AIBU to report her for benefit fraud...

[Bringyourown]

Very long story short. Person I know has been claiming benefits for at least 7 years I've known her.
Now this is a case of sour grapes, she misrepresented herself to me and basically used me for all she could get out of me, and me being stupid and gullible and so happy that someone liked me that I gave her everything I could.
I've been stewing on this for months and my mental health has broken down to the point I just can't get out of bed. I have nothing and nobody left.
She is a dog walker/boarder, horse trader and now a scrap metal merchant.
Should I report her or should I just put it down to experience?

Any proof of the rubbish you are claiming

There you go Silly (apt name btw). I'm in work, you know... providing for my family... and fucking parasites it seems. You do your own research but here's one to start you off...

metro.co.uk/2017/02/20/gang-of-beggars-pictured-getting-out-of-romanian-registered-car-in-cambridge-6459992/

You stated that "most homeless people were fraudsters" they are professional beggars, not even homeless. You've tried to back up your deeply offensive statement and failed.

MrsCholly, that's not true, benefits will not increase if there was more in the pot. The government are hell bent on cutting benefits to the bone.

But at the very basic level - while benefit cheats (who we don't know if the woman in the op is) won't make a difference to money in the pot, they make a difference in other ways. For one, they contribute towards the cynical attitude people have towards other claimants. And for another, WE all pay taxes and NI. The people who think benefit fraud isn't worth reporting - are you happy that the money YOU worked for, is contributing to fraudsters lifestyle? Personally I'd rather it went to those who actually need it!

TillyTadpole

So you have read a couple of articles and to you that means most homeless are fraudsters.

Wow.

As of Q1 2018, UK government debt amounted to £1.78 trillion, or 86.58% of total GDP, at which time the annual cost of servicing (paying the interest) the public debt amounted to around £48 billion (which is roughly 4% of GDP or 8% of UK government tax income).

And this illustrates clearly the Condem and now conservative government’s adoption of austerity to reduce the national debt is clearly not working! Britain had huge debt after the 2WW, yet this was when the NHS was set up. A country’s economy can not be run like a household budget. Sometimes investment is needed to boost the economy.

Austerity was an ideological choice to shrink the welfare state under the smokescreen that the national debt had to be reduced. Conservative’s prefer a small state and individual private insurance in case of sickness, unemployment. Not the kind or society I want to live in as those on poor incomes can never afford sufficient insurance.

@sweetsomethings, not read through all the thread, so don’t know whether someone else has corrected you, but currently DWP often do stop all benefits when an investigation is taking place. Perhaps they didn’t before but they do now. Suddenly having no income for a few weeks is a nightmare, especially if sick.

And to add, fraud for benefits has always shown to be low. Every large system will have a few people abusing it, it can never be fully eradicated. So the choice is either to make the system incredibly punitive and stresssful for all to cut low fraud numbers a tiny bit more, or of course have checks but not to the extremes that is happening now.

However, as said, the government’s chose to ramp up the false rhetoric on fraud to justify their new punitive santions policy as well as big cuts to slowly reduce this country having a functioning welfare state. The future if they are successful will be as said private insurance. Crap for low incomes and middle earners. Rich don’t care as they never need state help anyway

This report shows suicide figures doubled for those claiming sickness benefit, ESA, under the social security reforms which began in earnest in 2010. It’s a scandal and yet is barely reported on.

www.disabilitynewsservice.com/staggering-esa-suicide-figures-prompt-calls-for-inquiry-and-prosecution-of-ministers/

OP, what did this person actually do? You allude to her beating you down and destroying your life. It might help to hear if she really did treat you horrifically and help people understand why you feel the way you do.

Well Tilly personal attacks. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit btw.

@Tillytadpole, your nice ;)

If you have helped in the area of homelessness, I presume you are aware the causes are complex - mental health, drug addiction often as a result of mental health and so on. Many homeless people are not going to be saints as their lives are chaotic and grim largely through circumstances out of their control from a young age.

