Do you know people who think benefit fraud is acceptable? Because I seem to be surrounded by them.

[twinsetandpearls]

This is following on from my thread from the other week.

My sister is still asking me to draw up a fake tenancy agreement and just does not understand why I won't agree.

I have just been talking to dp about this and he thinks that although we are right not to agree that lots of people from the town we have just left would try and do this. Infact someone else said to me now that you have moved away you think differently and have adopted some psuedo middle class values and are betraying your roots. This has so pissed me off as if implying that if you are northern or working class you think screwing the state is OK.

I feel the same way about it as you.

The thing I don't get is that my sister is a bright, articulate decent person but she seems to think that there is nothing wrong in trying to claim money she is not entitled to.

it is not acceptable. what would be the consequences to you if you did this and were found out? anything that could potentially get you in trouble, fined or in prison is not worth the risk

i don;t know anyone who thinks fraud, which is essentially theft is acceptable

would your sister want you to steal the money from a bank or someone's wallet? as that is essentially what she is asking you to do

totally immoral, and i am northern!

Trouble is that it is very very difficult to change peoples attitudes on this kind of thing. Until the government manage to find a way of identifying more of these frauds and punishing them appropriately then it will continue I'm afraid.

No of course she would not want to steal from someone's purse, i just don't think she sees benefits as being anybody's money.

I tried going down the line of it is wrong but as well as that I am a teacher and active in local politics so just cannot be linked with anything like this and her response is but who will know.

lulu shall we start an honest northerners club?

oh yes, i'll be treasurer !

seriously, it is totally unreasonable and selfish of her, stick to your guns!

but people do get caught and do get found out . if she got a bit pissed one night, mentioned it to someone,who then mention it to someone, it quickly becomes common knowledge

remind her we all get taxed , and part of that goes into the benefits pot

I am always suspicious of a northerner who is quick to volunteer to handle the money.

I will run the cloakroom, should be easy watching all those flatcaps.

somewhere to leave all the ferrets too..

hope you work things out with her x

It's like people who make fake insurance claims on the premise that, "we've paid them so much money they owe us"... um, yes, they owe you for good you DID in fact own before they were stolen, broken etc.

But people think I'm weird because when I had a break in I'd only claim for the "Next" jeans I actually owned as opposed to the "Seven" jeans I didn't

We have just had that as well, some of my dinner service was broke bringing it down from the loft. It is a wedgewood one that I think in total cost about 2K. A few saucers, a tea pot lid were broke and my mum wanted me to claim for the whole service. She thought I was mad not to.

When I was burgled people were nagging me to claim for extra things.

Yes, it's like people that claim for whiplash when someone goes into the back of them and there's nought wrong with them. Twice I've had people go into the back of me and have had people saying I should have claimed. I would never do that. It's no wonder insurance premiums are so high.

yes i do know people who do this and no it flippin well is not acceptable. I work relentlessy as a single parent to provide without state benefits. i dont do that so certain shameless people can take my tax money and be financially better off then me by playing the system and do nothing. grass them all up!

Sil and her bf. Haven't read the thread but when they asked us to do something similar I got all worked up about it for a few weeks then my own mum said to say 'well if YOU want to put in false claims then thats up to you. But please don't put us a difficult situation by asking us to get involved'.

I can be secretary of the honest northerners club. Will I have to do joined up writing?

Sorry I meant to add that my mother's suggestion did the trick.

My whippet was on the desk and must've stood on the keyboard, sorry.

I would tell her to take a long walk on a short pier, TSAP. She's asking you to risk your job and your livelihood and she won't get any more housing benefit for it because as pointed out she's only entitled to enough for one bedroom, the house is too large for her needs according to criteria.

People WAY get caught on insurance fraud. They police that far more than benefits.

her response is but who will know.

You can say "Well, I've already told ten thousand strangers on the Internet..."

Who will know?

WEll, you will, for one. And as lulu points out, all it takes for one loose-lipped comment after a few drinks.

Also, she probably won't get ANYTHING and certainly not above $50 or so/week because she's single and has no dependents.

lol I have told ten thousand strangers on the internet! I suppose I have but only because it is something I would never consider doing.

Also, if she is under 25, she will only get the shared house rate, which is even lower than the one-bed rate, and any surplus income will be deducted at a rate of 65% of surplus.

So if she has Max entitlement to £65 per week, but works and brings in £100 per week more than they think she is entitled to, then they would cut her HB by £65 per week, giving her total HB of £0.

It is not as simple as she thinks, I feel. Morality aside.

I didn't know that Lou, I suspect neither does she. I have asked my Mum to talk to her as a "neutral" bystander.

Another point is that, where one person is renting to another and the tenant is seeking housing allowance, the authorities look at it through a huge magnifying glass - much more closely than they would where the landlord and tenant were not related. If anyone is going to get caught defrauding the state, it's going to be her and, by implication, you.

Sorry, that should read "and where the tenant is related to the landlord and is seeking housing allowance".

That is what I thought freckle and actually what I would hope for.