To contemplate reporting someone for possible benefit fraud? WWYD?

[WWYDhey]

So there’s this girl I know. Not a close friend but someone I know and would say hi to in the street. We are Facebook friends. I know a bit about her through mutual friends.

She is claiming as a single parent of two kids but her boyfriend lives with her. Full time. They have actually just become engaged and she is pregnant. He has 3 kids to someone else with which he sees 2 of them every other week.

He is ‘unemployed’ but I believe he works full time for cash in hand. (Some kind of joinery or building work)

What has made me consider reporting her (if that’s something you can even do??) is that she spends all her ‘free’ money on weekly hair up appointments, professional make up done. New nails etc (we all know this as she documents everything on Facebook) always out at restaurants and nights out. Almost like she is bragging.
Doesn’t look like she spends much on her kids. They always look a bit scruffy and bored in her photos. (Think tops that look too small or worn out)

And now that she’s pregnant she’s uploading loads of expensive purchases for the baby (ted baker everything, massive pram ordained in Jewell’s)

Now I know some of the replies I will get here will be along the lines of ‘what’s it got to do with you how she spends her money’

• well yes it has nothing to do with me but it is really irritating that I work full time with kids and pay a lot in tax and have to scrimp and save. I don’t get all of the luxuries she does. Yet ina round about way I contribute to it.

‘How do you know she’s on benefits’ our mutual friend knows she is for certain. Plus she works 18 hours per week in a cafe so it’s not rocket science.

So would you report someone claiming as a single parent when she isn’t?

YABU- Dont report her and don’t give it another thought

YANBU- Do report her

If so how would you report anonymously?

No no, it was Crystal clear Morningsun and hopefully people reading it will recognise the prejudice held by some of the staff in public service towards their clients.
Shame this isn't a social housing thread really, I would enjoy the vindication and watching you get handed your arse of HelenaD and Graph and others.

I suppose we can only have so many mythical scroungers per thread, the froth would drown us.

Sorry that wasn't very clear

You could not have been any clearer

It’s malicious to make an allegation of benefit fraud when the only basis for it is a bunch of Facebook posts and what a third party said.

I don’t claim benefits. I’m lucky enough to have good health and a job, at least for now. I know plenty of people who are less fortunate, and it’s appalling to think that they could get their benefits stopped because of some arsehole drawing inaccurate conclusions from no actual evidence. Don’t be that arsehole.

If you report it and shes doing nothing wrong then there's no problem.

I'm glad I was clear! If someone is claiming their benefits legitimately I am all for it. Claiming poverty whilst having all the bells and whistles and holidays, not so much. Obviously I am CRAZY!! Good day!

Stop being nosey and worrying about what someone's doing on frigging Facebook
Why don't you try getting a life instead of worrying about someone else's? Delete her from Facebook and move on

@TheMorningSun

It's not something you should be proud of. The way you speak of people is awful. You should be ashamed.

OP reports and says the woman is claiming benefits as a single person living on her own but in fact her partner lives with her. DWP look at her file and see she is claiming as living with a partner so is not cheating. What is there for them to investigate?

I don't know how much experience you have of the DWP. I wish that things were that simple and that benign. The more likely reality is that someone reports this woman, the DWP then put a stop on her claim whilst they investigate. They don't just check to see if she is claiming as a single parent or not. They take the opportunity to pull apart her claim and takes weeks to investigate. At the end of this maybe they do find out her claim is fraudulent. Or maybe they find it isn't and she's been through weeks of stress, little or no money and she's pushed from managing into "can't make the rent".

If the DWP wants to prevent fraud, it can perform an audit check on a percentage of claims. It can tell everyone that it does this. It would cut down of fraud without turning citizens on each other. That the government instead encourages the kind of blame and ignorance found on this thread is very telling, and very depressing.

Thing is TheMorningStar you have NO idea how to hair extensions and acrylic nails are being funded.

I am not currently in work...I don’t have to claim benefits either. I can’t afford to get my nails done. However one of my nieces is doing nail technician training. As such over the past few months my nails have been done several times....not acrylic as I don’t like them but gel nails.

I know from having had them done previously in a salon that’s the cost is about £20-25.

I definitely could not have afforded that on benefits when I claimed them as a single parent. Hell I could barely afford school uniforms and heating. We ate, we had a roof over our heads, I kept us clean and healthy. It didn’t run to hair extensions or nails though.

So if you see people with these likelihood is

Someone is doing the work for them.
Someone is gifting them money or treating them.
They are earning on the quiet....I happen to know the woman over the road is growing and dealing cannabis...and yes too right I have reported it. As far as anyone else is concerned she is doing very nicely on benefits though....she isn’t. She’s funding her lifestyle illegally.

You will also have a small minority claiming as single parents with a live in partner.

You cannot tell anything from just looking at someone and quite honestly it’s people like you I dreaded meeting at the Jobcentre in case I was being judged by them. I have never in my life claimed anything I didn’t need and I’ve never claimed fraudulently. Being judged is horrible and i always felt bad enough when having to claim. I don’t think I ever attended with painted nails ...and from your post it sounds like a good thing that I didn’t.

Be aware that things are not always as you judge them and be grateful you have a job.

To report possible theft is nothing to do with citizens turning on each other

If I saw a break in happening I’d ring the police, I wouldn’t think well I actually have no evidence and they could just be borrowing the said item etc.

