Benefits fraud- what is the general feeling about it?

[Hadtoask]

I have changed my name and I’m posting with trepidation! I really am aware that I might sound heartless and mean. I will not be reporting this person but Im just interested to hear how other people feel about this. People may be very horrible to me and in this case I won’t be back! Sorry but not brave enough for an onslaught.

I won’t do the dreaded drip feed but I will have to be vague about a few details because I wouldn’t want the family identified.

So- a family I know had all their children removed from their care by the courts some years ago. They were a very large family. It is a permanent situation and the children will not be returning to their birth parents.

Despite many years passing the parents are still receiving benefits and tax credits for all of the children.

On the one hand I feel it’s really sloppy administration and makes a mockery of the benefits system. The tax payers are paying a lot of money in support for this family who are all in foster care. As well as supporting the parents who are on benefits. And now it’s come to light that there are tax credits paid to the parents for all of the children too.

I also feel that in some ways it’s probably this money that is holding their mother back from working. I feel she would really benefit from the structure and satisfaction of working. She has always claimed benefits and has never really stood on her own feet. She’s 40 ish.

On the other hand I feel that having lost her children she is very needy and this money will be very important to her. I can’t begrudge her anything because I feel extremely sorry for her.

I would not report this family but I definitely feel conflicted. I wonder how often this sort of thing goes on whilst there are people struggling to claim what they need.

Apologies if I sound really awful and mean. I’m just surprised at this situation and the money is not going to good use. I know this but cannot give details for risk of identifying them.

Do you know as in have absolute proof? As in you've seen the tax credits award notice or similar?

Because if so then yes, report it, it's situations like this that leads to situations like I found myself in a couple of years ago, because people assume the worst -

Work permanent nights, full time, single mum. Quiet, keep ourselves to ourselves and in social housing. Also look after a friend's horse in return for riding her, no money involved, mutual favour. Neighbours decided that I was claiming from the DWP (pretty sure she's on here because of the terminology she used when telling me) and working on the side(when she saw me going to ride/look after horse on days off) I wasn't, I still get CTC for DD (16, ft school still) and a few pounds wtc due to my wage. Apparently I was getting my rent paid and 'single parent benefit' (that doesn't exist) and 'loads of tax payers money' so as she gleefully told me, she was reporting me because the likes of them have to work so I can lie in bed all day and get paid for it.
Of course the DWP didn't do anything because I wasn't claiming anything, and TC looked into it when in rolled round to them and concluded I'd been reported for exactly what I'd declared and didn't do anything. She still sneers and will tell anyone who'll listen how shocking it is that I got away with it and continue to do so. Luckily most of the other neighbors ignore her because they know I work nights and ft and we don't cause them any problems. Her main issue I think is that I'm a single mum, I certainly haven't done anything to her personally.

So if your 'knowledge' is like my neighbours then no, don't report it because it's likely you've got it wrong in all honesty.

I don't agree with benefit fraud at all, but I do wonder how much 'tax payers money' is wasted on investigations that are the result of spite, misinformation and stereotypes.

I can't believe all the people saying "report" and "they can work but choose no to" etc.

You know nothing at all about these people. They may have serious health problems, possibly poor mental health.

In any case it is hypothetical as the OP cannot possibly know for certain what the facts are. She cannot know that these people do not pay their bills FFS.

@Perfect Pretender

"I think the govt would do well to reclaim lost tax revenue from big corporations before chasing after single individuals."

This. 100%.
There are limited resources, and they'd be far better spent investigating large corporate tax dodging millions of pounds than investigating the bank statements of a handful of people who might be claiming a few quid a week they're not entitled to.

Anyone actively choosing claiming benefits fraudulently on purpose would have a far easier life simply working, so anyone who isn't doing that clearly can't cope, and so is trying to survive instead.

Eventually they will have to pay all the money back. So in a round about way you would be helping.

Have you been told this information from the woman herself OP, is it a friend? I would find it hard to report a friend but if she told you then you could encourage her to stop claiming the benefit now. Not only would she have to pay it back there are many cases of this type of fraud where the person has gone to prison.

