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?!

50k a year is high but not sure how reliable that info is. Best thing to do would be to try and get the sister to see sense.

Of course, you should report it. It's not a victimless crime even if it appears to be. It's no different to her committing any other crime. If you knew she was driving drunk or stealing from her friends, you would surely speak up?

Benefit fraud is used by the government as an excuse to make benefits so hard to access that many people who are entitled to them on paper do not get them. Even though the austerity is meant to be over, the benefits are still not being up-rated so the money is worth less every year. For honest claimants, it's not a matter of treating their kids to nice things but survival. It's about putting basic food on the table and keeping the leaking roof over their heads. People are dying because of benefit cuts.

I might understand not saying anything, if they were being responsible with their money, used the stolen money to pay off their debts and planned to come clean by a certain date (or at least to stop claiming). But they're not. They are wasting it and it's needed elsewhere. Furthermore, it will be a good lesson for the children to learn to live within their means and that crime doesn't pay. They're likely to get off lightly, in any case.

Just because you're her sister doesn't mean you should remain complicit in her crime that so rightly angers you. Nobody else is in a better position to do it than you. I have no idea if my neighbours claim benefits and, if so, whether they claim to be single as well, for instance. You can do it anonymously so your relationship won't be affected. I've done it before - it's a matter of filling an online form.

@handay errr I don’t work for the chancellors office but I’m pretty sure the basic idea of public spending = taxation plus public borrowing holds....
I rather my tax dollars goes to someone who needs it ( in the eyes of the state) than someone who just ‘wants’ it

So the Government should go after high earning tax dodgers and leave those on benefit to fiddle the system.

They can go after both

Wow very suprised at some of the posts on this thread.
As other posters have said should we all just start committing benefit fraud as it doesn’t cause any harm?

Your sister is committing a CRIME. Of course you should report her!? Quite frankly I am gobsmacked that anyone on here is suggesting you don't!

Of course you should report them. It’s a criminal offence that isn’t victimless. Money paid out to them can’t go to provide for children who really need it.

Of course report her- there were people that really need that money.

I'm horrified how many people think this is ok and reporting a concern is snitching. Your sister is a liar and a thief and so is her partner. She's stealing money from an already stretched pot designed for people in need. She's a disgrace and I'd report an anonymous concern to DWP and to the council.

@ellabella989 you would not be causing destruction to your nieces' lives, YOUR SISTER IS!!

Kisskiss, there's a really good article here that explains what I said much better

www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39980793

So in 2017, taking the total amount of fraud plus overpayments and subtracting the amount recouped together with the amount underpaid or unclaimed, we were down around £600 million.

Not nothing, but not much compared to £264 billion total spending, and certainly not enough to account for the black hole in social care.

Interesting that the biggest fraud tranche was housing benefit. This is very often perpetrated by HB officers themselves creating fraudulent claims - there are entire networks of them in the London area working a few councils and catching them is like whack a mole - as soon as you bash one lot, up pops another. It's a massive problem actually.

For all of you saying don’t report her that’s your money she is stealing. What is the difference between stealing money from us/ the government through benefit fraud and stealing it direct from you? Nothing it’s still stealing, and to use it to fund a lifestyle is just wrong. She should be reported, and if the kids don’t get nice things any more then so be it. What example is she being to them anyway? I would have no issue with reporting a family member who is STEALiNG

@handay 3.3 bn overpaid in 2015-2016. If we only look at the net of 600mm that’s still a lot.. still 600mm that could have been spent on something else..

The thing is, people like the OP’s sister don’t take money directly from anyone else in terms of other claimants. If they solved fraud overnight they wouldn’t pay out more.

However, the “well I know someone whose partner earns 50k” stories are what make it easy for the governments to slash funds and put more hoops in place. So indirectly they do cause it. They help perpetuate the myth that “loads” of people on benefits are on the fiddle and that makes them an acceptable target.

Yeahbut £600 million wouldn't get a whole lot of social care, not really. The cuts there aren't to do with fraud elsewhere.

I'm honestly not saying it's right, I'm just saying that it accounts for a fairly small portion of spending. Plus the really big part of this loss is done by organised white collar fraudsters, not individual benefit claimants. HB has long been a target - tends to be a fairly low status clerical job so easy enough to walk into, the only proof you need are wage slips and a fake tenancy agreement, and in London especially if you've got say even ten of those on one bedroom places you're netting 10x £300 a week just for keying a few numbers into the system, which is why they do it. JSA used to be a fairly big one when it was easier to get fake NI numbers but that's more difficult now.

What fatasfook said about eleventy million pages back. I can't get excited about this level of fraud when the filthy rich and privileged are still raking it in at the expense of the rest of us. One billionaire tax dodger/duplicitous Tory social policy (30 hours "funded" childcare, anyone?) makes 1000 of the OP's sister look like peanuts.

And I wouldn't shop my own sister. Despicable idea.

I think what she's doing is the despicable thing. But hey let's concentrate on the filthy rich and leave the masses to fiddle the system.

Tell you what if it makes you feel uncomfortable I will report her myself if you pass on her details

Stay out of it, not your business

Benefit fraud is everyone's business.

We pay a lot of tax to support those in need, not to fund greedy, entitled dishonest women live a life they're not entitled to whilst married to someone earning £50k!!

Someone I went to school with was actually jailed for doing that. She had two kids at home and earned well as a childminder on top of sharing her home with her partner who also worked. People are getting thoroughly sick of these thief's.

Benefits are being cut because of the amount of fraud and dishonesty. What a scumbag your sister is.

www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud

when it comes down to it though they are always somebodies family member-and if noone did anything how would benefit fraud be stopped

i understand your worried about the kids and id feel sorry for your sister if she was on the breadline but 50k is more than what most people earn theyre just being greedy

I'm staggered some people are telling you YABU. I would dob her in without even thinking twice, she's unbelievable.

Sorry but I don't give a flying fudge about the government, all these people who say that because of people taking benefits they are not entitled to leaves us with nothing for the poor (bullshit)

The rich will always get richer and their will always be poor

The downfall of our country is allowing non uk citizens in to claim benefits and use our NHS

And let's be honest OP you don't care about your sister otherwise you would be having this conversation with her rather than dobbing her in and watching her downfall

We all have our opinions don't we

I know somebody whose sister did this, she didn't dob her in, somebody else did.
The person I know is so glad she didn't do it because her dsis ended up in prison just after giving birth to a prem baby.
The husband wasn't prosecuted, had he been then child would have gone to care/ in hospital without them, until they came out.
No allowances were made in those circumstances.
OP, needs to talk to her sister to try to make her see sense. That is what a loving sister does.
She'll get caught, they usually do and she isn't being careful let's face it.

I would. I havd dobbed in loads of people over the years.

The downfall of our country is allowing non uk citizens in to claim benefits and use our NHS

Care to cite evidence for the former?

EU migrants have a proportionally large number of younger people who are willing to work long hours and actually contribute a net benefit to the nation’s coffers.

Asylum seekers whilst waiting for a decision are allowed around £35 a week.

An illegal immigrant will not able to claim any benefits.

As for cost to the NHS I am too knackered tonight to find you evidence but I have read frequently the cost is not as high as you think and they haave introduced measures to reduce this.

Benefit fraud is wrong, govt tax policies that favours the wealthy and allows off shore tax haven is immoral, but please don’t blame immigrants for reductions in our public services. It’s definitely not on them.