Benefit cheats...

[fliptheswitch]

I feel a bit awkward asking this, but I wanted to get a general idea of how other people feel and how you would act.

I 'know of' someone who's claiming benefits and working on the sly, cash in hand. In fact, she has TWO jobs!
She's not a friend, just someone I met through a friend.
I normally don't get myself bothered by this kind of thing, but having met her a few nights ago, she has really irritated me with her stories of how she's "raking it in" and "screwing the system".
She gets all her rent paid for, and council tax and also claims for unemployment. She works during the day and, as she knows the owner of the company, she gets paid cash and it's all completely off the books. She told me this herself, and her friend also confirmed this to me.
She also works an evening job, 3 nights a week... again, all off the books and cash in hand.
She has no children and clearly isn't struggling, so would you be annoyed by this (and consider shopping her) or would it not bother you?

I know this is probably a mixture of bitterness and jealousy, but I just get so annoyed when I see her going out all the time, or coming home with bags and bags of shopping.
Like lots of people these days, I have to budget really carefully each month, and often go without so I can make sure my kids have what they want/need.
This just makes me feel really angry and annoyed.

How would you feel about this and what, if anything, would you do?

[Bobbisox]

feeling very normal I would reckon flip ?
the ones paying her C.I.H are just as bad imo, I was talking to someone on benefits the other day at the bus stop and she was upset because she'd lost her Blackberry phone worth £400, what have I been doing wrong working all my adult life?

[vallaw]

Shop her! We're all paying for her to laugh at us.

[ummmm]

The £400 blackberry could have come with the contract.

[fliptheswitch]

Thanks. I felt a bit bad writing this, but I just feel so annoyed by the whole thing.
Bobbs, that's the thing! She was sat round her place (I was there with my friend) surfing the net on her ipad, with her brand new iphone next to her... planning her next night out.
I have no problem at all with people claiming benefits, but I just think this takes the Fosters out of the genuine people who really are struggling to find work.

[maclarencat]

She is stealing from you and me who pay our taxes.Don't feel bad I think you should report her.

[Bobbisox]

always a very emotive subject flip, there are very genuine claimants but the ones that boast they are screwing the system are the pitts imo

[Hopkirk]

I would shop her, without a moments hesitation.

She is scum.

[fliptheswitch]

Thanks. I feel a bit less guilty now, and think I will report her.
That's the thing, bragging about it... why would you? Surely you'd just keep quiet.

[Lisa_Louise]

Urghhhhh.... this kind of thing REALLY gets my goat. I would definitely report her, it's not fair for the people that really need the money. People like her should be punished. Report her.

[marval]

I would shop her, serves her right for bragging about it. Just go for it, you can do it so she won't know it was you. I get very annoyed when people do this.

[fliptheswitch]

Also, she add me on Facebook and on her 'wall' it's got posts like "at work. bored." How thick can you get!

[Everhelpful]

Shop her as soon as possible.She sounds a real arrogant cow.

[Frank97]

Not a great fan of snitching but if she's going to brag about it she deserves all she gets imo!

[dave50]

Nobody on benefits should be able to afford a Blackberry phone, if they can then they are obviously getting too many benefits.

[fliptheswitch]

She is totally that, Everhelpful.
I wouldn't normally "snitch" either, but she has really annoyed me!

Right.. that's it. I'm going to see if I can do it online. God, I feel really awful.

[sandyRoe]

How do you know she's claiming any benefits? She might just be saying that to wind people up.

[Everhelpful]

Don't feel awful,it is completely anonymous.

[Lisa_Louise]

She's just 'asking' for trouble... serves her right for blagging. Do it asap flip