DP asking me to commit benefit fraud

[idontwanttodoit]

DP is asking me to claim for benefits under the guise of a single person. Of course I am not as we have been living together and have one DC.

I don't want to do this for obvious reasons but he won't stop pestering me to do it

My job involves dealing with benefits paid by both local authorities and the DWP, and people pretending to be single when they actually live as part of a couple is the most common kind of fraud.

For this reason a lot of time and resources are poured into checking new claims and periodically reviewing existing claims. They carry out data matching exercises with other organisations, eg. government agencies such as HMRC and financial institutions like banks and credit reference agencies, to see if any other names are linked with your address.

Claims are suspended while they investigate discrepancies and the onus is on the claimant to prove they are 'innocent'. I've seen people have their benefit money stopped completely just because they let someone use their address for correspondence and they couldn't prove the person wasn't living there. You will be prosecuted if there is reason to believe you've lied.

If you have started this thread to strengthen your resolve to resist your 'D'P's pressurising of you, and to arm yourself with further ammo against his reckless suggestion, I hope you will find mine and all the other similar posts helpful.

Don’t do it, it can and will backfire. I know plenty of people who have ‘claimed’ as single parents for years then it does get found out... mil included.

I guess he’s finding it hard to provide for you based on his suggestion but don’t it, please don’t do it.

We all fall on hard times financially.

I’m a SAHM, Oh works. It can be tough (and my Oh earns an okay wage) but we get by. I would never consider benefit fraud.

Two - I’m assuming he will “ move “ out to either his parents or a siblings address ie he’ll get his post sent there , election information etc . This is so much more common than people would care to admit .
A family at my son’s school are doing this by claiming the father lives with his mother in the farmhouse while his wife and children live in another house on the farm . Children get fsm etc but spend every weekend in the summer at their holiday home , go on school skiing trips . It’s a farce and taking money away from those genuinely in need .

Get rid of him, you would be most likey caught and proscuted. He wil get off free. Does this sound like love?

Also I must add, I had a friend who was a single parent and then met her new partner (now husband). She moved him in pretty quickly but never informed anyone so still carried on claiming as a single parent. This carried on until she married him where it caught up with her. Most couples do not get married without living together first do they..

I have some sympathy with his attitude, TBH. The rich are plundering the country and the government is wasting billions on vanity projects and, indeed, hiring companies to harass and punish the poor even further. MPs who fiddle their expenses on a massive scale get away with it.
However, as PP have said, this man is asking you to risk prosecution on his behalf.
Have you checked that you are actually getting everything you should be getting, as working people with DC? You do know there is more money sitting around in unclaimed benefits than ever gets claimed fraudulently, so there might be a totally legal way to get a bit more cash into your bank account, anyway.

Just read your question at 20.01, have partially answered already. The list of organisations that they data match with is much longer than I quoted, those are the major examples. Also we receive a lot of contact from the public suspecting benefit fraud (ex-partners, acquaintances, next door neighbours etc) and it always triggers an investigation.

If you want to be really good at it make sure school have two separate addresses for you both , do not have any pics of you together on social media , never attend school events together . This is ridiculously common , I’m laughing at those who think you’ll get caught. You might but there’s a very good chance you won’t .

One of our tenants is claiming as a single parent while living with her long term partner and the father of her youngest three children, 2 of whom were born since they moved into the property almost 6 years ago . I’m surprised the benefits office are so totally inept at cutting down on this kind of fraud.
Of course you or he could just work a few extra hours a week like honest people .

He’s a shithouse of a partner not a dear partner at all. Tell him to get fucked. Or boot his arse out for good and legitimately claim as a single parent. I had an abusive partner who tried to coerce me into this sort of thing and I’d never put up with it now. Total relationship killer.

Dump him then you really are a lp. Tell him your a method actor.

Don't do it. My brother and his girlfriend did this too for years. They were finally caught a few years ago. Don't do it.

Do you both work full time?

