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AIBU?

to feel sick to my stomach!? Re SIL & Benefit fraud.

68 replies

YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 21:59

I will try to keep this as short as possible without drip feeding.

SIL and I are incredibly close, always have been. We are the same age and have known each other since we were 15. We are now 25.

SIL has two children and is married. to a twunt but that's a whole other thread

She told me tonight that she is claiming housing benefit, child tax credits & income support. She also claims for PIP for depression and runs her own (which hasn't been declared to anyone) business from home earning 250-350 pounds pcm.

However, her DH works and lives with her. She has told everyone above that her DH has been moved out for the past year. This is how long she has been claiming all of these extra benefits for.

I told her tonight that she is bang out of order and a criminal. She laughed and said that she couldn't cope without the extra money. Her DHs earnings aren't too bad - around 23,000 per year.

I am sickened. She is one of the reasons our country is going to pot! I am so disappointed in her but know that there's nothing I can do about it without losing my DHs side of the family. I am absolutely gutted.

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OrangePeels · 25/08/2015 22:01

Anonymous call to the benefits office?

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NewLife4Me · 25/08/2015 22:02

Chances are she'll get found out if she continues. That is if she is doing anything wrong.
The benefit system is difficult to navigate and covers all sorts of different circumstances. She might be legal.

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YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 22:05

Can I also add: claiming PIP obviously isn't as relevant as this isn't fraud. I just wanted to make sure that all information was out there when seeking advice.

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PaulAnkaTheDog · 25/08/2015 22:06

She will get found out. You have to get her to come tfirward before that.It is awful behaviour though, I agree.

Wait for the troll calling brigade. 3....2....1....

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Inertia · 25/08/2015 22:10

She needs to understand that if she is claiming benefits to which she isn't entitled (and I don't know what the allowances are), then she 'll have to pay it all back and pay the fine.

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scarlets · 25/08/2015 22:10

She may get away with it. Many do. But if she's caught, the consequences will be very serious - it won't be a slap on the wrist and an agreement to pay back a tenner a month. She'll be in the local press too, which will embarrass the whole family.

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NewLife4Me · 25/08/2015 22:11

How long has she had her business. We didn't declare ours for over a year as started halfway through a tax year. HMRC advised us of this.
How much does her stock cost each week? How many other expenses does she have?
If it is a young business it will take time to grow and maybe she is reinvesting profit.
What are the extra benefits you refer to?
PIP isn't dished out to all who apply. You make it sound like she is receiving it fraudulently.

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OurMiracle1106 · 25/08/2015 22:13

I am a single person. I recently started working . Infeomed housing benefit which I remain in receipt of until the end of this month via housing benefit run on .Have claimed and been awarded working tax credits and got a payment of my currentbenefit as Money was owed to me .I am much better off working and know that someone tried to report me as working which I done the day I started my job. As far as I'm concerned I done nothing wrong. I knew the job was coming up. I knew I had got it but up until I started I wasn't working.

Your SIL Is the reason people like myself who was on benefits get such a bad name. And why people think that life on benefits is great .Of course it is if you have a wage and benefits coming in .I'm sure if I put onto anyone's wages an extra 5 or 6,000 .They would have a higher quality of life ...

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ouryve · 25/08/2015 22:15

I'm guessing she's your DH's sister?

Does he know about this? What does he think?

You can report anonymously, but might be best to give it a few weeks if you think she'll make the link between "confiding" in you (why the hell did she do that, anyhow?) and being found out.

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woodhill · 25/08/2015 22:19

shouldn't she be contacting the I R to register as self employed

very dishonest

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CatthiefKeith · 25/08/2015 22:22

My friend went to prison over Christmas for similar.

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YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 22:23

NewLife4Me

Oh for goodness sake! I just made it abundantly clear that I know it isn't fraud for her to claim PIP in my previous reply.