To be honest, I feel like it's a sad. Because it will be found out, and they will be prosecuted and everything possible will be claimed back, and their lives will become much worse.

I would report, sorry.

Parasites

That will inevitable happen regardless if the OP reports @WhoWants2Know I agree that it's sad though.

But they're still getting the money for the children @TheMustressMhor , the other benefits are separate, they shouldn't be getting this element of tax credits.

That's what I mean, little. Regardless of whether the OP reports, it will eventually be found out.

Ahh, sorry @WhoWants2Know

@Hadtoask
i have experience with this.
i used to have a child who was not mine live with me, and i claimed CB (but no tax credits/UC)
the child had to return to foster care - in the sadness of it all i did not even think to let child benefit know and assumed the social workers did that.
fast forward 1 year and DWP wrote to me saying a CB claim had been made for said child (probably child has moved out of foster care and been adopted - great!!!)
it was my error, and while DWP gave me 12 weeks CB after childs moving out date, I had to pay the entire amount after that back.
They asked for either a single payment, or if it would leave me in hardship i could pay monthly.

if no-one else had claimed CB for that child it could have gone on for years - ooopps!!!! absolute genuine error on my part x

What a passive aggressive original post. It really is none of your business and everything you think you know is supposition. You really are over invested in this.
Oh and if people are horrible to me I will leave the thread. Grow up ffs. I really would hate you to be my friend.

I’d report her in a heartbeat. She’s taking money, lots of it it seems, that should be there for people who are entitled to it.

My feelings about benefit fraud it are like anything else depends on the circumstances.

A single mother working a cash in hand job a few hours a week and not declaring it to afford nicer things for her children - not my business and I don't give a monkeys.

A family who's incapable of caring for their own children, that have had said children removed from them and are now being financially supported by another whilst they continue to claim money which should be going to support these children - would report in a heartbeat

Benefit fraud infuriates me. I would have no qualms about reporting them. What annoys me most is people pretending to be single parents whilst having a partner ( usually working) living there but 'officially' living at his mums or something. It infuriates me further if he is the dad of the kids and they have clearly been together years. Why are people so bloody greedy, they don't seem to understand that other ( honest) people are paying for their greed. I can tolerate people doing a small cash in hand job and that kind of thing doesn't bother me so much.

FFS. They were a ‘very large’ large family before the kids were removed.
The parents have continued to claim benefits and tax credits for these kids (that they must have neglected/ill treated for them to be permanently removed) for many years!

In what way is this ok?

Love all the right on posters on here. Yes big corporations should pay tax. Of course they bloody should.
But these ‘parents’ are taking the piss.

It's benefit fraud. It's theft and they shouldn't be getting anything for children they couldn't be bothered to look after.

It's really just proof they've learnt nothing. They see nothing wrong in claiming for children they don't even look after. They see them as a means of getting money, that's it. It's pretty sick.

It’s not necessarily fraud if the kids could come back to them
They can carry on claiming I believe

As a tax payer, I don't like the idea of people committing benefit fraud, inadvertently or otherwise. I would be contacting the benefit fraud action line.

They can only claim for 12 weeks after the child leaves the household.

they would need to make a new claim if the children returned.

@Inliverpool1 OP stated that the removal of the kids was some years ago and that it was a permanent arrangement.

@ TightPants permanent foster care would be different from adoption though ... in foster care they could keep claiming as the theory is that they need to maintain a home large enough to accommodate the potential return at any moment.

It’s not “right on” to want inspectors to focus on big corporations, it’s for the greater good.
Either the tax payer ends up getting millions back into the pot for redistribution towards services, or they get a few hundred pounds from someone who has difficulties paying it back, who may then - for example - need medication for stress from it all, or not eat properly to save, so get I’ll - costing the NHS more, etc. so completely wiping out the money the state’s reclaimed.

Even if it’s hard to sympathise with someone who’s defrauding (if they actually are), it makes more financial sense to go for the big criminals first. And morally speaking, who is worse - someone avoiding huge taxes that they could easily pay, or someone doing what is, in the grand scale of things, very petty crime, and not living any kind of life of luxury from it, just getting by?