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

I have, as partners ex maliciously reported us.
He did stay at mine sometimes. I just took bank statements and copies of his bills, car insurance proving his main residence was elsewhere.
I was really stressed about considering all the scaremongering, but they were lovely and agreed it was malicious.

Presuming that this “friend” is indeed the OP.

oh dear

I imagine the role of friend would be to sit there and not get involved.

You reported someone for a completely hypothetical situation?

how did you pay your cleaner @Iamfree ?

Do you live alone? Partner? Children? Have friends?

Just imagine the response from the DWP

@Iamfree ringing up and saying her cleaner has said “if” she moves in with boyfriend, she would not update DWP.

Tumbleweed
maybe a giggle

although sadly they’re probably used to daft callers like this

Wow stab your cleaner in the back

did she carry on cleaning for you while living with her rich bf

@Rumbletumbleyi paid her via revolut, I don’t really use cash - ever. I have a partner who pays so so much taxes that it’s crazy. We’re leaving the UK in 5 years and can’t wait. But we do everything by the book, I have a chronic illness but work full time (my job is not physical). No time off in the past 20 years, not even one day. So yes I despise benefit cheats and I will vote reform despite being « educated »

@Blondeshavemorefun she did keep cleaning then I don’t know what happened - cleaners come and go as you know

@Iamfree nothing like voting Reform and leaving people here stuck with that arse whilst you leave the UK - could you tell me too why you think ‘you hate benefit cheats so will vote Reform’ plenty of those who vote that way are exactly the ones who are happy to cheat the system ( at all ends of the income spectrum) be it benefits or indeed HMRC . They aren’t all some kind of homogenous doff your cap hard working saints -

@Crikeyalmightyubfortunately many benefits cheats will vote reform too to get rid of « immigrants ». I have absolutely no issue with anyone coming into the UK to be productive whether they are brain surgeons or restaurant workers. But it’s so depressing to see people cheating the system when we work so hard, yes our life is fuller and I am sure also way more luxurious than theirs as I work in a professional job but I WORK 60 hours a week. And yes I’m lucky I have 3 passports so I’ll just move to a country that attracts wealthy retirees with super low taxes, I’m sorry for that but I truly have given too much money to HMRC and soon will be the time to keep MY money

'Your friend'/you need to declare the partner, and only claim benefits if eligible based on joint income.

On the face of it this seems like clear fraud: using another address just for the purpose of claiming benefits.

But you don’t get it that not everyone can earn a high enough salary to pay for ‘everything’ and like you say at one point you was married/had someone on board, not saying everything was easy as you then got divorced.

But to understand that many can not afford to pay everything then all the childcare on top.
For example in the holidays there were some charging £170 upwards a week for camp, if you work that out based on what someone could be taking home a week from work, it’s not doable.

@Iamfree I don’t disagree that it’s somewhat depressing — but I did feel that it needs pointing out that not all voting Reform are huge contributors and if they are voting based purely on immigrants might have a shock when it comes to many policies that may be enacted under reform affecting quite a lot that would vote that way-my ex MIL ( RIP) contributed jack shit financially for 40 years but was the first one moaning about immigrants and very much of the ‘we worked hard school’ whilst not contributing a tap of NI or tax - ( the ‘we ‘ it would appear was her husband) we ourselves lived in Copenhagen a few years ago so I’ve also seen it in reverse, high tax, high services but there is very much an expectation of ‘contributing’ - even with small kids and the system is set up to make that more’doable’ - the thing is here I think we have the worst of all worlds, ( and I’m not blaming the current gvt, it was no different under the Tory’s’ - poor services and if you factor in tax and NI together( many high tax countries don’t have NI) it’s not particularly low tax here either for most.

No, it wasn’t easy, not at all easy. And don’t imagine being married is some sort of meal ticket - if anything I was his meal ticket!

Childcare isn’t something “on top” it is a basic essential. It has to be paid to make everything else possible.

Most parents have to juggle and it’s a strain. I had times when I really worried I couldn’t hold it all together and we would end up in a dire situation.

I’m saying that being on benefits shouldn’t be a permanent state but a safety net. Jobs should pay enough for people to get by. And if you can only earn a minimum wage you should consider upskilling in some way. Ask your employer (if you have one) for training and more responsibility. Ideally a low wage is not a permanent state but only entry level.

If you are not on benefits you are free to do whatever you want in terms of living arrangements if you can afford it.

When I worked I was a cleaner. There was nothing to upskill as it is a dead end job. Not everyone is capable of work that pays more and we need people in the low paid jobs. I also know someone who has been a shelf stacker for 20 years. She has learning disabilities.
why should people who are not capable of more skilled jobs be stuck in poverty?
Please dont blame people who are in low paid jobs for their poor pay. It is the cost of living that has made things more difficult.

@TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater do you not work now out of interest? I’m presuming you don’t for a logical reason , because you actually write really well.

No I dont. How I write has no bearing on that. It was on another thread or it might have been this one were someone told me to go away and learn English.

I couldn’t agree more, @TheSpiritofDarkandLonelyWater! I have as much respect for someone doing the cleaning or stacking shelves as I do for a surgeon or CEO. And frankly, without the people doing the minimum wage jobs, the country would grind to a halt.

Yes exactly. I have seen a few comments here where people say that people in the low paid jobs have no right to complain about struggling for money. Years ago min wage jobs were enough to live on. Now they are not and that is not the fault of the people doing them.
People say to get promotions. What promotion could a cleaner get? You only have supervisors in places that have lots of cleaners and not everyone has the people skills to manage other people.
Or retrain. Not everyone is capable of more than the more simple jobs. Who will do the low paid jobs if everyone retrained?
Or work more hours. Knacker your body out and have no life outside work.

What promotion could a cleaner get? Almost any other job going. Cleaning is hard work - so if you have been a cleaner you have shown a lot of resilience. But it is really entry-level work. I know cleaners who have retrained to become healthcare assistants for example and the NHS is keen to offer training to do more than just clean.

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

Sounds like you are about to be OP!

And if all the cleaners retrain into other jobs, @Looploop, who will do the cleaning? I believe that the cleaners do an important job, and deserve not only respect, but a living wage for doing so. The same applies to many other ‘entry level’ jobs - shelf stackers, refuse collectors, porters etc etc - society would grind to a halt without them.

There is really no shortage of cleaners! And now you can get a robot to do the vacuuming. I am surprised by the lack of aspiration really. Isn’t it boring? I hate cleaning although should there be a massive cleaner shortage I could of course do my own.

Do you think a roomba could clean hospitals? It seems you think very little of the people doing such important work. Some people are not capable of more than jobs like that and they still deserve a wage they can live on.
None of the cleaners in hospitals I knew retrained as HCAs as it is a totally different department with different managers. Nowadays most hospital cleaners are not even employed by the NHS.