DP?? No dear partner would suggest such a thing,. Putting the mother of their children in such a risky position. I think there is more to this post, because no caring person would ask that of someone they love I’m guessing he’s a selfish person in other ways too. Passing on the responsibilities of life, family, finances, childcare and everything else to someone else

I would claim as a single person because I would be kicking him out. Last thing you want is having to pay back thousands of pounds to the DWP and be getting a criminal record. Also he will have it over you so when things tour sour with him may start to blackmail you.

Absolutely don't do it. My mum did this in her younger years, she claimed as single because her and my dad split up. She never let them know that he moved back in. She claimed as single parent for years and years. It caught up with her about 5 years ago and she has to pay back almost £15,000. She works a minimum wage job in a pub and they take a percentage straight from her wages. She might have had more money when she was claiming but now she scrapes by each month. Not worth it!

10 years ago I was investigated by HMRC because my landlords son was having some of his post sent to my house

I was ‘cleared’ but I ended up having to borrow money while my claim was suspended and it was really really horrible.

A lot of systems are automated and join up now, so they can catch you on something you think is small.

I'm in the US and now retired, but investigating fraud was part of my job. You would be amazed at the electronic threads that lead from person to person via the internet these days as well as the interconnected databases that government agencies have access to. I'm sure it's the same in the UK.

Not to mention that there's always a neighbour or two who are only too happy to 'tell what they know' to an investigator.

@Purpletigers I'm laughing at those who think you’ll get caught Have you ever actually reported the families you are aware of? There's a damn sight more chance they'd be stopped if you did.

Perhaps it depends on the office processing and paying the claim, some are more motivated and better funded than others. The fact is, there is always a risk that lying claimants will be caught, and I would rather err on the side of dissuading the OP (for my benefit as a taxpayer as much as anything else!)

When fraud is exposed the sums of money involved can be enormous as it is surprising how quickly weekly/monthly payments mount up. It has to be paid back.

Dump him then you really are a lp. Tell him your a method actor

This. So much this

They have fraud teams who investigate cases that seem suspicious. It's often a neighbour or family member who reports the fraud.

The fraud team send out an investigator to sit outside your house and monitor coming and goings - even staying outside all night to check when partner leaves - once a pattern is built up over a series of days/weeks etc they can take it to court.

Obviously there are plenty of people who slip through the net but you never know if you will be the one who is caught.

It horrifies me the level of fraud around - I know a teacher whose dh died and was shacked up with bf ( extra marital affair) within a year. Has salary plus pension from dh ( who was mid divorce) and still defrauds by claiming widows pension ( disallowed if live in partner) After listening to her boast about what she can spend it on for 10 years, I reported her. Dp departed for a week then it was business as usual - do they not check even cars in drive at night??? i have given up - but it’s my tax she’s getting

I work partly with a UC fraud team and they are very busy all of the time. They can check all sorts of sources for information - Im not going to detail them here but I was surprised at how far reaching their powers are. They connect with other fraud departments too to get a full picture. There is virtually no part of your life they cannot examine once they suspect fraud.
They used to rely on tip offs from 'friends ' and neighbours but now staff are more alert and can spot possible fraud situations from the information provided on a claim and will report instantly they suspect anything.
It really ,really is never worth it. You will have the fear and worry and he will get the money. It doesnt seem like an equal partnership to me. I'd kick the bastard out. How dare he put his wants against your freedom.

I once claimed JSA while living in a flat share. The DWP came round to make sure I was single and not cohabiting. They looked in wardrobes and drawers to make sure we weren’t sharing a room, they quizzed the neighbours, they hung around outside taking photos, looked in the recycling bin, even read my birthday card and questioned why my flat mate had written “love from”. If you’re trying to claim your DP doesn’t even live at your address you’ll get caught straight away when they see him coming and going!

Nothing shexier than a bloke who wants his partner and the mother of his child to risk jail time for him.

If and when you hopefully chuck him, he’ll probably find someone stupid enough to do it. 🙄