Reporting historic benefit fraud…

[Poofet]

I lived with my friend, her partner and their small child. I started living with them 15 years ago, and lived there for 9 years. I moved out 6 years ago.

To cut a long story short, my friend and I have fallen out due to some pretty poor behaviour over the years on her part. We have had a very on and off again friendship for years. This morning during an argument, she was sending me abusive text messages, and within one I received this morning she has said, ‘You didn’t pay enough rent when you lived with us, so I had to claim as a single mother to support myself through benefits.’

Obviously, this is absurd. I am now worried that I could be implicated in benefit fraud if I do not report it and it somehow gets discovered, I could be considered to have been part of this. Do the DWP / police even care about historic benefit fraud? Is this something I should be reporting to protect myself?

If you lived there without a contract it would be difficult to prove. I don't think that unless you report it it will ever be historically looked into.
If you report your friend then yes, she may be prosecuted.
Personally I would just block her.

Block her and forget about it

You're not really worried, you're petty and want to hurt your former friend!
Her previous benefits claims have no impact on you.

Her benefit claim, her problem.

If she’s telling me then I’m worried who else she may have told and I’m concerned if it does get reported or found out, I could end up being implicated as being party to it.

OP if it wasn’t you who make the fraudulent benefit claim then there is no way you can get in trouble for this. How much rent you pain whilst you were there is irrelevant.

I would block this woman and move on. All sounds very toxic.

You won't be implicated either way. It's not your fault.

If you want to get her into massive trouble you can report her. There's a dedicated benefit fraud hotline you can Google. They do care about historical fraudulent claims, getting back the money fills their coffers just that little bit more.

She could owe thousands.

No you won't

See that really worries me. What’s to stop her claiming I was in on it?

What would you be in trouble for? It's her who's making the claim, you didn't benefit from anything.

Couldn’t she claim that the household (ie me and her partner, he’s now her ex) were in on the whole thing in order to get reduced rents and live cheaper?

What proof does she have that you lived there. Do you have any yourself?

Current serious benefit fraud barely ever gets investigated, you're being a drama llama to even think this would be looked into. Sounds like you want to report it to be spiteful, just leave it.

I have bank transfers showing money going into her account every month with the reference ‘rent - insert month here’.

You just sound spiteful.

She can claim you were in on it but there's no proof and the only one who made the claim was her

Couldn’t she claim that the household (ie me and her partner, he’s now her ex) were in on the whole thing in order to get reduced rents and live cheaper?

No, zero proof and they won't be interested. It'll only be her who gets into trouble as she is the claimant.

Well she is hardly likely to do anything to cause herself trouble, so what are you worried about? Just forget it.

You are cloaking your vindictive nature in an embellished scenario.

Block your friend.

Try to be a less snide person in the future.

Ok. That’s good to know. I’ve never committed a crime in my life or knowingly been a participant in one so it really worried me that I may have unknowingly been part of a fraud for 9 years.

It would be a pretty far stretch and even further to be able to prove it!

Her name on the paperwork, her claim etc.
Would block and move on!

It’s the fact she’s telling me and whether her ex knows and whoever else she may have told, if they report it or the DWP gets wind, can I be accused of being involved in it.

You wouldn't be implicated op, as you just rented a room. Landlords are always to blame for these things.

She would be in very big trouble, as benefit fraud is taken so seriously. I would think it would be cruel to take revenge in such a way, against her.

(Not that you've said you will. But if it crosses your mind, her kids could lose their mum to prison.)

If you have evidence you have been paying her, then you should be ok.

You couldn’t have known she was committing fraud if she didn’t tell you at the time.

This is mad. She doesn’t have any evidence that you were ‘in on it’. Reporting her now would be spiteful.

Write something along the lines of, ‘I think it’s better if we cease contact now, this isn’t helping either of us.’ Then block her number.

It does all sound very odd and school playground. Move along.

You know perfectly well that you haven't been part of a fraud.

You just want to be spiteful to your friend.