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.

Do you know for an fact that this person works full time and dont do 5 hours of care through the night? I know an couple of people that have done that as long as they do there 35 hours it dont matter if they do it day or night.

Still a huge amount of money, baby.

Tell you what @snitchapparently you pop your NI number up here and one of us will drop a line to the fraud peeps and allege you are committing tax fraud, maybe we’ve got wind of your side hustle or a bunch of cash from a relative who’s found a wheez to avoid inheritance tax. You won’t mind will you? You’ve said you’re all above board so no problem with them having a look and giving you the friendly all clear eh? It’s our civic duty after all.

You have done a truly horrible thing. Do you know how much of your own time and money it takes to care for someone? This poor person is holding down a job as well as caring. That allowance might be a huge help to them even though it is peanuts. You didn’t even have all the facts but are so incensed that someone might be getting something that you don’t. Caring is incredibly stressful. Their life is about to become even more stressful thanks to you. I hope you are proud of yourself.

So you've gone after an elderley person and their carer, because you're sick of following the rules when others don't. Not sure why you want to bring such misery on these poor sods. It reads as sanctimonious spite. This isn't a good look on you.

You have unleashed an investigation into someone's life. There's not a "no harm, no foul" about this. They'll be under suspicion now, everything will be checked with a fine-toothed comb, and the person receiving benefits may lose everything.

In the US, we have DOGE and the Trump administration to contend with. People are losing their jobs, homes, and sometimes lives left and right here. I'd never want to make life harder for anyone else; there's too much at stake.

I'm not trying to make you feel bad. I just can't understand why anyone would do that to someone else.

Regardless of taxes.

Um because if you don't report benefit fraud you're implicated yourself.

So…spite basically.

I could understand if someone was living lavishly and bragging about playing the system for example.

But to report a carer based on a suspicion… is low.

She doesn't know that this person has committed fraud. She doesn't have the full facts , just a load of assumptions.

So this isn't applicable.

If that were true, then given last year saw less overpayments due to fraud and error than the previous year then they wouldn't be cutting £5 billion would they?

It's also about a third of the amount in unclaimed benefits, which are about £23 billion.

It sounds like they may not be eligible for carers allowance so it’s the right thing to report them. It will be easily checked out. If they are above board then they won’t have anything to worry about. I’d do the same. There are so many deserving people that need support, I’d rather every penny go to them rather than selfish fraudsters.

If it's genuine case then fraud should be acted upon. If it isn't then genuine claimants shouldn't mind being checked anyway.
I know of a couple of people who have been checked and investigated and both were genuine cases but understood the reasoning behind it and accepted it.

What are the evidence thresholds and sanctions for suspecting fraud but not reporting?

Well done. I have also reported people, and fraud was proved

They don’t tell the person they are investigating

When I was younger, I was obsessed with following rules and doing the right thing, and I probably would have reported this person as well. However, with age has come an understanding of nuance, perspective, privacy, conscience, and the situations people find themselves in. There's no way I'd casually toss a grenade into anyone's life like this any more.

Plenty of obscene wastes of taxpayer's money are available, but this isn't one of them.

I know someone how go to a food bank every week, they have over £30, 000 in the bank, apparently they says anyone can go there, they do no checks, I thought you had to have note from your doctor. What do I know, but I won't report them.

Your not a happy person are you OP
I feel sorry for you.

Um OP doesn’t know its benefit fraud, so she’s not implicated at all.

You know there's 168 hours in a week? That leaves 133 where they could be caring (although they probably aren't receiving CA in the first place if they're actually working fulltime, so you've just reported a non existent fraud).

You must be pretty close to this person to know so much about there finances

But you don't know if it's a fraudulent claim. You said that yourself.

What I am seeing on this thread is solidarity against curtain twitching busybodies who do not have a clue what caring looks like.

You're fed up of following the rules and seeing others "coin it in"? Bloody unbelievable. May karma come and find you

I'm actually pretty against the amount of benefits but even I think your logic is wrong. Even if they were working full time 7/8hrs a day theres still time to be caring in the morning before work, after work, dinner time, getting ready for bed, possibly up through the night.

They might not be doing any of that but it seems you don't even know for sure.

And they're working too... It's the people who don't work and are getting a benefits package worth the same as a 50k job after tax, those people rinse the system.

I think you were wrong here.

I was maliciously reported for this before. They suspended my CA whilst they investigated. Though the person saw me working during the day, they didn’t see that I barely sleep and provide care pretty much non stop from the minute I finish my job, then through the night. That includes physical care, emotional support and all admin, money, trips out, banking, shopping, cleaning, everything we do in our day to day lives. And I’m constantly on call 24/7 for the person I care for too. I never ever get a break, respite or anything. Right just now I’m batch cooking meals for their freezer. So I was investigated and found to be telling the truth obviously. But it really upset me and made me question everyone.

Exactly the same situation for my Dad. He has requested 8 times that the DWP stop paying him as his wife is now in a home. After 16 months they have finally stopped, and instead sent him incredibly harsh letters demanding the money be returned with threats of court. Luckily my Dad kept these payments separate and has returned them, complete with copies of the emails & dates he called attempting to stop the payments.

OP- I really hope you are sure. As a PP has stated, your actions will start a chain of events that could see ALL benefits stopped for this family unit & then having to wait for them to be reinstated once they've proven they are entitled. This could well take months. As for AA bring easy to recieve? Please know how, in my experience, it really isn't.