What is Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit fraud?
Benefit fraud is where people claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit but they are not entitled to it.
Taken from the Oxford English Dictionary the word fraud means: -
'Criminal deception; dishonest artifice or trick, deception meant to benefit victim, imposter, disappointing person or thing'
It has been shown from research that most people do not realise the level of benefit fraud that is committed nationally and many people see it as a victimless crime. However, it is estimated that £2 billion a year could be lost through people claiming money they are not entitled to. This is the equivalent of over £80.00 for every household in Britain.
What do we do?
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are public funds and South Shropshire District Council has a responsibility in safeguarding them and making sure the right people get the right benefit.
The Benefit system relies on the basic honesty of our customers and despite a minority most people can be found within this category. However, for the few people that may try and gain benefit through fraud, South Shropshire District Council has an Investigation Section to deter or stop them from entering the system. Or to identify any benefit payments that are being made to people who should not be receiving them.
The section is made up of specially trained staff who investigate any suspected or alleged cases of fraud regarding Housing or Council Tax Benefit. We also work closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) involving cases of fraud with Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance.
Any person caught committing fraud faces criminal proceedings, as Benefit Fraud is considered a very serious matter that costs the taxpayer money. South Shropshire District Council is cracking down on fraud - through new measures of prevention and efficient detection, fraud will become increasingly more difficult to commit and conceal and ultimately the cheats will get caught!
Types of Benefit Fraud and who commits them
Anyone who can obtain and complete a benefit application form can make a fraudulent claim, but benefit fraud is not limited to customers. Landlords also have scope for committing benefit fraud through things like - not informing us when tenants leave or overstocking properties with more tenants than rooms.
Other examples of fraud include: -
- Customers and landlords forming fictitious tenancies when they are in fact a couple
- Customer and employer collusion, were an employer may employ people that he knows are in receipt of benefit and pays them cash in hand. The employer gets cheap labour and those claiming get extra money
- People can claim Housing Benefit for houses they actually own. They create tenancy agreements and rent books as well as having to create a landlord to support their claims
There are numerous types of fraud that can be committed but our view is that all fraud is a crime, and benefit cheats get caught. Penalties and support for prosecutions means that punishments for fraud can be very serious.
Help us stop Benefit Fraud its your money they are stealing!
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Subscribe to changes to this page here.Author: Reception Services. Last Updated: 5/10/2006.
