To report this as benefit fraud

[ClareClareClareClare]

A relative is claiming benefits, can’t work due to health but is one of those who is always complaining about something wrong with her but is always able to do the things she wants to do. Can holiday abroad, always down the gym, etc. When she was working she was always making complaints against employers- one of life’s victims.

She sold a property a couple of years ago and has squirrelled about £40k away through investments. I think has got her mother to do this for her.

I’m so fed up of seeing people like her take the piss. I 100% support a welfare system and it really pisses me off to see it abused like this. And meanwhile we are working our arses off and not able to afford the foreign travel and gym memberships.

I’m so tempted to report her secret savings to DWP.

Yes, your opinion, not a fact.
just as most posters on here being anti reporting is also your opinion and not based any facts.
edited typo

so many things here, I don’t even know where to begin.

1. she goes on holiday and to the gym

What does that got to with it??? so do millions of disabled people. My friends doctor literally said she needs to be in the gym religiously 5 days a week if she wants her condition to improve. So she prioritizes this. She feels like hell after and during, takes a bunch of painkillers, has to recover in bed for hours or half the day etc blacked out a couple times in the gym, but she prioritises this. Doctors orders. My gym is full of people in wheelchairs, with carers standing by or using aids. Some of these people I see everyday. Swimming too. Paralympians exist. I know a dying man with glioblastoma who uses the gym. People with terminal cancer, paralyzed people use the gym. People really need to educate themselves on how many disabilities affect people.

2

if you are talking about her affording gym and holiday.

How do you know how she affords it? How do you know her parents or grandparents didn’t give her the money? How do you know she doesn’t save money in other areas to allow her to afford this? Like I said, I on limited income went on holidays and gym. Saved in other areas plus family help. My friend, a single mum goes on holiday on limited small income. Her mom gives her the money.

3

you know this much about her but don’t know if she gets PiP or not??? Like you even know her money is invested…wow

4 how do you know the 40k wasn’t spent and then she claimed benefits?

5 “I don’t think she’s disabled”. Many disabled people don’t look or act how we think they should. Invisible disabilities exist etc Unless you have her full medical information your opinion is irrelevant.

6

how did she manage to get disability without a diagnosis?

Absolutely report her! People like her who give genuine benefit claimants a bad name. Unfortunately though she’s not alone. I wish the government would put more money into employing people to track these people down.

100%. I don’t understand why people don’t get that. There’s not enough people reporting fraud, so obviously the figures aren’t accurate. There’s lots of people on here who say they know of people clearly defrauding the system, but don’t seem follow that up with reporting them. .

Read. The. Reports.

They have published stats with a 95% C.I.

Exactly, I’m astounded by some of the responses on here, it clearly indicates that there is a massive issue

Agree, it the fraudulent claimants that give the genuine claimants a bad name

But from what I have gathered from some of the responses on here it seems that even genuine claimants seem to be against the reporting of fraudulent claimants when it’s exactly what they should be doing

Nothing wrong with posts asking this. I’ve read like millions of posts like these, and I could tell these people were truly genuinely concerned of fraud. But not this one. But you, no, you, it’s coming from jealousy. I’d say this is the first post I see out very many where the person is obviously just jealous/spiteful. I can sense it from a mile away, you are reeking of it

I am chronically ill. If you saw me on my good days, you would think I was totally well. I don't use a wheelchair (for shorter distances), I am happy and hyperactive. I go on holidays, during which I will take photos of me looking extremely happy and healthy. I go into the gym looking healthy (to float in the pool, use the hot tub etc). I have had people (including family) insinuate that I am faking/exaggerating my health problems. They don't seem to be able to grasp that they only see me when I am well enough to be seen.

The reality is that very few people see me on my much more common bad days, when I am housebound, often bedridden, in lots of pain, vomiting etc. Most of my holiday is spent lying in a hotel room (rather be in bed in Spain, than stuck in my usual pit).

If you're 100% sure she is faking and has savings, then absolutely report her. But if you're not, then you would be an epic twat.

There are considerably more disabled people living without financial help (due to being turned down for PIP or just not claiming), than there are people faking it for measly amount you get.

