Eliminator
Established Member
This is a bit of a strange topic for an AV forum but then so is most of General Chat!
I have suspicion an individual is cheating on benefits.
The individual claims Employment Support Allowance which I understand has a £16,000 cap on private savings (is this correct?). He has claimed this (or its predecessor allowances) for the last 34 years. He has never worked as he doesn’t agree with the idea and as an introvert with extreme autism dislikes any interaction with people. As such he has sabotaged every job application he has been made to do to get his benefits. He also has very low living expenses as he lives in his bedroom in his mother’s house paying her a peppercorn rent (£10 per month for full board). He rarely spends money other than on his car (which he loves) and endless HDD recorders so he can archive all his favourite TV programmes.
I personally dislike him for many reasons. Not least he enjoys ribbing those who work as “fools” and points out that he will get a full State pension as he has been on benefits and thus has the full qualifying period; intensely irritating when many of us our still working hard for the same! He has also convinced his mum that because his two sisters already have houses, they should be excluded from her will so he gets the house when she passes. Overall then, at least to my eyes, a thoroughly awful person. This is why I am posting, I have lost perspective and would appreciate any thoughts on what I should do.
I suspect he is cheating his benefits because of three events:-
1) About six months ago, whilst helping him move some furniture out of his room, I saw what looked like a large pile of bank notes in an open cabinet in his room. When he saw me glancing over that way, he hastily slammed in shut. I thought I must have been mistaken so didn't chase.
2) More recently he has got the sister that lives near him to buy stuff for him on Ebay as he doesn’t have his own credit card. He then pays her in cash – always a crisp £50 note which he describes as coming from his stash.
3) At a family meeting a few days ago, he told his sisters he had assets worth £75,000.
If his comments are correct, I suspect he has incorrectly claimed benefits over a period of ten to twenty years.
So, two questions I’d appreciate thoughts on whatever your view:
My first instinct was to report it but I can’t imagine the authorities are going to raid his property to search for the cash and he will be immune to any remote checks as he makes minimum use of bank accounts etc. Plus a £60k discrepancy is presumably small fry and not likely to be investigated seriously. Furthermore, I could be entirely wrong, his comments could be bluster/delusions or he is allowed large cash holdings concurrent with his benefits. Also, if he does have the money it has come for his benefits over the years, so I am not even sure if that counts towards savings.
Do I park it and see if further evidence comes to light over the months or years ahead?
Do I just forget about it as I have no hard evidence and it is none of my business (other than as a taxpayer!)?
Thank you for reading and for any comments.
I have suspicion an individual is cheating on benefits.
The individual claims Employment Support Allowance which I understand has a £16,000 cap on private savings (is this correct?). He has claimed this (or its predecessor allowances) for the last 34 years. He has never worked as he doesn’t agree with the idea and as an introvert with extreme autism dislikes any interaction with people. As such he has sabotaged every job application he has been made to do to get his benefits. He also has very low living expenses as he lives in his bedroom in his mother’s house paying her a peppercorn rent (£10 per month for full board). He rarely spends money other than on his car (which he loves) and endless HDD recorders so he can archive all his favourite TV programmes.
I personally dislike him for many reasons. Not least he enjoys ribbing those who work as “fools” and points out that he will get a full State pension as he has been on benefits and thus has the full qualifying period; intensely irritating when many of us our still working hard for the same! He has also convinced his mum that because his two sisters already have houses, they should be excluded from her will so he gets the house when she passes. Overall then, at least to my eyes, a thoroughly awful person. This is why I am posting, I have lost perspective and would appreciate any thoughts on what I should do.
I suspect he is cheating his benefits because of three events:-
1) About six months ago, whilst helping him move some furniture out of his room, I saw what looked like a large pile of bank notes in an open cabinet in his room. When he saw me glancing over that way, he hastily slammed in shut. I thought I must have been mistaken so didn't chase.
2) More recently he has got the sister that lives near him to buy stuff for him on Ebay as he doesn’t have his own credit card. He then pays her in cash – always a crisp £50 note which he describes as coming from his stash.
3) At a family meeting a few days ago, he told his sisters he had assets worth £75,000.
If his comments are correct, I suspect he has incorrectly claimed benefits over a period of ten to twenty years.
So, two questions I’d appreciate thoughts on whatever your view:
- Noting my own prejudices, do you think my concerns are well founded based on what I have cited?
- What should I do? (or what would you do in the circumstances?)
My first instinct was to report it but I can’t imagine the authorities are going to raid his property to search for the cash and he will be immune to any remote checks as he makes minimum use of bank accounts etc. Plus a £60k discrepancy is presumably small fry and not likely to be investigated seriously. Furthermore, I could be entirely wrong, his comments could be bluster/delusions or he is allowed large cash holdings concurrent with his benefits. Also, if he does have the money it has come for his benefits over the years, so I am not even sure if that counts towards savings.
Do I park it and see if further evidence comes to light over the months or years ahead?
Do I just forget about it as I have no hard evidence and it is none of my business (other than as a taxpayer!)?
Thank you for reading and for any comments.