he contributes to the household income, which from what you have said, is no. The three nights thing is irrelevant.