Benefit Cheat runs 3 miles daily. Fraudulently claims £70k

vegansrock

Those who investigate benefit fraud have their hands tied in many ways. There maybe the type who claims to be wheelchair bound but posts pictures on FB of themselves playing golf - but investigators cannot “invade privacy” by checking claimants social media. The Bulgarian gang who used hundreds of identities got away with it for so long as staff do not have the time / expertise or resources to follow through checks - many of which they aren’t allowed to do anyway. An ex police officer friend got involved in benefit fraud investigation and told me they just weren’t allowed to investigate properly as they weren’t given police powers.

That’s interesting. Two weeks ago there was a car parked near our house for hours. It was a very hot day but a big guy sat in there for hours. By mid afternoon he was still there so I went and asked him if he was there on official business.

His car had what looked like surveillance gear in it and we had seen him on his phone for ages. He said he was there officially and if I rang 101 and gave them his Reg No they would confirm this. He said he could not tell me who he was watching but it wasn’t us!! We reckon that was a benefit or insurance investigation.

The system is not ‘easy to cheat’. It’s often difficult to obtain benefits that an individual is entitled to.
There are criminals living amongst us. From shoplifting to organised crime. This woman deliberately set out to defraud the benefit system. It will have meant her lying on forms, maybe to her GP but it was deliberate and she knew she was committing a serious crime.
Cut services to the bone and be surprised when they’re less effective

Of course the person who was jailed committed this fraud between 2009 and 2018 - so it goes back some way...

She was ill initally and then continued claiming.

MissA you are quite right we are living too long!!
I was chatting to a couple, even older than me, and they made the point that many of us will be claiming our pension for many more years than intended by the powers that be in the ‘olden days’.
However it’s difficult to cheat your way into a pension, I think, so on this thread we are safe.

Those who investigate benefit fraud have their hands tied in many ways. There maybe the type who claims to be wheelchair bound but posts pictures on FB of themselves playing golf - but investigators cannot “invade privacy” by checking claimants social media. The Bulgarian gang who used hundreds of identities got away with it for so long as staff do not have the time / expertise or resources to follow through checks - many of which they aren’t allowed to do anyway. An ex police officer friend got involved in benefit fraud investigation and told me they just weren’t allowed to investigate properly as they weren’t given police powers.

its you pensioners who are on the rise
I’m sure there’s a cunning plan to kill us off 😂

£53.9 MILLION defrauded over 4 years.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68774242

Benefit frauds are people with no intention of working, ever, and their intention is to avoid legitimate paid employment, ie work.

As I said, it is benefit frauds who are not working and have no intention of working.
I did not class 'people receiving benefits'. as frauds.

It's essential to balance fraud prevention with the need to provide timely and compassionate support to those genuinely in need. Overly aggressive measures might deter or delay rightful claims, causing undue hardship.

The benefit fraud rate for dla/pip is less than 0.05.
That doesnt strike me as something we would read about every other week.

Yes, that's the reason, overall, I'm sure.
I hadn't thought of that at all.

What about UC, MissA? Some of the benefits you mention now come under the UC umbrella I think, which would at least in part account for falling numbers (and rising UC claims?).

Employment and Support Allowance fell by 6.2% to 1.7 million claimants
this will partly be because they are moving people over to universal credit

The benefit fraud rate for dla/pip is less than 0.05%
I sure lots of people who currently have to claim it would love to be able to walk, let alone run

The main headline figures for the DWP benefits in this report
In the year to August 2022:

the number of people receiving the State Pension rose by 130,000 to 12.6 million

Employment and Support Allowance fell by 6.2% to 1.7 million claimants

Income Support fell by 21% to 170,000 claimants

Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by 35.1% to 89,000 claimants

In the year to November 2022:

Housing Benefit fell by 7.9% to 2.5 million claimants

It's you pensioners who are on the rise...

eazybee

Immediately there is an expose of a benefit cheat there are loud cries of condemnation of tax evaders to divert attention. There is a distinction between tax evaders and benefit frauds although both are cheats.
Tax evasion is illegal, and these people are dishonest, but they have worked first to earn money and possibly provided employment for many others.

Benefit frauds are people with no intention of working, ever, and their intention is to avoid legitimate paid employment, ie work.

Actually I think it is about 60 percent of people on benefits who are working.

Who is to say it wasn’t on the cards anyway after the fuss about Sunak’s wife? But clearly there are people - intelligent people - who don’t know that this is the final year of non dom status.

Germanshepherdsmum

The abolition of non dom status, with effect from the beginning of the next tax year (6April 2025) was announced by Jeremy Hunt in the budget this year. Obviously a lot of people don’t realise this is already happening, and Labour will take advantage of that ignorance by claiming it as their policy. Too late, it’s been done.

It was a much publicised and criticised Labour proposal which was "stolen" by Hunt.

Fraud is wrong whoever carries it out, whatever the amount.

Ah, OK, thanks.

It couldn’t have been put in place any sooner after the budget as the current tax year started within a couple of weeks.

That said, am very glad it's been taken on. Although not due to take place until after the election.

Labour proposed it in 2022.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61195119
It was their policy.

The abolition of non dom status, with effect from the beginning of the next tax year (6April 2025) was announced by Jeremy Hunt in the budget this year. Obviously a lot of people don’t realise this is already happening, and Labour will take advantage of that ignorance by claiming it as their policy. Too late, it’s been done.