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?

She hasn't been good to you so it seems that you want revenge in the form of grassing her up for benefit fraud

It would be better to have nothing else to do with the woman than be a grass.

You do sound pleasant past.

Bo one has had their benefits immediately stopped following the submission of a suspicion, before any investigation whatsoever. No one.

Yes and that letter would have been sent out following investigations.

As confirmed by those who have posted who actually work or have worked for the DWP

Plus in the example you give it’s not even clear if it’s a reporting or something else entirely. She doesn’t think anyone reported her.

Bad example basically

This article is interesting Pastimes

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefit-fraud-public-tip-offs-legal-action-police-no-evidence-dwp-work-pensions-department-a8144096.html

thecook Thu 10-Jan-13 18:36:52
If someone has reported her she will be told during the interview. This happened to me but I wasn't told until about an hour into the interview when I shouted at the staff and asked why they had brought me in.

The allegations were totally unfounded and I had my JSA stopped for months as a result. I got a solicitor in the end (legal aid). They sifted through every detail of my financial affairs. They had my bank statements on the table when I entered the interview room. The solicitor sorted it all out for me in the end. He had to keep reapplying for legal aid for me though. He must have earnt a bit out of it!

Although I am now working I have submitted a couple of FOI and data protection forms. I know I won't find out who did this to me but it will keep them busy.

Here's another dilemma they really aren't hard to find.

As for being pleasant? says the person who thinks it fine for people getting reported for alleged benefit fraud and naively believes (or pretends to) their money doesn't get stopped.
Why are you oretend

Posted too soon, why are you lying, saying that no one ever got their money stopped pending investigation. They clearly do.

Again.

No where does this say the payments were stopped immediately.

They weee stopped because the investigations pointed to there being more evidence indicating fraud than against, hence they were suspended.

No where does it say they were stopped out of the blue following someone ringing up saying “I think x is commuting benefit fraud” and on the basis of that they stop.

Which is what you said was the case up thread .

Another poor example

You said that they stop payments immediately

They don’t.

They absolutely do suspend during investigations when the evidence is more weighted in favour of fraud than against.

You're making yourself look foolish Dilemma., it staes the benefits were stopped while they investigated. That means immediately, what the hell else could it mean. They were stopped even thought the allegations were false, so obviously they stopped the benefits at the beginning of the investigation, stop being ridiculously pedantic. Here's another for you. Why don't you just admit you're wrong before you look even sillier.

Add message | Report | Message poster JemimaPuddle Fri 10-Jan-14 11:22:06
I was surprised when someone I know was reported as claim inning fraudulently. Their benefits were stopped as they were claiming as a single parent and the person reporting them said they were not and had in fact just got married.
The investigation involved someone going to see the claimant and asking if they were lying. They said they weren't and were definitely single. Benefits reinstated.

While everyone’s scrapping about reporting benefit fraud (and it’s worth pointing out that at least one poster who said they never stopped benefits unless the claimant was found guilty has been upfront about she hasn’t worked in that field for many years) few people seem to have noticed that the op has given virtually zero details of what this woman has actually done, eg

Is she claiming as single but has a partner

Is she claiming jobseekers but working cash in hand

Is she claiming disability benefits while not disabled

Is she claiming in work benefits but misrepresenting her hours/income

Just a load of guff about what an emotional vampire this person is, which while shit and i do empathise, is not about the law. Working on your own boundaries and self esteem would be a far better use of op’s time imo than making (possibly) malicious and vindictive reports and (possibly) wasting the fraud team’s time and resources and (possibly) adversely affecting the claimant’s children, who haven’t done anything wrong.

But we don’t know do we because op is too busy setting a dramatic scene to provide any sensible details

^against the law that should say

No it doesn’t mean immediately at all.

You have presumed it does. Despite people with actual experience of working in this area telling you otherwise.

someone i know

That old chestnut

Dilemma Ffs you're like a dog with a bone, give it a rest. So if it doesn't mean immediately, when does it mean? Obviously it's not when they're found innocent, and not when you say "investigations pointing to there being more evidence" (because they were found innocent), so at what stage do YOU think the money gets stopped, because they got stopped before innocence was proven, which is my point which you seem to dispute.

These people you talk about with experience of actually working at the job....they USED to work at the job, are you not aware that the whole welfare system has been overhauled. Just do me a favour now, go away. It's pretty obvious you've reported someone yourself with no proof of any anything and your desperately trying to defend your actions. Guilty conscience?

But pasttimes11 you are posting about third party experiences. You have no idea if what they are saying is true. But you expect us to accept them.

I am posting first party experiences - mine - as are others, but you are questioning them.

So should I have let the claims for the racehorse trainer and antiques dealer stand? Should I have given them the benefit of the doubt? By your reckoning I should have done. The value of their claims would have funded several families for weeks.

And before you bother replying, save your fingers, i can't be arsed to talk to you. Ignorance pure and simple. Bye.

I honestly laughed! That was quite a performance

My Employment Support Allowance was stopped immediately because I got PIP. The PIP computer told the system something had changed but not what. So, although through qualifying for PIP my ESA was in fact meant to be increased, the system just stopped paying me.

OP, what you need is counselling to explore how this woman has had such a devastating impact on you, and to move on with your life.

How pointless is it to tell someone to go away on a public forum?

Righto - So 30 plus years of hands on experience of the UK welfare/benefits system and associated legislation equals ignorance. Really?

If you say so. Although I think I might just know a little bit more than you do! Byeeee!

I'm so sorry flowercrow* that shouldn't happen. Have you complained/appealed against it?

Ok everyone. Benefit fraud. The facts. I was an investigator for 32 yrs all the way from Supplementary Benefit to UC . I had a change of job 2 yrs ago to more complex 'organised' crime within DWP. I am very much still a Benefit fraud investigator but now split between the police and the department. Those are my credentials , I know this stuff - upside down , inside out and back to front.
For anyone to tell you that making an allegation means you get your benefit stopped is talking utter bollocks. It takes at least 2 months of background checks and covert investigation before we are even sure that there is a case to investigate.
We aren't idiots. We know that a high proportion of our allegations are malicious. Neighbours, ex partners angry children.. seen it all.
IF there is a case to answer then you will be invited in to an interview under caution. Your chance to tell the truth about the situation arising from the allegation. THEN - depending on the amount accused of being obtained by fraud you will go to court and have your case heard with all the evidence. If the amount is small then it's your choice of court if you think we are wrong or administrative penalty. Whereby you make arrangements to pay it back.

An allegation does not mean your benefits are arbitrarily stopped. The most common reason for people turning up on welfare advisers doorsteps claiming this is because they have not engaged with numerous letters and have assumed that by ignoring an investigation that we will go away. We don't.
When a case has been concluded and you still haven't spoken to us. We stop the money.
It gets people's attention.

Auditbird they have reinstated the ESA but am still awaiting the back-payment of the extra disability premium.

Thank you font I tried to say the same thing as an ex-fraud investigator. Very glad you have confirmed what I said. Thank you.