Should I report my cousin's benefit fraud?

[GreatAmberSnake]

Hi everyone - I'm having a bit of a moral dilemma and looking to get everyone's opinions.

My M34 cousin doesn't work, he claims PIP. I'm not that familiar with how it works but he says he's on the highest level available, and there's even talk of him getting given a car. He openly boasts at every opportunity about the extreme exaggerations and outright lies he put on his PIP application, and calls me and other members of the family idiots for working when we could just get our money from PIP like he does.

If they investigated him they would easily find that some of his lies don't add up. I believe he genuinely does have depression and anxiety, but he has no physical issues. He said he put things like his partner needs to dress him in the morning (he split from his partner a couple of years ago), needs to wear velcro shoes as he can't tie laces etc. A home visit would show up some of his lies, and a call to the school (he's a weekend Dad but sometimes picks up/drops off his sons) or the Police (he's been arrested for drug offences a couple of times) would be further proof.

The main thing stopping me from reporting him is his depression. He has attempted suicide on at least one occasion, and I fear that a potential prison sentence for fraud could send him into a spiral. Even if no-one found out it was me, I really don't want that on my conscience.

If he didn't boast all the time I would just ignore it, it's not like it affects me directly, but it just winds me up every time he goes on about. Grrrr!! I do try to minimise contact with him but sometimes it's easier said than done. If he gets this car I think he'll become even more unbearable 😡

Help! What would you do?

You must be the only one doing your job correctly then. The amount of claimants turned down at 2 stages and forced to go to Tribunal - then win, is shocking. Maybe teach your colleagues their job.

Both you and the previous poster are making it sound like anyone who gets PIP straight away is lying... and you are only genuine if you have had to go through tribunals etc.
Who does and doesn't get PIP seems so inconsistent, and often seems to depend on the what side of bed the person doing your assessment got out of.

A huge amount of people applying for PIP get turned down the first time (more so for MH issues). Someone asking for advice on how to proceed with their claim is not trying to cheat the system.

people applying for PIP are assessed by a DWP appointed doctor- so I'm amazed he hasn't been found out, maybe they are behind and his assessment is coming. Don't worry about him getting a car- the only case I have ever heard of this is 100% incapacitated by vaccine damage. I have helped people with PIP applications- it really isn't that easy to cheat on it, more people are turned down than accepted for it.
It sounds extraordinary boasting about benefit fraud, but I have encountered this .

You can’t use this as a mic drop forever. It cannot be the case that nobody can criticise disability benefits ‘because it means you’re jealous of a disabled person and OMG that makes you terrible’. I’m disabled (on tons of medication just to keep myself physically alive), so I do get it, but the fact remains we spend more on disability benefits than we do on our armed forces. That’s how out of control it is. It’s not even a moral issue, it’s a financial one - we simply cannot afford it.

And you can’t blame the public for becoming exasperated when the staggering increase in claims over the last 10 years has been driven by non-pathological illnesses. I can’t even remember the last time I heard of a PIP/DLA claim for something that wasn’t autism, ADHD, anxiety, PTSD or fibromyalgia.

And you need to see the bigger picture. PIP may be ‘only a few hundred quid a month’ but the majority of PIP claimants don’t work, so are also on UC, and have their housing expenses paid. In addition to this they (like every person) get free comprehensive healthcare which if you are disabled cost a lot of money, as well as the passive benefits of taxpayer funded services like the emergency services, the military and infrastructure.

I think you need to take a look at your self before criticising the taxpayer that is working hard to provide all of the above.

They’re not usually assessed by a doctor - it can be a nurse, paramedic, OT, physios …
Your car statement is daft, and incorrect! If you get enhanced mobility you can use this money for a car.

Bloody hell - with family like you, who needs enemies?!

If you're going to get all het up about injustice, there are better places to start. It's petty and gross, to go after one of life's underdogs.

I'd ignore it. You don't know what his GP and psychiatrist said as evidence in support of his application.