She definitely does not qualify for anything other than child tax credits. This is the reason she started to fraudulently claim income support, child tax credits (under a single mother claim) and housing benefits. She was only entitles to Â£60 per week CTC before she started claiming the benefits above.

The reason she told me is because she had somebody come and assess her house today to make sure that her DH had in fact moved out. She thought it was hilarious because she moved most of his belongings to her DH's sisters house and the rest into the attic before the arrived. She got away with it.

Yes, she is DH sister. I spoke to DH this evening on the phone and he is disgusted. He phoned their DM and told her. She already knew and their DM works for the local authority. She said she also feels stuck as she has previously told her to stop, but SIL refuses.

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Babyroobs · 25/08/2015 22:23

You can report her anonymously online. Just Google ' Reporting benefit Fraud'. The online form is very easy to fill out and submit.

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YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 22:26

Please excuse my shitty grammar this eve.

MNing on my phone doesn't seem to like proper grammar.

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AlpacaLypse · 25/08/2015 22:27

The stupid thing is that she would probably have been able to claim quite a lot if she'd stayed honest. But she's taking the piss. Sorry. Report as described above.

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YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 22:28

I just don't think I could report her. I wouldnt be able to forgive myself if she got arrested etc.

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coffeeisnectar · 25/08/2015 22:28

She could end up in prison if caught. Housing benefit is through the council, tax credits through hmrc and income support through dwp, the latter she can't claim as part of a couple if he's working. All three agencies communicate and details are on a central register. If her husband has anything at all registered to that address she will get caught. If he has car insurance and has registered it to an address he's not living at, it's fraud and he could find it invalid.

She is risking an awful lot for the sake of a few hundred quid a month.

I got called in for an interview under caution when I forgot to put down my youngest child's bank account (which I was named on) which only had £120 in it. It was fine, I got a telling off but I was terrified that I'd done something wrong.

She will get caught. They can look at bank accounts and interest paid, they can look at everything.

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Junosmum · 25/08/2015 22:29

The issue isn't that she's working but that she's not declaring a second household income- her partners.

She's put you in a really difficult position and i feel for you. If you report her, even anonymously she will know, but I don't think I could stand by and let her do this!

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Babyroobs · 25/08/2015 22:32

If she stopped the fraudulent claiming now she would get very little in the way of tax credits. If her dh earns £23k, the threshold for 2 kids is going to be falling to around £26k from April next year, so she would get very little. If she gets caught claiming fraudulently ( which will happen sooner or later) she will be paying amounts back. Whether they decide to prosecute or not will depend on the amounts fraudulently claimed. If she has been claiming HB, child tax creidts and Income support fraudulently she is likely to owe thousands depending how long it has been going on for.

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Babyroobs · 25/08/2015 22:35

I guess when she gets caught they may take into account her depression, but if the amounts are high they will prosecute especially if they see it as deliberate fraud.

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suzannefollowmyvan · 25/08/2015 22:36

in many ways what shocks me most is that, even though she's devious enough to 'mastermind' the whole scam she doesnt even have the sense to keep her mouth shut about it.

If's she's bragging about it (assuming the thread is genuine) then I think it's highly likely that someone will shop her
even if it isnt you OP

probably best she gets caught otherwise she might get overconfident, and try and pull off a major 'heist' with disastrous consequences.

Sorry, I shouldn't be so flippant, her telling you puts you in a very uncomfortable position.

Does knowing about it make you an accessory?

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Babyroobs · 25/08/2015 22:38

I never understand why people would risk jail when they have young kids.

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suzannefollowmyvan · 25/08/2015 22:38

problem is, that if somone else informs on her she'll suspect you, just telling you makes you a part of her dirty business

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Floggingmolly · 25/08/2015 22:41

There's a benefit you can claim for depression? . Depression is a horrible thing; but does it cost??

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YourFredIsBoring · 25/08/2015 22:41

I never thought of that. Would I be an accessory?

I can't understand why she isn't thinking about her DC. Those poor children could be dragged through some right shit because of her actions. I am so bloody cross!

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