House deposit saved up while cheating benefits

[PaulinesPenStash]

Firstly I want to say I am as left wing as they come, a card carrying member of the Labour Party, and i am in full favour of benefits for everyone that needs them.

But this is an absolute piss take ...🤦🏻‍♀️ I have just found out that someone I am close to, her partner (and father of her children) has been claiming to live at his mums for about 5 years. he's been working the whole time while living with her rent free and living off her income, and a bit of his. They've saved up enough for a house deposit as he's saved most of his earnings and they've just had an offer accepted on a house

I don't want to go in to how I know in case it's in any way outing, because let me be clear I would not want to grass the person up despite how disgusting i find it

I am just very shocked and really want to tell someone but I can't so I'm posting it on here to kind of get it off my chest

The deposit amount is £50,000 btw 🤦🏻‍♀️

(The one positive is it will free up a council house !)

Have you got any evidence this is what happened?

Eh? Why would you not report someone who is committing a crime?

Just to be clear the reason I stated I was Labour was So no one thought I was some kind of benefit bashing Tory (heaven forbid !) troll / gf. Not suggesting left leaning types would be ok with fraud 😂

Tbh I wouldn't bat an eyelid at a single mum doing a couple of hours cash in hand to help buy her dc clothes, feed them decent food etc but this takes the biscuit

I've been on benefits myself, I've had a council house, I do not begrudge genuine people whatsoever

Thanks for all the replies it's been good to talk about it tbh

I expect most of you people will be as equally irate about tax evasion, tax havens, the power of large companies to legally avoid tax, and the amount of money the banks have ripped us off by? Also about the growing levels of inequality in this country, the debt faced by youngsters who try to improve their lot, and the difficulty of finding work that actually pays nowadays, to name a few issues?

It's a difficult one op, but I don't think I could bring myself to report them either at this stage. I would in future if there were any more, more unnecessary fraud, but not for a family with youngsters and no family money (I presume) to buy a house. I would quietly seethe like you though.

About 20 years ago a guy I knew had a business. He owned houses and let out rooms to guys who never lived there but need addresses for their benefits to including housing benefit while they lived with their partners and children. The partners claimed as single parents.

He then actually simultaneously let out the rooms to people of dubious immigration status who needed somewhere to live but did not need an official address.

I know people who defraud the benefits system. I don't agree with it but haven't reported them.

One friend lived in a council house for 23 years with her partner, their 2 children and her child from a previous relationship.
Her partner had a council flat and claimed to live there alone (although he really lived with my friend). Both claimed benefits (jobseekers, Income support, housing benefit and council tax support). He sublet his council flat to his daughter from a previous relationship and her partner.

Neither have worked in donkeys years.

She recently split from her partner after meeting someone new. Her ex has had to move back to his flat with his DD and her DP. My friend has swapped her house with another tenant and now has a council flat. Her new partner lives with her but claims to still live by himself in his council flat. Both her and her new partner are unemployed and living on benefits, claiming HB for each property.

My friend used to claim Carer's Allowance for her autistic son until he went to prison. When he came out he moved into a council flat with his gf (who had their baby while he was inside). Neither have ever worked and are on benefits.

My friend has always been very open about her benefits situation but is such a lovely person in other respects that I don't feel able to to report her although I find what she is doing very wrong.

Which would you focus on?

images.app.goo.gl/UUYK5y6ekEeLfKPH8

It just not fair on people who struggle daily whilst theyre sitting pretty saving up for a house
who knows they may never officially leave the social house either

@TheBouquets

Yes, it does seem to be the woman who takes the brunt of it in these cases. I guess it's maybe perceived as more normal for the woman to be on her own with the kids so they think it will raise less suspicion? I don't know, I guess I just don't have the right mindset for it and wouldn't be any good at successful benefit fraud

The husband was fully complicit in the case I mentioned (Possibly even the instigator as there appeared to be a high possibility of financial abuse as a completely separate issue) but as the woman was the one claiming she was the one deemed responsible.

The fact that he worked offshore meant she was sole carer for the times while he was working, so what would happen to the kids if she was to serve time must have been a huge worry . I'm assuming this was probably taken into account during sentencing, leading to decision of no jail time as a similar local case around the same time resulted in 18 months.

Also, PPs have mentioned social media - their Facebook profiles/postings were used as evidence.

Benefit fraud is not huge

In 2016, the benefit fraud bill was £1.9bn.

Only on Mumsnet could that be deemed not huge.

I wish people would get so up in arms about self employed tax evaders! The amount of people who pay them themselves under the tax threshold of around 12k and the rest gets paid to 'the company' (aka themselves), or write all sorts of things off against tax is huge. It's people like this who are the ones to worry about, benefit fraud is tiny in comparison to this (probably a few of the outraged ones here). It's the PAYE employees who hold this country up (IMO )

@MsRabbitRocks

Which would you go after ?

£1.2BN - Benefit Fraud
£1.4BN - Mistaken Benefit Overpayment by the DWP
£16BN - Unclaimed Benefits that people are entitled to.
£30BN - Tax Avoided, Evaded and Uncollected.

Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.....

Tbh, this doesn't annoy me. Especially with how messed up the benefit system is at the moment. While obviously commuting fraud is terrible, they've gotten themselves into a better position and have broken fee from being reliant on benefits. They won't be claiming anymore.

@Chovihano

So he lives with his mother and stays at his gf, is there something wrong with this. Where is he registered?

He SAYS he lives at his mother's. I assume he is registered there. Maybe .

Actually, he lives with his partner. They live together as a family. She however says he does not and that she is a single parent.

Why wouldn’t you report it?

Tbh I consider you complicit if you know and ignore it

My cousin did this many years ago then her daughter did it too a few years ago. So many doing it

Even if you report it surely the couple will just say they fell out but are now back together?

bignews3

@MsRabbitRocks

Which one would you go after

All of them. One does not negate the other.

This trend on Mumsnet to say benefit fraud is okay because tax fraud exists is warped logic.

Start a thread about someone committing tax fraud bignews3 and you will get posters condemning that too. This thread, however, is about benefit fraud.

I can't report it, it will really negatively affect the children, they're innocent

While it is a tad irritating I would stay well out of it. After Brexit everyone is going to be skint anyway so all the benefits will grind to a halt.

bignews3 I quite agree, tax evasion is a much bigger problem.

@bignews3 go after all of them. You point?

£16BN - Unclaimed Benefits that people are entitled to. Is this annually? Where does it come from, where is it and what gets done with it? Could this not save schools, etc?

All very nice, op, but who's fault is that?

Waste of time reporting it! Hard to prove he was living their full time. Al she needs to say is he lives their a couple nyts a week and shes still entitled to claim as a single parent. She would have need to have been reported months ago and with proof.time they get round to it now they will have moved into their new house by then. Theres loads at it and its hard to prove otherwise!!