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?

I was told that by the DWP.

Then they lied. They do not monitor bank accounts.

But what if the pram was gifted to her and the make up and hairdos is somethinf her partner pays for?

And isn’t she a single parent until married ? I’m not sure about this one. Is it housing benefits that would change if someone moves in with her ?

I’m being devils advocate even though I did judge initially.

And isn’t she a single parent until married ?

Eh? Surely not?

@AmbitiouslyFit absolutely not. You can't claim as a single person if you have another person living with you and contributing to your rent/bills etc! The whole point of single person benefits is that they're supposed to make up the short fall of having a contributing partner (or higher income in the case of wtc). So no marriage has nothing to do with it, it's to do with your household income.

What she spends her money on, who she goes out with etc. is all irrelevant.

What is relevant is that she's falsely and knowlingly claiming for things that she is not entitled to. That deserves reporting.

Change. I'm not saying you're wrong, but my exh ( who's on benefits) inherited about 35k that was paid into his only account. The DWP stopped his claim within about 10 days and investigators came to see him and told him that they monitor bank accounts.
That's where I got my info from.

DWP don’t monitor bank accounts as far as I know. However large sums of money going into accounts would surely flag up with the bank and be investigated,

We signed off of UC when my husband came into a little bit of money that took us over the limit. The DWP didn’t know ..I informed them and then closed our UC account.

Oh sorry my bad. Yeh that makes sense. I thought it’s too do with parental responsibility over the kids.

In any case I’m not entitled to anything not even child benefit so my ignorance isn’t Costly

I'm not saying you're wrong, but my exh ( who's on benefits) inherited about 35k that was paid into his only account. The DWP stopped his claim within about 10 days and investigators came to see him and told him that they monitor bank accounts.

They don't monitor bank accounts.

Report it, I’m fed up of paying taxes for these benefit scroungers

@JeffreeStar as a fellow tax payer I say turn your attention to a much more expensive group of scroungers, especially if you’re worried about the public purse; the minimal tax paid by some corporations and high net worth investors and ‘businesses people’ currently paying far less tax than they’re supposed to (or none at all) is a bigger scandal but far harder to shine a light on. I’d also revise the assumption about the percentage fiddling the benefits system because it’s not nearly as high as the rags would have you believe. I have met/dealt with/treated many many benefit claimants and I’ve yet to meet one who is working the system. They exist Of course and they need to be stopped but they are pretty few and far between and it’s quite hard to tell someone’s level of dishonesty by their Facebook edited highlights or their blonde highlights.

It reminds me of a joke I saw once:

A banker, a benefit scrounger and a Daily Mail reader were sitting around a table on which was a plate of 10 biscuits. The banker reached over and took nine biscuits and then turned the the Daily Mail reader and said, “I’d watch out if I was you, that scrounger is after your biscuit”.

How do you know she pays for her hair dos? Maybe her sister/cousin/friend works at the salon and she gets her hair done free or in return for helping the sister/cousin/friend (along the lines of “you do my hair and I’ll do your ironing” or something). So what that there are no pictures of her bragging about all the mumsy things she’s done with her children? Some people just don’t use FB for that. And it’s quite possible to have a very normal childhood without “soft play” things - they didn’t even exist when I was a child (and we wouldn’t have had the money for them if they did) and my mother was an excellent mother.

You sound incredibly jealous. Almost obsessed.

shop her.

But you might be sad when nothing is done about it.

WWYDhey I think you need to decide what concerns you more, the alleged acceptance of benefits whilst in receipt of income and financial support; or what it is being spent on - or rather, what it's not being spent on. If the former, suggest you take advice on whether this will net anything other than trauma in a young couple's life (Citizens' Advice). If the latter, suggest you take advice on what can be done to support the children (NSPCC).

If, however, you're simply unhappy at someone's lifestyle regardless of their income, may I respectfully suggest that it's really her business only.

Facebook the route to all evil

Anyone telling you not to has probably scammed the system themselves...

Report it.. if it's a legitimate claim there's no damage done from an investigation. If she's fraudulently claiming then that's on her neck, not yours.

you said it for dramatic effect... would you call someone a ‘government snitch’ if they shopped a murderer or a rapist. I read the post. It’s not the same. At all. Just stop.

Please stop @ ing me, it really isn't necessary- if I wish to reply I will. Please also, don't give orders- it's just rude.

Apart from the seriousness of the crime what else do you think is not the same?

My point was pretty clear: People do vilify 'snitches' for all types of crime (as the post I was replying to). I think it's unpleasant and that far from being snitches those people are to be commended. You haven't explained your point.

Fuck off with the lies. I was left over £700 in debt after being reported, twice.
So I got a solicitor to write a letter to the benefits agency stating that if I was investigated and had my benefits stopped again, and it turned out I had been reported for either;

• the same ''offence'' or
• by the same person

that I would take them to court.

I got a written apology.

I think someone who stands up in court against said rapist or murderer is commendable. Not someone who calls an anonymous hotline after reading a dodgy Facebook post and hearing gossip. Hardly comparable. Buts let’s just pretend they are for dramatic effect.... @donquixotedelamancha

I'd report her without hesitation.
If your facts are right the she's committing fraud and is a parasite.
In not reporting her, your condoning it.

Report her. If there is nothing to find, nothing will happen. If there is, they learn quickly to not break the law.

How is that unfair?

I think it's important to separate your feelings about her potential financial arrangements from your feelings about her treatment of her children.

It's possible that she is committing fraud. It's also possible that she isn't. She may be subsidised by generous family, etc. Unless you have seen the paperwork yourself, can you really be sure.

It has been that the majority of benefit fraud allegations by members of the public are false and cause expense to the investigating bodies.

Do you think a fraud investigation is likely to improve the children's situation in any way? Is she suddenly going to spend more time at play barns with her kids?

People who are in work can claim benefits if they are low waged. So she might be entitled to benefits, even if she is working. Tax credits, for example. She may get her hair and nails done for free - I have a friend who is expected to post pics of her hair and nails that she has done for free every month, to help boost the hairdressers business.

do you have proof that if someone is reported all their benefits are stopped while they are investigated?

It's very standard policy. It's quite easy to get your benefits stopped, that's a lot of why foodbank usage and homelessness have increased.

I would report it. If there is nothing dodgy going on then that'll be that.

The country cannot sustain the level of benefits that it currently pays and it's genuine people missing out.

People really are obsessed with benefit fraud on here.

The real fraudsters are the rich people who live overseas to avoid paying tax at all, along with the companies that don't pay any, or very little in proportion to their earnings.

And the government that wastes millions of our hard-earned cash.