Ive Just shopped someone for benefit fraud, do I deserve to burn in hell.

[Gulitladen]

I feel quite bad.

This person is an acquaintance, She was a single parent for a few months, then she met someone who pretty much moved in, he was paying her bills for her and moved in properly earlier this year.

She has always worked full time with a salary of around 20k.

She seems to have an awful lot of money, and, as a single parent myself, I couldnt quite work it out. However, I have seen her tax credits renewal form as she didnt understand something and asked me to have a look for her, and shes claiming to be a lone parent, working 16.3 hours a week, earning 12k a year less than she actually is.

She is also claiming housing benefit as a single parent.

So, I have completed the DWP form and sent it off. I couldnt help it, it makes me see red.

But I now feel terrible.

And they stop benefits for all kinda of reasons. If you are on benefits you learn to only report changes straight after rent/bills day so you have more chance of getting it all back in payment and sorted for the next rent day.

The situation with my sister was she had been working with this woman for about 5 years and the company went into liquidation. They stayed friends and my sister started her own business which became quite successful after a difficult start. The friend went on the dole and took a lot of cash in hand jobs. She then met a guy, had a child with him and he worked on the oil rigs. He was earning a fortune but she never declared he was living with her (which he did when he was onshore). My sister got really pissed off because she was struggling to get her business off the ground, she had two young DCs and the "friend" was claiming housing benefit, working family tax credits and anything else she could get her hands on whilst getting a fortune from her partner through his rigs job.

She made the decision to shop her (I was quite shocked but it was none of my business) and the friend narrowly escaped a custodial sentence as she had racked up £11,000 of fraudulently claimed benefits in a relatively short time.

Regardless of what you think of my sister, the "friend" was taking the piss.

What are the consequences for her if OP was wrong and she gave all the right facts? Surely if they investigate and find no fraud she will not be penalised?

Regarding people saying would they feel the same about tax evaders, I had good friends who ran their own business (property and grocer shops). They were maliciously targeted by a rival business owner who shopped them for VAT fraud. They were entirely innocent but were plagued for over a year whilst being investigated.

Some people on benefts are also innocent though aren't they silly string,

Absolutely life, and may well also be the target of a malicious report. But some aren't and they're taking money from people who really need it and feeding the horrible stereotype of benefit claimants so beloved of the Daily Heil and it's delightful sidebar of shame.

I meant "its". Fucking hate when I muck up with a rogue apostrophe!!!

People who suspect fraud and report it are not responsible if someone's benefits are stopped. Us regular people are not in charge of how the investigations are carried out or the consequences of that.

Yes its going to be shit for someone who is only claiming what they are legally entitled to and their benefits get stopped because of an investigation, but then there has to be a downside to the generous benefits system we have in place in this country.

Surely people don't expect to make a claim, be handed hundreds or thousands of pounds and for no checkes ever to be made? For there never to be anything about it that might invonvenience them because everything they need should just be handed out on a plate without question?

And what's with all this goady bollocks that's been flying around? What is there to goad about? If no one on this thread is making a fraudulent claim, then no one has any reason to be wound up by a discussion about one.

Tax credits for 12rs op????
Are you sure¿?????

Yes but the downside should't be not being able to eat or being kicked out of your home for rent arrears because you have no income. I can't see how anyone could defend that position.

No one's expecting no checks. Routine checks are made. But removal of benefits, sometimes for months, while they investigate a tip off is wrong. Particularly when the DWP know that 90% of claimants who have been reported turn out not to have been claiming fraudulently. If they're not going to change that system then maybe they should consider fining those that report where no fraud is found.

Woo woo. You don't have to be making fraudulent claims to be wound up by a thread about one. I just adore children and the thought that this poor womens innocent children will suffer financially upsets me. Als what if this women has a breakdown through all this.

It will be the poor innocent children who will suffer when they sanction this womens money while they investigate. How can anyone sleep with that on their concionce, and as harsh as this is to say but it willl be your fault when they are having to go without

Rubbish, the thief will have enough put by to cover several weeks if she's been stealing as much as is suspected.

I am working as a care assistant.

Come with me for a day and I will show you poor innocent people who really suffer. Elderly people left for hours at a time in wet, soiled clothing? Disabled people plonked in front of televisions all day, every day? I'm not talking about one, I'm talking about the majority of people I have to visit.

Someone is getting upset because children 'might' be hungry. I get upset because these people 'are' suffering. The problem comes back to money and funding every time. It's a particularly nasty underbelly of life you don't see unless you are taken to it, and you don't see it because those concerned never get out. Not rarely - never.

It stands to reason that the more some people take, the less some people get. And who loses out every time - the people I see. Tiny things would make a huge difference to their quality of life.

