To ask whether anyone here has ever been investigated by DWP for “living with a partner”?

[Labradorlover987]

My friend has just been asked to attend a compliance interview at the job centre - she claims universal credit as a single mother to 2 kids, and single person council tax discount she has a boyfriend but they don’t live together full time - he lives with his father - he obviously stays over 3/4 nights a week.

Just wondered what the process was etc

Very convenient that he can live with his father but then stay at hers most of the week, while she claims the maximum amount of benefits.

Didn’t she/you already have a thread about this last week?

She’s not on this site and I’ve never posted about this before

He stays over more than half of the time…?

I’m not entirely sure - think maybe 3/4 days

I don’t know the ins & outs of it completely but I think he owns a house with his father somewhere else

No idea but if they are effectively living as a couple I hope they are found out and sanctioned
If not then she has nothing to worry about

So he stays at least 50% percent of the time with her, often more but doesn't live there. How convenient to claim council tax discount and UC as a lone parent.

It’s a fairly newish relationship - he isn’t the father of the kids - but yeah I think he stays a good few nights - guessing one of the neighbours reported her 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, just wondered if anyone had experienced the process - she’s asked me to accompany her to the interview

she may get sanctioned. I know someone who was prosecuted. Hopefully coming clean will sort it.

She can’t have someone staying with her more often than not, and claim single person discounts. Someone has clearly reported her. She’d be better to come clean.

Thanks - were they prosecuted for this specially?

Is his father also claiming the single person's council tax discount?

I’m really not sure - I would hope not

How old are her children

So her boyfriend likely stays with her more than half the time and she’s rinsing the state for the benefits of a single person?

id take the lot off her tbh. Top notch cheeky fucker.

I also know someone whos partner worked away all week so was only home Friday/Saturday nights every week - he had all his post sent to his mums house to make it look like he lived there - they were reported by a neighbour and they were investigated over a series of months, they could see exactly what was going on - she had to go to court, it was so stressful for her and she had to pay back a massive chunk of the benefits that she had received -
Its just not worth it - its only a matter of time before someone dobbs her in.

Presumably he has bills registered to his home address and also GP etc are registered where he lives rather than her house.

From the Advice Now website:

“Just because your partner stays the night with you, even if they stay most nights, it doesn’t mean you are living together. If your partner still has a home somewhere else where they pay bills and keeps their things, and you make day to day decisions about your home and finances on your own, then they probably don’t count as living with you.

If you have been contacted by the benefits office because they believe you are living with your partner when they haven’t actually moved in, you will need to show them that your partner doesn’t live with you. Usually, the easiest thing to do is to prove they live somewhere else.”

12 & 10

Thank you, I will pass this one x

Used to work at DWP many moons ago.
There is no rule that says you can or can't have a boyfriend if you are a single parent. Nor any rule about having a boyfriend stay over. Some of the comments on here are a bit brutal.
They will be looking at whether the relationship is akin to a married couple but the man is maintaining a second address solely for the purpose of gaining benefits.

It’s not about the amount someone stays. It’s measured on things like;

Do they buy food and eat meals together?
Do they do their laundry there?
Are there shared bills?
Does the person have anything on their credit report such as bank / credit card registered there.
Do friends and family consider you are living together in a relation?
What does your social media say?

All of these things are taken as a collective and a decision is made. How often someone stays the night is not relevant as a stand alone.

This guidance for DWP investigators is all available online if you dig so you can verify this.

A word of warning. Coming clean at the first opportunity is given weight when considering sanctions. As is how long any offence has been going on and the total owed.

Thanks for the information - he maintains his own house (as I’ve been led to believe) but I think they do a lot of the above together - laundry, food/meals, social media etc

It is fraudulent if he is contributing to her bills. Think about it. She's getting money from the taxpayer as a single mum and rightly so.

However, if someone is regularly contributing to her bills including her food bill then she's not entitled in the same way.

No one contributes to my food bill, only me, my work, and universal credit.
All my bills are in my name. I am the only person paying my bills.

Say I had a boyfriend, say he stayed over a night or two. That's one thing. I may make him dinner and he may even take me and my kids out for a meal.

If he was staying regularly though and chipping in on the food bill or eating with us and living as a family that’s entirely different.

They will be looking at whether you are living as a family or he's just a visitor.

Does he have post go there? Where is he registered to vote? It's also about whether another adult with earning capacity is living there. He doesn't even have to earn or contribute. Because if he's living there then he should be.

This is the assessment they do. It is not cut and dried.