Sister is committing benefit fraud

[Ellabella989]

My sister has 2 kids and is in a relationship with their father who earns around 50k per year. They all live together in privately rented accommodation (in his name) however my sister pretends to still live with the kids at my parent’s house so she can claim benefits.
They have horrendous debts between them because they live totally outwith their means (2 nice cars on finance, holidays on credit cards, eating out multiple times a week etc. The children are very spoilt with toys and clothes too).

I love my sister but I feel total rage at this situation. I know I should just keep my nose out of it but it all just feels so wrong. AIBU to want to anonymously dob her in?!

Lots of people would like to treat thier kids to nice things but they don't commit benefit fraud to do it.

I would stay out of it. I seriously do not know how people get money from the DWP with lies. I am eligible and its been nearly 2 months and I cannot get what I am entitled to.

I have no idea what my sister would have to do for me to dob her in! Benefit fraud would not be it that’s for sure!

Report them of course! It’s morally and ethically wrong of them and completely illegal. They are literally stealing from the poor, the disabled, the underprivileged.

I don't blame you for being angry. She is not only very greedy but she is also stupid. She very probably will get caught in the future and the longer this goes on for the more trouble she will be in. Someone I know received a prison sentence for claiming benefits as a single mother while living with the father.

Yanbu. If they're on £50k a year they're being selfish. There are people relying on food banks!

It’s fascinating that there is such a 50/50 cut with the responses I’m getting. I’ve been called horrible and wicked for even considering reporting her, and I’ve also been called a cunt for not having reported her

I wouldn't report my sister but I would talk to her and try and get her to do the honest thing. People like her do enrage me but I refuse to be jealous of thier luxury lifestyle instead I hold my head high and think at least everything I have I have achieved myself but yes she is pretty disgraceful sorry.

Do you have ALL FACTS?

You said you're sure she's not being financially abused but some people don't realise they're being abused and some are ashamed. He may have paid for her insurance, but does she have enough to pay for the basics? Or does he control that?

Don't do ANYTHING without the full facts

@27dresses I’m not 100% sure so it wouldn’t be right of me to do anything without the exact facts. She has access to his bank account and credit card though

Why should we all pay for her being a manipulative liar? Get her investigated. You can do it anonymously. Its so strange people wanting to keep their noses out. If false claims stopped there would be more money to dedicate to other things that we would all benefit from.

If anyone wants to report anyone feel free to PM me their name and address and some details and I will happily report them and it'll never have came from you.

I have no idea what my sister would have to do for me to dob her in! Benefit fraud would not be it that’s for sure!

Because it's faaaaaaamily????

I wouldn't straight off report. But I would tell my DSis I will be unless she stops this. I'd give her the chance to change

Christ I am trying to fun a flat with 2 people in on 1100 pick up pay. No holidays, no clothes no luxuries, watching every bloody penny. People like her make me sick.

I’d say it’s fine, she is your sister and her life is better because of this. It’s risky but good luck to her.

I’d rather the government went after high earning tax dodgers and companies rather than the little people.

Good luck to her???

Well.... that is what's wrong with the world today. Let's just take what we want because we're entitled to it, and if we can get away with it, there's nothing wrong with it.

Thank goodness there are very many posters on here who are just as disgusted as me with that attitude.

This is not about high earning tax dodgers. This is about a benefit CHEAT

It's greed they would not struggle on 50k.
There are people struggling by on much less.
I am not entitled to a single thing my miserly wage is over the threshold for everything.

Maybe you don't need benefits zippey. You must be doing okay.

What a horrible situation for toy OP. You're damned if you do and dammed if you don't. It's à shame everyone isn't seeing that.

To the people saying where's your loyalty, why just because of genetics should you be complicit (as not reporting is being complicit) in a crime? They are literally taking money off the most needy, for stuff they don't need. If your brother mugged an old lady for her pension and stole a disabled persons cash from under the mattress would you scream family loyalty? As they are doing exactly that just in another way. Just because it's commonplace and companies avoid paying tax is no excuse, that's like the 'he was doing it too' excuse kids give when they're in trouble.

I sympathise that you don't want to disrupt their kids lives. Would you or your parents be willing to take them in if the worst came to the worst and there was a prison sentence?

The worst part is that it doesn't sound like they need to do this - it's not stuff they need just stuff they want. Their kids are too young to even care about the things their parents are buying them. She could work. If your parents really wanted to help maybe they could assist with childcare. I think it's awful she has dragged your parents into this as well - do they know they could be in serious trouble for this as well?

I think I would try and help make it better before making any decisions. Offer to help with childcare if you can and ask your parents to do so as well to make it easier for her to go back to work. Point them in the right direction for debt management plans. Hammer home the consequences for all of you if they got caught. Help her come up with a budget. Suggest cheap activities to do together. And then assess again

I’d like benefits but I’m not entitled. It’s too much hassle and risk to try and cheat the system for me.

But we do conviently forget tax dodgers - here is an article comparing the two

www.theweek.co.uk/62461/benefit-fraud-v-tax-evasion-which-costs-more

I honestly don’t begrudge hard up people getting paid cash in hand or getting more than they should from the government.

It’s not a great thing to do but betraying your family is much worse than what the sister is doing.

The benefits system Only works if it’s not abused and only used by those who truly need the support. As it is there are funding cuts to essential public services as we can’t balance the budget. If everyone were to behave this way the system would collapse, so saying it’s OK is really short sighted

I wouldn't shop her. Perhaps ironically, the main reason I wouldn't is because by the sound of it the amount she has frauded is so much. Once you're over a couple of grand, a jail sentence is more likely. If it's over ten grand, then she will go to prison.

That's not to say that what she's doing is ok, because it's not, but the potential consequences here are massive and I couldn't cope with that. Could you honestly listen to your sister, in tears and desperate,
in the months leading up to the hearing wondering if she's going to keep her kids when she goes to prison, terrified that she'll never be able to work again and know that you sent her there? You would have to live with that forever.

She probably will get caught at some point, and that will be awful enough for you as a family. I wouldn't do anything to hasten it.

I'd also think very carefully about telling her to stop. If she reports a change in circumstances they quite often look at information - from HMRC etc - to make sure that the person has notified of the change on time.

She's actually in a very precarious situation already even if she doesn't realise it. I wouldn't make it worse.

And yes, it's illegal and also immoral. I do get that. But I couldn't do that to my sister.

Kisskiss services aren't being cut because of fraud. Fraud plus overpayments all added together accounts for a tiny proportion of the benefits budget - less, in fact, than the amount allocated which goes unclaimed. So actually in terms of fraud the books are already more than balanced.

People aren't doing without care because of fraud. People are doing without care because of political decisions on spending which have nothing to do with fraud.

Who the hell are you? The KGB? Where is your loyalty for Christ sake???!!!!

MissLanes. Where do you draw the line with loyalty though? Would it be disloyal for reporting a family member for paedophilia, murder, rape? Do you protect criminals at all costs because faaamilee?

I’d happily report her. In fact, I have reported a family member for benefit fraud in identical circumstances. I’m very willing to support via my taxes those that genuinely need support. I’m not happy though to have my taxes awarded to lying, cheating, piss-taking thieves.

I’d rather the government went after high earning tax dodgers... 50k a year salary and benefit fraud precisely is a high-earning tax dodger.