Reported possible benefit fraud

[snitchapparently]

I suspect someone of claiming carers allowance fraudulently, and after bottling out several times, I just submitted a report. It’s likely to get back to me if something comes of this and I feel like the bad guy for doing it. Am I the bad guy?! Should I just not have said anything?!

To claim you need to be providing 35 hours a week of care and also earn under a certain threshold and I’m fairly sure this person meets neither of those criteria. (If I’m wrong, of course, there will be no ill effect to the claim).

Feel quite stressed.

No, they even got a second cash in hand evening job at one point. As I say, I’m as sure as I can be without living with the person that they simply don’t meet any of the criteria.

If they're caring for an elderly parent and have succeeded in jumping through the many hoops standing between them and the carers allowance, then they're entitled to it.

And you know they didn't declare it to HMRC do you?

Some people need help to get out of bed. So they need care through the night.

That's 7x9 hours (10pm-8am) = 63 hours a week.

How do you know that the person is not being cared for throughout the night? You sound like a busybody and a not very nice person.

I hope you feel better for reporting someone. I also hope you also understand what caring for someone involves, as I do. 🤷‍♀️

Is this person related to you?

Even so, it shouldn’t be regarded as insignificant.

Carers allowance is currently £81.90 per week, the criteria is 35 hours (minimum) per week, that’s a maximum of £2.34 per hour! It’s a pittance and frankly an embarrassment on society.

Caring isnt linear, there are often some repetitive tasks, but many tasks are unpredictable and unplanned. There is a very clear earnings threshold (£150 PW, I believe).

I am a carer, although I am fortunate that I don’t work, many, many do - who can live on £81.90 a week? From the outside you have no idea how much work is undertaken. IMO it’s an unbelievably nasty thing which you have done.

If the parent could not live without someone caring for them, then the person you reported must be providing care.

My sister is an agency carer, paid by the clients themselves or funded care.

Her duties include:
Arranging appointments, doing washing &ironing, food shops, paying bills, life admin...all things the clients couldn't do themselves but need doing and all things that my sister often does not in the company of the client.

Maybe that's where the extra caring hours you're not seeing are being spent

"Fairly" sure is not good enough to launch something like this.

Stop wasting people's time. This is just awful. If you have no evidence you have nothing.

What a shitty thing to do. I hope it keeps you awake at night enough to never do it again.

The policemen that removed Jean Charles de Menenzes head were 100% sure they had the right man.

Maybe the OP should get a job in surveillance. We need people who are "pretty certain" about things.

What an unbelievably nasty thing to do.

Absolutely know for a fact that’s not happening

Nasty nasty nasty, do you live in their house?

"Knowing" and having evidence are two different things. You should drop this and don't do it again. Just mind your business and stop reading the Daily Mail.

All the mistakes the DWP make are classed as fraud. They make mistakes all the time, all classed as fraud.
Actual fraud is less than one percent.
If they stopped spending so much on all the tribunals for disabled people who have applied for PIP they could give them all double the money and still have some over.
The biggest problem with the benefit system is how inefficient it is.

I work full time and then my OTHER full time job is caring for my husband across the rest of my time (probably more than another full time job, if I'm being honest). How incredibly short sighted and ignorant of you to assume that because someone works full time they are incapable of being a carer too.

What a dreadful thing to do. You must be incredibly unhappy with your own lot in life to have gone to such lengths on a hunch. I wouldn't report my worst enemy (I think bad energy boomerangs back to you).

I can understand reporting someone you think is being abusive or such like, but to report someone getting a pittance (carers allowance is probably only enough to cover a month's petrol money!) for minding their elderly parent is just vile.

I agree it’s not enough. It definitely needs review as someone who really cannot work because of demanding caring tasks can’t survive on that.

Equally though, it’s not a top up to be used by a normal working person just because they have a parent on attendance allowance (which is completely unassessed as a benefit so very easy to get). That was the reason I felt it’s wrong. Surely everyone who helps their aged parents should be entitled to this then? But they’re not.

DWP and HMRC historically don’t link up their info and this isn’t a new claim.

But, again, I understand that I’m a terrible person and I will take time to reflect. Appreciate your input everyone.

Why have you started this thread then? I’m genuinely curious because it’s not clear from your OP.
Of course I’m not policing threads at all and “I was bored and had nothing to do” is a good enough reason. It’s just that it’s always easier to answer OP’s post if OP’s question is clear. Yours wasn’t clear.

So you made a judgement call that it was worth it and that you have very reasonable grounds for you to say Theyre not ‘a carer’…

I have two comments about that decision
1- if you’re so sure, why are you doubting? Why do you feel guilty/like the bad guy for doing that?
2- Do you know that DWP is very likely going to stop this person carer allowance? For what we know, they might also decide that the person being cared for is also frauding. In which case, all the allowances would stop too. All of it until they’ve proven Theyre not guilty. (Rather than DWP having to prove they are guilty)
So in my books, you need to extremely sure that they are playing the system. Which takes us back to the point above

EDIT to add
You realise that 35 hours a week is about 2 hours of help in the am before work and 2 hours in the evening. Time to help them get dressed, ensure they have breakfast and lunch ready. Time to help them have a shower. And have a meal in the evening. Add some time to clean the house at weekend etc..35 hours is very easy to reach.

I don’t think that at all, and that must be very challenging for you.

I don’t think a carer cannot work, I think this person is not entitled to the benefit they’re claiming.