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AIBU?

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Original poster

PIP benefit fraud?

117 replies

mouse26 · 13/02/2018 21:17

Posting here for traffic.

Dss1 (20) is currently at college. He lives with paternal grandparents and has for the past 2-3 years. In that time he has held down a couple of part time jobs as well as attending his college course. He has a small amount of savings because GPs didn't charge board, covered all food/petrol costs etc. His girlfriend also lives there with him.

Unfortunately, FIL passed away recently and Mil is unable to continue to cover the full costs. Dss isnt working at the moment but is actively looking and applying for jobs daily.

He has attempted to apply for job seekers allowance but was told that his mother is claiming PIP/DLA for him and he needs her permission to apply for jsa.

He wasn't aware that she was getting this benefit, he certainly does not need it and, since he doesn't live with her, it is not supporting him. She will not cancel the claim or remove herself as his appointee so he can cancel it.

Does anybody know what he can do? I have advised him to visit Citizens advice and possibly look into getting some legal advice but he's worried he may get his mum into trouble Angry

OP posts:
Original poster
mouse26 · 13/02/2018 22:03

Thanks everyone - dp is at work tonight but I will pass on the information to him and dss tomorrow :)

OP posts:
aprilanne · 13/02/2018 22:04

pip is nothing to do with jsa you can get pip when working .its to help with day to day living .so say you in wheel chair but can do office job you get pip to help with costs getting to job and such like .maybe its esa thats not allowed with jsa because thats a disablilty unemployement benefit .but what ever one his mother has no right getting the benefits

Potentialmadcatlady · 13/02/2018 22:07

Iluvthe80s..thankyou! I hope you get sorted too when your turn comes. Unfortunately it’s people ‘working’ the system that make it so difficult for those of us with real disabilities

yorkshireyummymummy · 13/02/2018 22:35

To those posters saying that mouse26 should ‘keep her beak out’ and comments in that ilk - stop being so nasty! She’s his stepmom ffs, not some random stranger. It sounds like the lads mother is useless and so why should he not turn to his stepmom for advice and support?
There’s another thread regarding a lady whose sister has died and her BIL now has nothing to do with his stepson anymore and he is being castigated for it!
The clue is in the name - stepMOTHER. My step mother ( number one) is wonderful and I can’t imagine my life without her. She loves me and I love her. She’s not even married to my dad anymore but she is still a massive part of my life.

mouse26
I would speak to my husband and one or both of you could accompany your DSS to the DWP or wherever one goes to sort this mess out. Your SS might not want to get his mother in trouble but that maybe something out of his control. It sounds like she knows exactly what she is doing and even though people have told her to stop she won’t. I would say to him that he is not reporting her per se, he is just sorting this matter out so he can claim his JSA. If his mother gets into trouble it’s not his responsibility.
And fir what it’s worth I think you sound like a lovely stepmum . As I have a great one and one that’s even too wicked for fairy tales then I know what a wonderful positive difference a caring stepmother can make to your life. And we stepchildren often love you very very much. It’s a bloody hard job, often thankless but a good step parent can make all of the difference in a somebody’s life.

Tistheseason17 · 13/02/2018 23:00

@yorkshireyummymummy
How do we know they are so close?
OP's DSS has lived with his GPs for the last 2/3 yrs - not his Dad and Step Mum.
I don't think people are being mean - they simply think if anyone is going to create conflict it should be the step son who is a grown man or step son with his Dad's support.
But, by all means tell OP to go in with her big boots and then get blamed for everything - which she will.
We are all entitled to suggest and just because we don't agree with you does not make us mean.

TheHungryDonkey · 13/02/2018 23:09

How the hell does someone manage to clam DLA/PIP for someone with no evidence and no disability? It’s hard enough when it’s real. If he remembers an assessment he must have passed it someone. This doesn’t make sense to me.

Gilead · 13/02/2018 23:12

mouse, he can ring PiP and tell them that she is no longer acting in his interests.

Original poster
mouse26 · 13/02/2018 23:23

To those suggesting I should keep out of it, dss has asked for my help, I'm not prepared to refuse regardless of what other people may think of me.

He chose to live with his gps because they had more space and he was very close to his grandad, more so than with his father.

Dp and dss's mother do not get on and she has never shared information about dss when asked, we have no idea what disability she claims he has so can't even begin to figure out what evidence she has of it.

OP posts:
retirednow · 13/02/2018 23:28

You can just report your concerns to the benefit fraud , it can be done anonymously and they can investigate it. Someone has to sort this out, his poor gm can't afford to look after him on her own, does she get any financial help.

retirednow · 13/02/2018 23:29

Does his girlfriend pay her own way at gm.

linz84 · 13/02/2018 23:38

Hi,

He will need to write a letter to the DWP and explain the situation, I have had a similar situation with a client at work and they said they was the first thing to do. He could also try going into his local jobcentre and speak to an advisor, it is potluck though whether he gets a helpful advisor.

