We have a duty to pay benefits to South Derbyshire residents who qualify. We also have a responsibility to ensure that payments are made only to those who are entitled to receive them.

For that reason, we have our own Fraud section whose duties include:

• detecting fraudulent claims;
• stopping or reducing payment in fraudulent cases; and
• calculating overpayments of benefit.

Working and Claiming

This usually involves people claiming Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit on the basis of entitlement to Job Seekers Allowance/Income Support, but who are in fact working.

Cases like this will usually involve a joint investigation involving the Council and the Job Centre Plus.

Non-disclosure of Property/Capital

This fraud is where a claimant doesn’t declare savings/capital or the ownership of another property/land elsewhere (which they may be receiving rent for).

Non-disclosure of Income

This is where a claimant doesn’t declare all of their income, knowing that it will increase their benefit award.

Non-disclosure of Partner (living together as husband and wife)

This usually involves a claimant on Income Support/Job Seekers Allowance not declaring the presence of a partner who is working, knowing that this would affect their entitlement.

Non-declaration of Non-dependants and/or Sub-tenants

It is fraudulent not to declare other adults living in the property, knowing that this would affect entitlement.

False Claims by Homeowners

This is where the owner of a property falsely states that they are paying rent for what is, in fact, their own property; usually inventing a fictitious landlord.

Failing to Declare Change of Address

This is where a claimant fails to declare that he/she has moved, and continues to accept payments of Housing Benefit for their previous address.

False Address Fraud

This is where a person claims for an address at which they are not living. This may occur with the collusion of the landlord or other tenants.

Landlord Fraud

This is where landlords continue to receive benefit paid directly to them after the claimant hasmoved out. Where the landlord has more than one property, there is the potential to move tenants around without informing us.

There are many other ways in which landlords and managing agents can defraud the benefit system, particularly in areas where there is a large proportion of multiple occupation houses and there are many seasonal workers looking for short-term lets.

Fraudulent Over-payments

An overpayment may be treated as fraudulent if the local authority can establish that there has probably been either:

a deliberate false claim (a breach of Section 111A or 112 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992); or

a failure to report a change of circumstances with the intention of obtaining or keeping benefits (Regulation 75 of the Housing Benefit (General) Regulations 1987, or Regulation 65 of the Council Tax Benefit (General) Regulations 1992).

To be treated as fraud, these things must have been carried out deliberately. There must be evidence of dishonesty rather than lack of understanding or negligence.

Contact Details

South Derbyshire District Council
Revenue Services
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0AH

Telephone: 01283 595970
Online: general enquiry / notification form
Email: fraud@south-derbys.gov.uk

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