Would you report a family member for benefit fraud?

[Kermit power]

kentmotorcompany said:

Im very surprised how many busy bodies there are here.

If it does not cause you a direct problem, why get involved?

If I knew someone who did it, and I have done in the past, I would not dream of grassing them up. But then I grew up in East London, where the culture is minding your own business, unless it causes you a problem.

It does cause me a direct problem. Where do you think the money comes from to pay them their benefits?

A quick google suggests that £1.5Bn is lost in benefit fraud every year.

There are roughly 26 million income tax payers in the UK, and I'm one of them. If you divide the benefits stolen evenly across the taxpayers, we're losing just short of £60 a year each to benefit fraud.

If someone picked your pocket for £60, I'm pretty sure you'd consider that to be a direct problem, so what's different about benefits theft? Other than the fact that pickpockets don't also charge you administration costs, of course.

[oOTomOo]

kentmotorcompany said:

If it does not cause you a direct problem, why get involved?

It causes us ALL a direct problem....

People committing benefit fraud take money out of what is basically one big pot.
If "no one" was committing benefit fraud we (as a country) would be several billion pounds better off and not facing such drastic spending cuts and tax increases.

To say "oh it doesn't affect me" is quite frankly, utter bks and naivety, it affects you, it affects the OP, and most importantly of all, it affects me.

[Arese]

"Your form has been successfully processed. Thankyou."

[oOTomOo]

Arese said:

"Your form has been successfully processed. Thankyou."

Hurrah

[Loopyleesa]

Arese said:

Loopyleesa said:

(like the way I shouted yes?)

But try using bold tags to really get your point across. Just a bit of feedback.

I wasn't actually shouting that loud

Edited by Loopyleesa on Wednesday 20th October 16:15

[Galsia]

Arese said:

"Your form has been successfully processed. Thankyou."

Well done!

[Arese]

Galsia said:

Arese said:

"Your form has been successfully processed. Thankyou."

Well done!

I have my new thread prepared for in a couple of weeks:

"Damn. My cousin has committed suicide. My fault?"

[Scott330ci]

Famous Graham said:

Depends on the closeness.

Close family

Wife?

[BliarOut]

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

[elster]

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

[BliarOut]

elster said:

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

Glad you're not related to me.

[Kermit power]

BliarOut said:

elster said:

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

Glad you're not related to me.

So you think it's OK for family members to commit fraud, or you're just glad none of yours are reporting you for it?

[thegman]

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

Why does it make any difference who it is? If they persistantly burgled, would you have the same view? At the end of the day they are stealing our money.

ETA - TBH I think a lot of people's morals dont apply when it is them or their own family who would face punishment. There are probably a lot of people voting yes who in reality would vote no when it applied to their kids for instance.

Edited by thegman on Wednesday 20th October 16:32

[GTO Scott]

I've wondered about this issue too.

Say a really close family member was claiming benefits. Say for example, it's housing benefit, council tax benefit, higher-rate disability living allowance, and possibly carer's allowance (for his disabled partner). Now, the large house that him and his partner (no dependants living at home) claim on is actually owned by his OH's parents. He does a lot of cash in hand and ebay trading. He also won't do jobs below a certain level (say £10p/h). Issues that may cloud my personal judgement are that he is a habitual liar, a control freak and has caused much upset within the family, not to mention extracting thousands in handouts from the more well-off members of the family.

Could you shop a member of your immediate family?

Edited by GTO Scott on Wednesday 20th October 16:56

[elster]

BliarOut said:

elster said:

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

Glad you're not related to me.

I am lucky that my family aren't con artists. If they were I would report them.

I don't like theft, and if someone I knew was defrauding the state then they would indeed get reported.

So you approve of scumbag culture.

Edited by elster on Wednesday 20th October 16:32

[BliarOut]

Blood is thicker than water IMO. As I say, I may be in a minority but that makes 86% of family members untrustworthy. That says a lot about just how far society has broken down and how many people now put the state above their own family.

Sad.

[Hedders]

Kermit power said:

So you think it's OK for family members to commit fraud, or you're just glad none of yours are reporting you for it?

It is not OK for anyone to commit fraud, buit it is also not OK to grass up family members to the government!

[BliarOut]

elster said:

BliarOut said:

elster said:

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

Glad you're not related to me.

I am lucky that my family aren't con artists. If they were I would report them.

I don't like theft, and if someone I knew was defrauding the state then they would indeed get reported.

So you approve of scumbag culture.

Edited by elster on Wednesday 20th October 16:32

You see to me a scumbag is a grass in the family.... I suppose I put family ahead of the state, that's all.

[Arese]

BliarOut said:

elster said:

BliarOut said:

elster said:

BliarOut said:

I am genuinely shocked by the result at the moment, 14% no? Labour's thought police have got a lot to answer for. What has society come to when you can't trust your own family members.

It is shocking that 14% of people on here believe fraud is all fine and well when it is your family.

Glad you're not related to me.

I am lucky that my family aren't con artists. If they were I would report them.

I don't like theft, and if someone I knew was defrauding the state then they would indeed get reported.

So you approve of scumbag culture.

Edited by elster on Wednesday 20th October 16:32

You see to me a scumbag is a grass in the family.... I suppose I put family ahead of the state, that's all.

Do you take that to the next level and falsify your accounts to pay as little tax as possible? Therefore looking after your family?

[Kermit power]

BliarOut said:

Blood is thicker than water IMO. As I say, I may be in a minority but that makes 86% of family members untrustworthy. That says a lot about just how far society has broken down and how many people now put the state above their own family.

Sad.

I'd disagree. I wouldn't mind betting that if you'd run the same survey back in the Fifties, you'd have had more like 96% reporting it.

It has absolutely nothing to do with people putting the state above their own family. "The state" doesn't pay for benefit fraudsters, we do!

If I found out a family member was stealing from me on a regular basis, my allowance for them being family would extend as far as telling them I knew they were doing it and giving them one chance to stop. Next time it happened, I'd shop them without a second thought.