Have you ever reported someone for benefit fraud?

[Wecandothisthing]

Just that really.

Also, if someone had been reported anonymously, would they know SOMEONE had reported them or do the DWP just say that they had investigated?

If the reported individual is told that SOMEONE has reported them, they may be able to narrow the suspects down easily, by who knows their financial situation or, worse still, may acuse family members who did not report them.

I have. But I know for certain she is living abroad with her husband and renting out her council flat near Tower bridge for 2k a month. She hasn't been to the UK for 7 years and still gets housing benefit.

@Mammaof oh absolutely. I was phoning them every day to see what was going on. I had to send me every little detail of my life as proof. I then asked my ex to send me a copy of his driving licence with his address on aswell as a copy of his work contract to prove he lived no where near me.

We had been separated 2 years at the time and he moved to the other side of the country! Once he did that, I sent it as extra proof and the whole thing was dropped.

Feel for anyone who is innocent going through it as it's really not nice x

yes but it wouldn't be possible to continue to get HB and not be in the country for 7 years.

We know someone claiming fraudulently, stating she is single and house shares, but actually one of the guys is her partner ( there would be no doubt in this if they popped over), she is really careful with her FB posts with her previous partner she was all about the FB love relationship. She has just passed her driving test, gets cash in hand for looking after her friends child, claims tax credits and is on income support as a single claimant, claims HB and CT credit. She Is not struggling and has a better quality of life then us and we don’t live on the breadline.

We have been so tempted to report her but she has made herself intentionally homeless so many times as she refuses to live in certain areas that the last time the kids would have been potentially taken in to care, so she hooked up with another guy and rented a house.
It’s the first time I’ve seen the kids in a stable home for longer than a few months, if it wasn’t for the kids then I would report in a heartbeat.

Even if you think you know all the facts and are 100% correct in reporting someone who is commuting fraud, you're contributing to the culture of demonising genuine claimants. FUCK that

applauds loudly

There are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking I feel it's a repugnant thing to do. It's Big Brother society writ large.

Wellnotis because I have seen it. Why would I lie? She has a Jamaican boyfriend in London. He runs his 13 women as a business. She lives in Spain with her familyand their kids. Other women go to interviews etc. He gives her a share of the profits. I hate him.

Reporting someone is invariably done out of malicious intent or misplaced jealousy because The sums involved are not contributing towards The UKs economic demise-that's a known fact. The so called "benefit cheat" more often than not has significant issues in their life and reporting them only adds a whole other layer of shit onto an already problematic circumstance.

I've known someone who was definitely cheating the system by bending the rules. At the time they had serious MH problems plus going thru a divorce. Reporting them would have needed a heart of granite. I thought long and hard should I shouldnt I and in the end just walked away reporting someone never ends well and creates deep musery in the world negative karma and all that stuff. Fact was the person concerned lost my friendship as I couldn't continue supporting their life choices but it didn't need me to stick my oar in to make life 100% worse. I hope they are in a happier place several years later....

I'd report in an instant, theft is theft regardless of how it's done.

If they aren't doing anything wrong then nothing will happen. Innocent people don't panic.

Turning a blind eye to theft is a far more slippery slope than reporting it. We teach our children right for wrong and there is never any justification for theft.

Typos galore due to FFOP (fat fingers on phone) 😂

I am not calling you a liar, I am just saying that it would be very hard to claim HB for seven years without being in the country.

Anyway they do sound like a pair of cunts tbh., .I just hate the idea of everyone 'dobbing in' their neighbours when they might not know the full facts.

No and never would. Worked for DWP for a while as well and still wouldn't. Nobody knows the actual circumstances of any person's life and getting it wrong could have devastating consequences.

I wonder how much they spend on following malictreports

" If they aren't doing anything wrong then nothing will happen."

and that is not true either. Benefits are suspended during investigation. That could mean children going hungry.

If you are happy teaching your own children that this is a good thing, then carry on, well done.

Agreed box but we also need to teach our children to recognise that there but for the grace of god go we all. Life aint perfect nothing is black and white. And the one about walking a mile in other people's shoes before being holier than thou ( and im genuinely not saying you are being that but to illustrate that judging too harshly when we are in a position of strength may not be a good place to go).

Just the sheer strss of someone being so damn mean as to ring up and shop me when I'm on my knees. That thought is too painful to bear. I think David Cameron was responsible for setting up those ghastly helplines getting communities to turn in on each other then the next breathe talking about the Big Society. Jeez

Again, it all depends...

Would I report a single mum claiming to live alone but has a boyfriend who ‘stays over’ several nights a week and is working a job on NMW? No.

Would I report a man claiming ESA and HB for a ‘bad back’ whilst running a lucrative landscape gardening business and simultaneously not paying any child maintenance? Damn right I would.

I would report. I don't care how difficult their situation is - if they are not entitled to the money legally then that's the end of the discussion. Don't care if their mum/gran/brother is ill, if they're depressed or just need a bit of time off or whatever. Their circumstances don't make a bit of difference- if it's an illegal claim, then it's an illegal claim and I would report it

I think people report because they are nasty and vindictive. They can dress it up all they like, by claiming moral outrage at the system being cheated, but they are only doing it out of jealousy or spite. If anyone wants to report someone else, look in the mirror first and ask if you’ve never ever been just a tiny bit over the drink driving limit, drove a little bit too fast, walked away from a shop and discovered you were undercharged, or worse. Have you reported yourself? After all those things are against your ‘morals’. Stop dressing it up as your duty, you’re just nasty.

No, I’m not claiming benefits, as I’m lucky enough not to need them, but I wouldn’t wish a life of benefits on anyone and I’m disgusted that people want to report someone, because of their suspicions. Go ahead and fuck up their life, but have the fucking courage to tell them you did it, if you’re so certain that you’re in the right. Anonymous touts are cowards.

"I know someone who did report their friend"

I think they need a dictionary to look up the word friend...I wouldnt do that to my worse
enemy. Let alone my friends.
That's he/she snake behaviour

Why wouldn't you report someone that is stealing though? I would report her if she was claiming something that could benefit other more deserving families.

We were reported. Each time it was fake. DWP actively encouraged us to take the perpetrator to court for harassment and made all calls (17 of them from the same person as well as a couple from the same number) available to the police. It ended up with us having to move and exdh being in a mental health unit for a few weeks. Bastards!

No I haven’t. I know someone who is claiming benefits but doesn’t declare her partner lives there. He’s abusive, cheats on her, spends his wages on drugs and knows she won’t leave because she has no family. They have way more luxuries than I could ever afford but I wouldn’t report her because her life’s shit enough as it is and I wouldn’t want her and her children to be financially reliant on such an abusive person.

"if you knew 100% that your neighbour was not paying any tax on the revenue they got from renting a house because they didn't declare it. After all, reporting them would be contributing to the culture of demonising genuine claimants..."

How is that anything to do with benefit claims?

"Why wouldn't you report someone that is stealing though?"

because you don't know the facts and because a society that has been trained to spy on their neighbours is scary and sad.

If i ever suspected somebody of grassing up a friend of theirs to the authorities for anything other than violence or safety reasons then i would give that person a very wide berth. I just find it incredible that normal working class people in varying states of being on their knees will still grass each other up. Its the worst aspect of modern society
No community