Mine were not. My vindictive exH reported me when I left one job and didn’t start the next for three months. This was during our financial disclosure part of the divorce so he saw a work payment go in (probably the last bit of holiday money owed) and UC in the same month. He thought it was a gotcha and I was defrauding the system. Of course they knew all about it as all earnings are reported from HMRC each month.

all they did was call me in for an interview, check my statement, see that it was a malicious complaint, and close it. They said any further reports from the same person would be monitored to ensure they weren’t continued malicious reports. It never happened again.

My friend is a single mum on benefits. (Works but minimum wage, Low income, gets universal credit top up, ex not paying child support) Goes on holidays. Recently paid 500 for her kids party

Her mom (which is very good at saving) gives her the money for holiday and kids party once a year. Her brother also loans her the money. She in debt. She also saves by living in one bedroom with her sister.

you don’t know what a person does to be able to afford this

I can't edit my post above, but scratch out what I said about 'if you're 100% sure she is faking'. You can NEVER be 100% sure someone is faking their health problems as you don't live in their body.

I think to accuse a family member of committing a crime, yes, I would have to be 100% sure they had committed that crime.

If you're 100% sure she is faking and has savings, then absolutely report her. But if you're not, then you would be an epic twat.

Saying something like that is encouraging people not to report suspect fraud and that is part of the whole problem, You don’t need to be 100% sure of facts to report suspect fraud, If that was the case no one would be reporting it
Your post is also trying to guilt trip people into not reporting which is also a big issue, why should people feel guilty about reporting something that they genuinely believe could be a fraudulent act, whether it is related to benefit fraud or not

Just because someone is a relative, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are close or that person is a good person

If you suspected that one of your cousins were a paedophile but you were not 100% sure and there was no way of being 100% sure would you report them?

Totally different crimes but the point is still the same

Why does she say she cannot work OP? How is she not well enough?
I am surprised benefits are enough to fund foreign holidays & expensive gym memberships when many people who work can’t afford those luxuries.
I understand your annoyance over this OP.

How can you possibly compare the two? I think you may have lost perspective if you think the two are comparable.
But as I said I would not accuse someone of a crime unless I knew they had done it.
If I suspected anyone of being a paedophile I would immediately seek help and advice from those who have experience in the matter as I thankfully wouldn't know enough about it to know if my observations/ feelings were justified.
However if I suspected someone of shoplifting or stealing from their employer I wouldn't report them unless I was sure.

I wouldn’t if I were you, not all benefits are dependent on income especially disability benefits and you don’t really know her medical history.

It’s the kind of thing that will almost certainly come back to you in one way or another. If she is committing crime with her mother, then how comfortable will you be if they end up in prison? Is this a family you can be estranged from permanently? I would try and concentrate on improving your own life. So that things like this don’t bother you especially when you don’t really know what’s going on and what you are being told might not even be true and designed to wind you up.

And yet another person discouraging the reporting of suspect fraudulent behaviour,
It’s no wonder the reported figures are so low compared to what is actually going on, it seems the majority of cases go unreported due to this kind of mindset

The poster has no idea that they are committing fraud. Most disability benefits are not dependent on income. I had to fill in a 30 page form to claim attendance allowance for a loved one. The bar is incredibly high to get these benefits. If anything most people who should be getting help aren’t getting it. I have no doubt there are some dodgy doctors saying people are ill when they aren’t but this person has no idea what is wrong with their relative.

You think somebody claiming a few grand in benefits (which it's not established other than in the mind of a relative who hates her is actually happening and she hasn't been living off the savings to pay for holidays and gym memberships in advance) is exactly the same as a man who rapes a baby?

Really?

You think somebody claiming a few grand in benefits

That comment and mentality is another reason why suspect fraudulent cases are not being reported as it is only seen as ‘a few grand’, when an awful lot of people are doing it it amounts to a hell of a lot of stolen money which could have been diverted to much better causes

It could be a million pound and the seriousness would be infinitesimal compared to the harms done to one child.

That stolen money would never have been diverted to other causes though.

Yep, I would. My ex’s mum claims her mental health is so bad that she can’t leave the house. She told pip that she hadn’t left the house in 2 years due to her mental health. There is nothing wrong with her, she openly admits to conning the system. She spends all her day in the pub or coffee shop and of a weekend she is at festival or club, she is NEVER home. It grinds my gears because she has a blue badge for this ‘mental health’ too.