I don't blame benefits claimants for this but it disgusts me that so many seem to think lying, stealing and cheating is acceptable because children are involved. In fact, this is a reason why it ISN'T acceptable. A childless adult will be left to starve, someone with children will not be homeless and will not go hungry. The shelter and food is there for the children really but it amounts to the same thing.

Many posters have stated that even if they knew somebody was claiming fraudulently they still would not report. Isn't that celebrating it?

I can say I was one of the people that said they would never report it simple reason it is none of my business and they are not having an effect on my life. I do not claim benefits I do not get any money for my child either.

I don't agree when people complain that their taxes pay for peoples benefits, if your unhappy with that that, find something that is tax free. As more as this thread goes on it just shows bitterness from people.

And in answer to your question I am not celebrating it.

Gulitladen and others saying the innocent don't suffer. I know how to make this right. Report yourselves.

It can't possibly do any harm right?

If you are not on benefits (and most people are on one kind or another) then report yourself for underpaying taxes. They will carefully check and find you innocent....

It will be the poor innocent children who will suffer when they sanction this womens money while they investigate. How can anyone sleep with that on their concionce, and as harsh as this is to say but it willl be your fault when they are having to go without

She is earning 20k a year - she hardly sounds like she is on the breadline. I'm sure she will manage in the meantime (wish I had that amount to manage on!)

And if she defrauding the system, and her family suffers, perhaps she should have thought about that before she decided to steal.

Yes its going to be shit for someone who is only claiming what they are legally entitled to and their benefits get stopped because of an investigation, but then there has to be a downside to the generous benefits system we have in place in this country.

Yes someone has to suffer don't they WooWooOwl. I can see that it's important to you that someone does.

Abbey, the OP says she earns 20K. That's not the same thing as actually earning 20K. It's difficult to live off money other people say you earn.

Lifehasafunnyway

I know you just adore children, I like them too, but this thief on particular has a full time job too, so these poor innocent children won't be suffering.

She could also sell some of her designer handbags, so try not to worry.

If she has a nervous breakdown then perhaps she will realise that she isn't cut out for a life of crime

Yes its going to be shit for someone who is only claiming what they are legally entitled to and their benefits get stopped because of an investigation, but then there has to be a downside to the generous benefits system we have in place in this country.

Yeah, if my parents had committed suicide like both came very close to doing, I shouldn't have been sad. I should've been grateful, because they're collateral damage in this generous and wonderful benefits system.

The families of those who have killed themselves after their benefits were sanctioned should stop crying and be grateful, without the benefits their family members wouldn't have lived long enough to kill themselves, eh?

What a fucking ridiculous statement.

I can say I was one of the people that said they would never report it simple reason it is none of my business and they are not having an effect on my life. I do not claim benefits I do not get any money for my child either.

You see a couple of strange blokes moving stuff from your neighbours house. You are suspicious as you do not know them and your neighbours are away for the weekend.
You see it but they are not directly steeling from you and it is none of your business. This will have no affect on you or your children's life as they are not steeling from you.

What would you do?

If you choose not to report it then how would you feel to find out they have stolen what was not theirs.

If you choose to report it then you are reporting a suspicion of illegal activity. You do not know for sure but you report it anyway as it could be a criminal act.

If it is the second option then it is no different from the OP.

If it is the first then you are no better than the criminals.

Mwahmum, I think your attitude of turning a blind eye is really very silly, and much worse than somebody who understandably reports because they are jealous of someone else's lavish lifestyle when they have little themselves.

I find it very strange that you believe you are doing a good thing. I think you are implicit in deception. And a coward.

I was/am a teacher (having a wee career break).

I wonder, if I suspected one of my fellow teachers was abusing a child, and asked if I was BU to report him, the answers would tell me I was indeed unreasonable?

Because I might be wrong. And if I was I would ruin his life. And even if I wasn't wrong, the teacher had children of his own and was the only wage earner and his poor, innocent children might suffer and his wife might have a nervous breakdown, and the system was all wrong and would name and shame him and he might not have done anything!

I bet I wouldn't - I bet I would hear a unanimous 'YANBU, report!'

The obvious answer is that children would be suffering from his abuse directly while in this case that isn't happening. But children and people are suffering when people make fraudulent claims, because there is, put simply, less in the pot for genuine cases.

I don't think the second option is the same as the OP at all.

Yes, clearly it's important to me that someone suffers

What's important to me when the issue of benefits comes up is that our collective tax money is spent wisely, because that's what's in the best interests of our country as a whole. And if we're going to have a benefit system, then there needs to be a way of ensuring that people don't take advantage of it when they have no right to. There are lots of other ways that I would like public money to be spent more wisely as well, but this thread isn't about those things.

I don't agree that people's benefits should be stopped without good reason, but I do think that penalties for benefit fraud should be tougher.

Either way, in this case, these children are not going to starve or be thrown out of their home and the OP knows that seeing as there's two working adults living with them, so it's completely irrelevant to the situation being discussed.