To report friend for fraud?

[Bbttrr]

NC as outing.

Friend "A" is working cash in hand whilst claiming benefits. Flaunts her outings, holidays, purchases etc online constantly. Openly advertises her cash in hand work on social media. Claims a healthy sum each month in benefits whilst living in a 1/4+ mil house.

Would IBU to report her?

It's probably more jealousy than envy. Envy is noticing what someone has/is doing and being pleased for them. Jealousy is noticing what someone has/is doing and resenting them for it.

Seems to me she's happy with her life. Rather than be annoyed with her for whatever life she's created, use that energy to improve your own.

Report her, we are paying for her luxuries. Benefits are meant to be fore people who really need it.

It appears the thread has been overtaken by the kray brothers mob- don't snitch and just accept everyone's at it kind of mentality - and get in on the act yourself. no wonder the UK is in a mess -

Aside from the fact that this post is clearly made up to get people frothing about benefits - unless you have literally seen somebody's bank transactions you have no idea whether they are committing fraud or not.

Well yeah. No-one is going to advertise it are they?

Well exactly. But we are meant to believe these posts that all these people go around telling random acquaintances that they are committing fraud.

I think that's a bit simplistic actually.

I'm not jealous of her lovely life so much as I don't agree with her doing it at everyone else's expense.
I have quite a few friends who by any standards are well off and one of the reasons we are friends is because they do ( or have) worked work and they appreciate the same sort values in me.

She complains about having to work whilst working considerably less hours than anyone else I know and getting UC. She spent that last £300 allowance people got at Easter on an upgrade to business class. It just doesn't sit right.

I won't report her because I'm not a tit but she can't read the room anymore.

Please tell us where on earth you can get a 5 bed house for £250k - that’s crazy cheap.

Name change fail?

?

I think MN automatically keep the name you first comment with.

Tell me you live down south without telling me you live down south, quick look on Zoopla up North shows you what's available on the market, not rocket science 🙄

So her house is a bog standard £250k probably 2 up 2 down place?

@Beezknees I'm no Daily Mail benefit basher but I too got fed up of several acquaintances- who I knew well enough socially to be busily filling us all on in how they fiddled the system by omission - they knew full well what they were doing and almost bragged about it - it is as if some people genuinely don't give a shit and have lost the ability to read a room- in this case it was a room of just about financially coping working mums

I look on Zoopla all the time I don't see any 5 bedroom detached houses for £250k in the north.

You can get 5 bedroom houses for under £250k not far from where I live. This is why I'm always amazed at what you get for your money in London.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151426103

Years ago I worked for a local authority in the housing rents section. One day I answered the phone to a woman who proceeded to report her next door neighbour who she said was paying a differential rent based on her social welfare payment. This person she said, was actually working in a well paid job and so was cheating "us tax payers".

I asked her for the person's name and address so that we could investigate. She gave it to me.

I actually knew the woman she was referring to as she'd been in to my office a couple of weeks previously to check that she was being correctly assessed on her earnings. She was.

In the course of my conversation with this tenant, she said to me that she loved her house but that some of her neighbours were extremely nosy. She told me that she'd told them she was being assessed on her SW payment, to wind them up! She said she knew it drove them mad.

Now obviously I dealt with the complaint as per protocol, passed it to an inspector to follow up and of course tenant was correctly assessed and fully up to date with her payments.

Complainant rang me back a few weeks later, fuming that tenant was "still getting away with it". When I informed her that I couldn't comment on the matter, FoI etc., I got an earful of abuse but I didn't really mind, I was inwardly amused at just how worked up she was thinking that her neighbour was diddling the system when in fact she was an excellent tenant, who just enjoyed winding up a nosy neighbour!

@Bbttrr hell yes! Report her!

I cannot understand anyone who is saying yabu to report her unless they are also avoiding tax or commiting benefit fraud...

Mind your own business

@SafeToUse I get your point. That's someone making assumptions though. There are loads of weirdos, complainers and busybodies.

But there are many of us that that do know the ins and outs of our family and friends.
I'm not saying report people. I think the system should be robust enough to pick up the worst of it without being too dogmatic.
But people will always push the boundaries. I think it's ok to not feel happy with people who give less of shit than you.

I haven’t read all the replies but your ‘friend’ probably suspects you to be judgemental and critical of her choices so she’s putting you to the test with a wind up. No one in their right mind would advertise benefit fraud so if she is in fact doing this I’m sure she is declaring it legally and wants to see if you’ll report her. Who needs friends hey!?

No one in their right mind would advertise benefit fraud

Many people on this thread have pointed out you can have jobs/ holidays/ cars/ nice houses and still be on benefits.
Some have pointed out you can't tell who is entitled to what benefit.
Snitches get stitches
UC isn't robust.

So yeah. People are very happy to advertise fraud because they know it's unlikely anyone will bother to report or it.

People absolutely do brag about gaming the system. Which yes, is stupid, but it happens and not infrequently. So yes, report her. If you are correct, she’s a thief.

Do you like her, I've got a friend who does the same and it sometimes gets to me.. I work two jobs and she seems to have a lot more disposable income than me because she's claiming benefits and getting cash in hand but I wouldn't report her.. it wouldn't benefit me in any way.
I personally wouldn't want to live with all the stress and worry of being found out, and she probably will if she's plastering it everywhere.

As someone who pays a fair bit of tax on the money I work 55 + hour weeks for, I couldn't care less what your friend does (and I'm in the group you might assume would care.).

I suggest you don't either but given you are thinking of reporting her, stop calling her your friend.

You sound very jealous!

Pah, the house ( bog standard, 3 bed ex council )I live in is worth way more than that, but it's meaningless because I don't own it.
I work full time but still get state help with the rent because that alone is 95% of my monthly salary.
How do you know she is fraudulent?