I also never understand the retort well why don’t you help. Such a big issue needs large scale state intervention and funding. Individuals can’t address it alone.

Togan if you read the thread you will be corrected when mulitiple people who work or have worked as inspectors have confirmed that they WILL not stop benefits while they are investigating for fraud.

For goodness sake, people's money is getting stopped immediately for the most trivial of reasons, we must all have read some of the most unbelievably petty reasons for getting sanctions. People are even purposely set up to get a sanction, for instance a failed appointment when the letter didn't arrive on time. People having to attend interviews for jobs and phoning up the job center to explain their lateness, sanctioned, even though told it would be ok, it's horrendous. Job center staff have to reach targets ffs to get people sanctioned and off benefits.

As if, in the name of f**k the DWP would have a problem with stopping money immediately after an anonymous tip off, malicious or otherwise. They will gladly stop the money, they do not care that people will have nothing to live off while being investigated, it's happening all the time. Stop fooling yourselves.

If you had lived next to a family of benefit scroungers who clearly defraud the system, would you honestly say yes I am happy that my hard earned tax money pay for them? If you say yes, you are a fucking liar.

Pastimes this thread was not about sanctions it was about reporting someone for fraud . I will take the word of people who work in the profession .

I wonder how many on here have expressed the view to report but they have themselves or their partners that are tradesmen that have accepted cash payment and not declared. Or indeed they have paid a tradesmen in cash for a discount.
Depriving HMRC of VAT on these services.

I think genuine suspicions should be reported. Absolutely. Just pondering how much hypocrisy is on this thread.

sweetsomethings i know what the thread was about, as loads of threads tend to do its drifted, and i take the word of people who have been at the receiving end of having their money stopped, from malicious callers and they've been found totally innocent. There's been loads of threads on mumsnet about it, they had no reason to lie. However i'm not sure i believe those that say they've worked for the dwp and it doesn't happen. Perhaps that used to be the way, but not anymore. As i've said, they hardly need reasons to stop someone's money now.

Pastimes

Did you ever link to the “loads” of times you had read about benefits being stopped?

I've just been reading some horror stories on old mumsnet threads, dilemma, they aren't hard to find. Why would you be shocked, you don't think they happen?

Or are you wanting me to link to individual cases, it'd take me all night.

Just type in "reporting benefit fraud" in the search engine above. You'll find plenty to keep you going. Why should i do it for you.

I did

And I couldn’t find 1 that said benefits had immediately stopped upon a suspicion being reported.

Perhaps you could enlighten us?

So you've just read through 10 threads, some with hundreds of posts, and you say you can't find one? Wow you must be a quick reader. No i won't enlighten you, enlighten yourself....and while you're at it you'll see that not only have people had their money stopped, malicious calls have also led to people on the verge of suicide. So stop lying that you've read them all and start reading. You might get enlightened.

to not believe that the DSS would investigate a benefits claimant for anything other than someone reporting them? (76 Posts)
Add message | Report | Message poster MoodyDidIt Thu 10-Jan-13 10:38:18
my BF is is a single parent and has had a letter today saying she has got to visit the jobcentre, as there is some sort of "query" with her benefits. they have been suspended until after her visit and she is very worried and upset.

she has nothing to worry about because as far as she is concerned she hasn't done anything wrong (ie no cash in hand working or dp living with her) but obviously it will affect her financially while its being investigated.

she doesn't believe anyone would report her, but i think she's being a bit naive and i think someone probably has, and if i was her i would be very concerned that i probably couldn't trust someone in my life. hmm i have been in a similar situation a few years ago when i was a single mum, and there was no way that it could have come from anything other than someone maliciously reporting me. (i should add i had done nothing wrong either, and nothing came of my investigation)

but surely they would not just randomly pick people out of their records to investigate for no reason? i wouldn't think they have the time or the resouraces.

Found this one practically immediately Dillemma, want me to carry on?