Benefit Cheat Dilemma

[Lilac-Neet]

I have an acquaintance who was once ill with M.E and was looked after by the state financially. She still insists that she is really poorly. She found out that if you have schizophrenia you get even more money and soon she became schizophrenic. I have suspected for some time that she is not as ill as she makes out. She has a very active social life. Going out fairly regularly drinking / dancing, scuba diving on holiday etc. She has a woman who comes to clean for her who is paid through Direct Payments. She also drinks heavily and smokes cannabis every day (having no qualms about driving the motobility vehicle under the influence of either) so hopefully you can get a rough picture of her character. My question is am I just jealous that I have to work hard for my money and do my own cleaning etc? Or do I have a moral obligation to pass information onto the benefits cheats investigators and let them decide if a person with M.E and asthma is still capable of scuba diving / dancing etc?

[Panic Button]

Dob her in

[suzie1]

i'd steer clear of her and i wouldnt report her, coz a good/bad (whichever you wanna call it good for the state bad for her} deed always comes back and bites you on the backside

[Panic Button]

Well I would have no qualms in reporting her.

She is stealing from us all.

[suzie1]

i suppose you should if you dont mind the hassle

[Jan1957]

If she can go our drinking, dancing and scuba diving report her. She is taking money that could go to other more deserving people. Mind you, I'm disabled and can drink. Just wish I could dance and go scuba diving and afford a holiday.

[hc4361]

What extra payments does a person suffering from schizophrenia get? First I've heard of it, and according to this site there is none:
http://www.mentalheal...org.uk/content/?id=67
But if you truly believe your friend if fiddling the system you should report her.

Re Direct Payments:
If you receive direct payments, you will need to account for the money you spend. Your council will tell you what records you need to keep and what information you will be expected to provide. Examples include timesheets signed by personal assistants, or receipts for services from agencies.

So the person receiving the payments must be on the fiddle as well. 2 birds with one stone

[daffy654]

There is no harm in reporting her.If she is genuinely ill the investigators will find this out,likewise if she is faking her illness.

[Jan1957]

I would have no hesitation in reporting someone who was claiming Disability Benefit because I know how hard it is to get. I had to get someone from the CAB to help me as the form was 45 pages! Unfortunately there are some people out there who know the benefits system so well they can claim for everything. If you don't you do not get much help telling you what you can claim for.

[dothawkes31]

I don't quite get how she is able to scuba dive if she is on medication, she would never get her licence and she would never get access to a club. Certainly if she drinks and uses drugs no club or instructopr would allow her in a swimming pool never mind open water. It is also an expensive hobby and she could not afford it on benefits, the fees for access to dive sites are high and the equipment is expensive to aquire anbd maintain. A couple of hours of air for Capenwray and the dive charges amount to £60 a time without the travelling.

[sara3]

if she has a Motability car, then she is claiming Disability Living Allowance and receiving the Higher Rate of the mobility component. this means she has serious problems with mobility (ie; not being able to walk very far due to the declared disability).

I'm sure asthmatics and schizophrenics are capable of dancing and scuba diving (occasionally!), but if you really feel she is trying to scam the system, you should report her.

[tamborine]

OMG....my bleedin' nosey neighbor here is dobbing me in!

[Lilac-Neet]

Hc4361 – You're quite right on the Direct Payments front. I've seen all the paperwork and to be honest I now try not to get involved. I've been coerced into doing that many things for her over the years that I've given up taking too much interest otherwise she just walks off and leaves me to do everything for her. I'm kicking myself that I've been such a mug for so long. Regarding the extra money for being a schizophrenic. You are obviously better informed than me. I'm only going off what she and her ex-boyfriend have said on the subject. He was also schizophrenic. She found out that you get more money when she was comparing their 'wages' (as she calls them) and wondered why he got more money than her. That's when she started to hear voices coming out of the sofa.
I'm under no illusion that she is a liar and I'm just one of the many people that she uses to her own ends.

I'm going to have to sleep on this some more. Thanks to all for the comments.

[Lilac-Neet]

Dothawkes31 – Sorry there's a lot of information in the background but the fact is her father has an apartment in Egypt. That's where she dives. I don't think they are too bothered about regulations and of course she has to calm the drinking and drugs down somewhat when she's there. Out of interest she's taking the home help with her the Egypt next week. Maybe she's going to hold the tank ;-)

Thanks Sara3, I also think that asthmatics and schizophrenics are capable of dancing and scuba diving (occasionally!). Although my understanding of M.E is that you feel tired all the time and take ages to recover from any strenuous activity. What do you think?

[jackthehat]

I think that you know what you 'ought' to do, Lilac-neet.
Hopefully you'll find the confidence to do it soon. Don't tangle yourself up in knots about whether your motives are 'noble' or not. That doesn't really matter.............

As daffy654 says, if everything is above board, an investigation will prove it to be so. If not, well, she's chosen to act beyond the law and must be prepared to accept the consequences.

[sara3]

Lilac, re your last comment, I'm not a GP but I am a benefits investigator. benefits for people who claim they are sick will be backed up with "evidence" from a doctor, so your acquaintance has managed to convince a medical person that they are suffering with something. drinking and using cannabis will be of no interest to an investigation, but if you can provide information to start an investigation (ie; she goes to a named diving club) it may be a go-er. if she is out of the country a lot, the benefits people will be interested in that as it has to be declared.

if you want to report her for drugged/drink-driving, that's a matter for the police.

[Sachs]

Hi Lilac,
I couldn't inform on them, but they wouldn't be my kind of friend anyway x

[Wak]

Hi, Lilac, couldn't you inform the authorities anonymously and then there wouldn't be any hassle or come-back, would there???

[Androcles]

Stick her name and address on here and one of us will do it!

[sara3]

http://campaigns.dwp....igns/benefit-thieves/