It's likely she is claiming for his behavioural difficulties, ADHD if he had ever been diagnosed with that?

It is difficult when someone has been assigned an appointee when they refuse to relinquish this but it is do able it's just takes a bit of time and perseverance. Also the money she claimed should of been going to him or at least his GP not for her to keep.

lilabet2 · 13/02/2018 23:40

Of course she's not entitled to it! PIP for an over 16 is for that individual, not their parents!

Equally I'm sure your DSS doesn't want to get his Mum arrested or in serious trouble for fraud.

I guess your partner needs to tell his ex to stop claiming PIP now or otherwise their son/your DSS will need to let the JobCentre know that she is receiving his money and using it fraudulently.

SunnySkiesSleepsintheMorning · 13/02/2018 23:42

DLA and PIP have absolutely nothing to do with JSA, for starters.

FannyWisdom · 13/02/2018 23:46

@Lookatyourwatchnow DFOD.

This is likely a fishing trip to see what 'DPex' still gets in benefits for him now he lives at nana. Hence the drip feeds, lack of illness, middle rate benefits without any medical evidence......

Even if it is true a 20 year old with capacity has to deal himself so doesn't need his step anything.
Plus their is his Dad of his Nan who are family, why pick yourself in?
because it's bobbar

unlimiteddilutingjuice · 13/02/2018 23:46

It sounds like the Mum is his appointee and is receiving his DLA on his behalf.
He needs to wrote to the DWP explaining that he no longer wishes to have an appointee and that he is capable of managing his own finances. They should arrange to visit him and assess his ability to manage his own claims.
He should then be able to revive his own DLA into his own bank account or end the claim should he choose to. And, of course, he will be able to claim other benefits such as JSA.
If it helps him come to terms with it- he doesn't have to "grass his Mum up" or get her into trouble. He can simply present it as him having reached an age of maturity and no longer wanting to have an appointee.
I feel sorry for the lad. She has obviously exploited him but he may not be ready to see it in those terms Sad

Original poster
mouse26 · 14/02/2018 00:06

FannyWisdom I don't give a fuck what benefits she does or doesn't get, as you've said, it's not really any of my business.

The girlfriend does contribute, gm has her pensions and a percentage of gf's, nothing else.

Both dp and I have offered to go to the CAB with him as well as gm, of course he may decide he'd prefer to go alone.

OP posts:
Queenoftheblitz · 14/02/2018 00:21

Fannywisdom, what a strange accusation. If op wants to know what the ex gets, she can go on the government website where the pip/dla rates are clearly stated.

Gemini69 · 14/02/2018 00:37

She is committing Fraud... well done for helping him OP Flowers

italiancortado · 14/02/2018 00:59

She can't be claiming for him. The claim would be in his name. So even if she did get him through an assessment and hide all the Mail, the jobcentre wouldn't have said to him that his DM was claiming for him. They would have said HE was claiming.

In any case, DLA/PIP isn't an out of work or means tested benefit so wouldn't prevent a JSA claim.

Someone is talking shite.

CaptainKirkssparetupee · 14/02/2018 01:06
  1. you can get PIP and JSA
  2. You can't get PIP with no evidence and, no disability.
  3. you can't claim for someone else.
LindyHopSkipRunner · 14/02/2018 01:15

Absolutely someone is talking shite

Devilishpyjamas · 14/02/2018 06:29

Is it sounds as if she has set herself up as his DWP appointee. God knows how as that appointment needs the person from the DWP to see the claimant and assess they don’t have capacity to manage their own money. My son didn’t have to have face to face for PIP or ESA work capability, but did have to be physically seen for me to become his appointee.

Once she is no longer his appointee he will be able to claim. He needs to ring PIP and explain he had no idea someone was claiming to be his appointee and that he does not get the money. It’s serious trouble stuff, but if he doesn’t everything involving the DWP will have to be sorted by her..

Devilishpyjamas · 14/02/2018 06:32

Captain you can if you are the appointee. I do all my son’s claims & the money for PIP & ESA goes into a bank account in my name - albeit it is a separate one that I run on my son’s behalf - but the DWP don’t check that - which is wrong really.

Devilishpyjamas · 14/02/2018 06:33

My son doesn’t have capacity, so he can’t claim PIP/ESA etc himself

Oblomov18 · 14/02/2018 06:42

I can't understand why JSA were even commenting on his PIP. I didn't know that PIP was even an issue when applying for JSA.
Is that really true? Can someone please clarify the legal?

She claimed DLA when he was younger for behavioural problems? Like ADHD. Ok that's not a crime.

But the move from DLA to PIP, post 16, when he wasn't even living there? Shock

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