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.

Will you confirm what you did if challenged by person involved or deny, @snitchapparently ?

I’m sorry. I really am. That’s so awful.

That was not my intention at all. We’re literally encouraged to do this, but it shouldn’t lead to constant speculation against you when you’ve done nothing wrong.

I probably wouldn’t be, but I’m leaning towards admit.

The government guidance on Attendance Allowance says you have to provide medical evidence with the form and that if it's unclear what your needs are that you'll be visited by a medical professional to assess you, so I don't know why the OP thinks it isn't assessed at all.

I'm really sorry for what happened to you @blemin

It might be 0.3 now she's reported! They don't know the real stats because the clues in the title, it's fraud! They only know when they catch people doing it. Carers allowance is a pittance so not going to make much difference but I'm sure the real figure is well over 0.2percent that figure is laughable.

Experience of people claiming and knowing people who process the claims. It may well say that but the reality is different.

If I’m wrong, of course, there will be no ill effect to the claim

Bullshit. Being under investigation will be incredibly stressful. My DH and I were once reported to HMRC for not paying tax by some cunt - yes I do know who. They didn’t know the facts either, they just thought they did. But the stress of being investigated was off the scale. Thank fuck my DH is so anal he kept information going back years, way longer than required to prove we were paying everything we owed. DH had cancer at the time. You don’t know whether the benefit is AA or not, you’re just assuming? Either way, the elderly person must have a disability of some kind to be eligible for the associated benefit, so who is caring for them then, if not the person you have reported? And if you think the elderly person is claiming AA fraudulently why haven’t you reported them too?

Nor are you - inform yourself here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/dec/11/hundreds-of-thousands-hit-by-ruinous-carers-allowance-penalties-audit-shows

Claimants can, and do, go over the earnings limit and not get informed, and if/when discovered, they have to pay back everything. If they go over the threshold in one week by 1p, they don't have to pay back 1p, they have to pay back the entire allowance. If they go over the threshold by 1p every week for a yeas, they don't have to pay back £0.52, they have to pay back £4,258.80.

Let's hope the OP is happy with the idea that if his neighbour was a few quid over the earnings limit that they could be made homeless.

I guess I’m fed up of following the rules when people around me just do what they like.

The amount paid is very low for 35 hours
Many people care for more than 35 hours
Work is allowed, up to a certain amount per week

https://www.gov.uk/carers-allowance

Carers allowance does also pay a person's National Insurance contributions

That's a really shitty justification. I'm incredibly bitter about getting no financial support during COVID, but I don't respond to that by making life worse for others on a vague hunch.

Living on benefits is horrible, and not the life of Riley some people think it is.

Yes that WAS your intention - it really, really was. Unless you live in a fantasy world, constructed by people who do nothing but lie to you, how can you possibly not know how it works?

And no, we are NOT "literally encouraged" to do this.

I’ve taken on board what most of you have said here, I truly have. And I thank you for taking the time to comment guys. Particularly those who have had horror stories, I don’t think that’s ok at all. Sorry to those for what they went through.

Thanks for listening.

I think what is missed here is that (most) people are not saying that it's wrong on its face to report suspected fraud. They are saying that it's wrong given the reality of the system that exists. If disabled people and carers were treated decently and fairly, and we could all rely on justice, then it wouldn't objectively be wrong to do it.

The problem is, the DWP isn't decent or fair or just. Given this sad fact, it's wrong to throw anyone to those wolves, unless you are absolutely completely sure, with incontrovertible evidence, that you are right.

I can see that, it’s incredibly unfair of a system to do that to you. For government to encourage people to report, then use that as a weapon against an innocent person is awful. Sorry again.

So, anecdotal then?

Not anyone can claim carers, the ‘cared for’ will most probably been assessed for PIP. Carers is also a taxable benefit so can have an impact on other benefits. It can be easy caring for someone over 35 hours, you don’t have to be with them all that time, phone calls to them, reminding to take medication, appointment making, shopping, food prep, admin, banking, washing, clothes shopping, paying bills, walking pets. It all counts. Much of it is invisible.

Sorry, but you’re not in my head so you can’t make that claim at all. I’m here listening to the facts, but yours is not fact it’s just the way you want to twist it.

Yes, government do encourage this.

But you're in a position to ruin lives on the basis of nothing but your groundless suspicions, your fantasy assumptions, your seething jealousy, and your ideology.

Well, the government can encourage me to snitch on people all it likes, I'll still never do it.