I'd report him.

Calm down love. Hate the game, not the players. I don’t blame people for sucking everything they can from the benefits system when they see politicians doing the same.

The system is a complete joke and needs reform.

PIP claimants are always assessed by a DWP appointed medical professional, answers on this thread saying an assessor only and no evidence required are lies. You get it for an initial period (used to be 6 months) when you produce a medical certificate, you are then assessed at which point most people fail- the OP's cousin may be boasting about a very temporary situation.

PIP assessors don’t award. So you haven’t awarded anybody anything. You have made a recommendation in the report from your assessment, which is one piece of evidence the DWP will use to decide whether and what to award. You’re right though that it is rare for Decisionmakers to go against the Assessor’s recommendation. That is because they’re allocated very little time to deal with each claim and usually simply rubber stamp it. The decisions made by assessors are often illegal and overturned at MR or tribunal stage.

You’re right that in the example you give, an award is appropriate. That individual should however have evidence of the impact of their disabilities, other than their medical records. Otherwise, you’re just taking their word for the fact that they meet the descriptors, which I’m sure you know isn’t what’s set out in the guidelines for assessors.

I do PIP tribunals every day. The most common reason claims fail is lack of evidence. Even in the most ‘deserving’ cases. Nearly every PA4 I see cites ‘not supported by the evidence’ or ‘evidence not available’ alongside each descriptor.

What you’re saying here is different from what you originally said, which is ‘you don’t (need medical evidence), unfortunately’. Unfortunately, implies that you think people are awarded without having to support their claim, and are claiming based on their say so alone, when they shouldn’t be. It is you who is spreading misinformation here and adding fuel to benefits bashing.

It is also important for people to know, when they make a claim, that they are unlikely to be successful without evidence to support the level of restriction they are claiming, and that obtaining this evidence is a vital part of the claims process.

This isn’t actually true, in the case of PIP. Much as I agree that the statements here about awarding without evidence are rubbish.

PIP awards are awarded for a finite period of time, and then reviewed. The review is slightly different from the initial application but broadly similar. There’s no need for a medical certificate for PIP. Nobody sends fit notes for PIP because it isn’t an out of work benefit.

There is usually (not always) an assessment by a healthcare professional from one of the companies the DWP use to conduct assessments. Some assessments are paper based but this is rare.

Unfortunately for many the medical professional doesn't necessarily have experience in the field of the claimants difficulties. No point having a podiatrist assess someone with mental health issues.

What is your frame of reference? mine is my partner worked for DWP for over 30 years and dealt directly with PIP- the idea you fill in the form and just get it with no evidence and no assessment is laughable.

Oh I agree either way you completely there. I’m a welfare rights lawyer, PIP appeals are my job.

Your attitude disgusts me.

Nothing, the tories and the rich stole billions from the British taxpayer. Maybe he's just following their morals.
Imagine grassing your own cousin? Despicable.

"That is correct. I don’t believe you should be entitled to a mobility car if you have no mobility issues. Next question ?"

You can't get a car without mobility issues. Mobility is the ability to get from A to B.

All this.

What does your 'friend' think of your view of her. Oh that's right, she probably does not know what you really think of her. Your poor friend. Not only is she/ was she suffering from some issues, considering she gets/ got the highest rates of PIP, but she has no idea that you are sitting in silent contempt of her.

The poster means physical disability issues, obviously

OP you accept that his mental health is so bad he's attempted suicide in the past and you fear he will again if reported.

You also accept you only know what he's been willing to share.

You accept that he's entitled to some PIP.

So you're contemplating risking his health to report him based on irregular conversations you've had with him when you are unable to avoid contact? It's very common for men especially to be stigmatised by MH issues so he could possibly prefer paint himself as someone playing the system instead of acknowledging the days he can't get out of bed.

Leave the PIP assessment to the professionals and keep your nose out.

Why obviously?

It's HIS responsibility to keep himself alive.

Because she explained it in her post