Report Benefits Fraud

What is Benefit fraud?

Benefit fraud is a crime. It occurs when people deceive the Council into paying them Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit when they are not entitled to it. Benefit fraudsters are benefit thieves, stealing money from the country's taxpayers.

In the year leading up to September 2007, over half a billion pounds of Housing Benefit is estimated to have been overpaid due to Fraud and Claimant Error. Benefit payments are funded from public money, and yet many people still see benefit fraud as a victimless crime.

What does the Council do about it?

South Bedfordshire District Council has a responsibility in safeguarding public funds, and making sure the right people get the right benefit. The Benefit system relies on the honesty of our customers and we know that the vast majority of people do not commit fraud. However, for the few people that may try and gain benefit through fraud, South Bedfordshire District Council has a dedicated Investigations Team working to deter, prevent, and detect benefit thieves.

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 other state benefits such as Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit and Guarantee Pension Credit. The team's message is simple: All benefit fraud is a crime, and those found breaking the law face a criminal record. No ifs, no buts.

To make sure that we catch the criminals committing benefit fraud, South Bedfordshire District Council has an effective policy in place to apply a sanction or prosecute those found to be receiving benefit to which they have no entitlement. We are also committed to recovering benefits that have been paid through fraud.

Types of Benefit Fraud and who commits it

Anyone who can obtain and complete a benefit claim form can make a fraudulent claim, but benefit fraud is not limited to claimants. Landlords can also commit benefit fraud, for example by not informing us when tenants leave or overstocking properties with more tenants than rooms.

Other examples of fraud include: -

  • Claimants letting their partners move in, and not telling the council
  • People not declaring savings, or pretending to have less capital than they do.
  • Couples pretending to be tenant and landlord, and making up a fictitious tenancy.
  • Employers deliberately hiring people on benefit, and paying them cash-in-hand at below minimum wage. 
  • People pretending that they have to pay rent on properties they actually own, creating fake tenancy agreements, rent books, and even landlords.

There are numerous types of fraud that can be committed. All fraud is a crime, and benefit cheats get caught. Penalties and support for prosecutions through the court system means that punishments for fraud can be very serious.

How can you help?

We need help from the public in identifying and catching benefit fraudsters - remember, its your money they are stealing.

If you know someone who is claiming benefit when they shouldn't be, please contact us. Our confidential telephone hotline is open 24 hours a day. The details of this, and all the other ways you can contact us, are below. To give us the very best information you can, try and remember the following:

  • Who?
  • What?
  • Why?
  • When?
  • Where?
  • How?

For example, if you know someone is working while claiming benefit, try and tell us who they are, what job they do, why you suspect they are committing fraud, when they go to work and come back, where they work, how they get there, and any other information you think will help us to catch them.

Always remember that the more information we have at the start of an investigation, the better we are able to investigate. A few extra details can make the difference between a person not being investigated because of lack of information, and being successfully prosecuted.

Any information provided will be kept in the strictest confidence.

How can you report suspected fraud?

You can contact us by:

  • Telephoning the Fraud Hotline number on 0845 849 6262 (24 hour answering machine)
  • Completing our online report a Benefit Fraud form
  • Faxing us on 0845 849 6262
  • Sending an email to benefitsfraud@southbeds.gov.uk
  • Writing to us at:
    Benefits Service (Fraud Team)
    South Bedfordshire District Council
    The District Offices,
    High Street North,
    Dunstable,
    Bedfordshire,
    LU6 1LF

Any correspondence received will be kept strictly confidential.

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