Benefits cost tax payers enough due tax them funding lifestyle choices for many without fraudulent claims on top. We should all want the costs reduced.

All this time you spend snooping and gossiping on this woman, you could be gaining new skills to get a better paying job.

Don't you wish women would build each other up, instead of tear each other down?

I suspect if you sorted out why you're so miserable with you own life, you'd stop snooping on this poor woman.

If you saw a break in you are witnessing a crime
If someone posted on Facebook they were starving and going to Macdonald to eat ALL the burgers would you report them for possibly thinking about armed robbery?

@TheMorningSun you can get cheap extensions for £5 on Ebay, you can get falsies from Primark for £1, and if you take pride in your appearance and are clued up on what you are doing you can make your nails and hair look like they were done by a professional. You can easily do it yourself, so someone who knows how to "beat their face on" is not poor enough for benefits? Though frowned upon some people use credit cards to treat themselves and pay the minimum on their card from their income from their benefits. Is that wrong too? What about if a relative passes on their nice clothes to them or takes them shopping, I'm 29 and married with my own business my parents and my brother still take me shopping or treat me.

Benefit fraud is obviously wrong, but you really have no idea what's actually going on. I don't work, but I don't claim any benefits besides child benefit, DLA for my DD1 (10) and care's allowance. I wouldn't be able to hold down a job because of all the health appointments and therapy that she has.

Both our DDs are adopted and DD1 has serious anger issues; she has regular meltdowns where she throws whatever is to hand, punches and kicks, she kicked her iPad recently).

So the upshot is that I'm a SAHM, supported by my DH.

I also have MH issues, complex PTSD due to childhood SA and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, so I wouldn't be able to hold down a job in any case.

We're comfortably off because of having received a couple of inheritances and do nice things with our family. I post on Facebook about them sometimes. I don't share about my family's struggles because they're no one's business but our own and I don't like airing my dirty laundry in public.

My point is, you can't rely on Facebook for your information. A lot of people only share nice things on their profiles. You have no idea what their lives are actually like.

Benefit fraud is an offence, obviously, so reporting it where you have actual evidence is perfectly proper. But personally, I would rather a few fraudsters slipped through the net than seeing children end up in poverty or taken into care with parents in prison.

@TheMorningSun
I agree with PP saying you are part of the problem if you judge people on such superficial information as their appearance and automatically assume they are benefit frauds.

Why do people have so much hate for the most vulnerable in society but are quick to excuse big corporations for tax evasion and claiming millions of dollars in bullshit subsidies. But no, everyone believes the nonsense that services are underfunded because Mary down the road is a single mum on benefits.

you dont know why she is posting on fb.how much of it is true or god sake...people post such random stuff online.many many people who are struggling post outwardly in order to appear something they arent.

i have worked with many people with MH issues who post pure utter fictional tripe online so that mostly those around them never know a thnig.they become very good lies of the perfect or 'ok' lives when inside there home oh god it would shock.

you dont know what is going on in someones head.you have no idea how much debt she could be in.does tht mean she oesnt deserve benefits.you DO NOT KNOW.

and to people saying if she has done nothing wrong no problem.hahaha dont make me laugh.this isnt how it will work.they wont knock on her door,make sure all his okey cokey and wave goodbye.they will cause no amount of stress.stop her money.and it will,with their backlog take weeeks even months of agony in waiting.
hvae you not seen the reports of how many people are currently go into debt and starvation due to how long the benefits system takes to sort things.

oh and on benefits you could NOT afford what she is reporting.do you know how much they get! its laighable to even begin to survive on never mind get nail apt.it couldnt be done.
so how is she getting this money.who knows.
is it even happening who knows.
a fb page or online platform says nothing.

is it wrong if she is.yes.but you dont know.and your sticking a huge bomb into a life without being certain.

pounds not dollars

@WWYDhey just google 'report benefit fraud' there's a Gov webpage for it.

I've done it before, nothing ever happened from it - as far as I'm aware. I don't think they actually do anything with the info they're given.

Both tax evasion and benefit fraud are illegal so both should be reported.

Most big companies lower tax bills legally though and employ a huge number of people so therefore contribute a great deal to society through products/services, employment etc.

If she’s not earning and partner isn’t working/earning more than the equivalent to 16 hours wages then there is no benefit fraud going on. They may even be entitled to claim UC as a couple, that’s the only fraud. Not informing of circumstances. It would be very hard to prove partner is living there unless he’s on the tenancy or has his name on the utilities

When it was just me and baby DD for a while I was forced to claim income support, housing benefit etc due to unfair dismissal from work whilst pregnant. The DWP were doing their annual check ups around the start of the staff year and decided to investigate me. They stopped all of my benefits immediately, before I even received the letters. Turned out it was because my father paid for my Wi-Fi and TV Licence with his name on there. They thought it was my husband! I gave up fighting and told them to swing it. I was owed over £5000 by the end of it all but I just left it. Luckily I had family to help me pay the rent otherwise I would have been on the streets. They stop benefits for the most menial things

Tax* not staff stupid phone

I would 100% report her , OP.

www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud

Strange you know so much about her when you say you only say hello to her in the street. Something doesn"t add up here correctly

Report her if you want but definitely stop following her on social media for your own sanity.