Benefit fraud - Absolute joke

Does anyone else find the 'benefit cheat' advertisements on TV irritating?

Should we be sending out a more harsh warning than "you could face an interview under caution and even a criminal record"?

The kind of people that commit this type of fraud are hardly going to be frightened by these threats surely? I'm not the kind of person to ever think of committing benefit fraud, but if I was, these ads have just made the idea a much more tempting one.

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Reply 1

cheesecakebobby

Would you prefer 'Don't make us cut your balls off'? Actually I think I would.

Reply 2

ten bob

cheesecakebobby

Would you prefer 'Don't make us cut your balls off'? Actually I think I would.

that might actually work, but then that stupid woman from the ads could still 'if and but' all she wants.

Seriously, I think we should send a harsher warning out.

Reply 3

SiAz

I think it shows how much stock the present government puts in PR bull.

Reply 4

Throwback

Agreed that benefit fraud in this country, as well as those adverts, are an absolute joke! No real incentive for people who are committing fraud to stop any time soon. Out of curiosity, does anyone have statistics for what these people cost the taxpayer in Britain?

Reply 5

The_Bear

I'm expecting the domestic violence campaign to go a little like this:

No ifs, no buts, beating your wife to death is a crime

Reply 6

Throwback

....

Sir John reports that, according to the Department’s own estimate, the amount lost from payments in all benefits in 2003-04 because of fraud and error is approximately £3 billion. This is the same estimate as reported in 2002-03 and 2001-02 and represents some 2.8 per cent of the £109 billion of gross expenditure by the Department on a wide range of benefits, employment programmes and associated administration costs.

Reply 7

ten bob

The_Bear

I'm expecting the domestic violence campaign to go a little like this:

No ifs, no buts, beating your wife to death is a crime

....You could spill your beer or even get sore knuckles...

Reply 8

dyslexic_banana

Kudos to all benefit fraudsters, I say; death to all benefit fraudster grasses, I also say.

Reply 9

Arminius

Yeh, they are a joke. Benefit fraud deserves a prison sentence of 2 years IMO.

Reply 10

cheesecakebobby

How about we legitimise their fraud? For example if they are claiming disability we break their legs

Reply 11

yawn

Benefit fraud is theft! It is theft from the 'public purse' that all taxpayers are contributing to for the benefit of those in genuine need.

It is reprehensible, imo and rightly demands punitive action against those defrauding the public.

Too many fraudulent benefit claimants try to rationalise their theft in their own minds, so a timely reminder such as the TV campaign is most definitely warranted.

The message given in the campaign focuses the mind of the guilty and serves as a strong message that action will be taken.

I have sat in on 'interviews under caution' with Fraud Officers and the miscreants. It is revealing to see how their cocky demeanour becomes one of apologetic mumblings when faced with the reality of their foul deeds. :biggrin:

It is our civic duty to report those who are perpetrating fraud. If we saw someone rob a bank we would give evidence to the Police -there is no difference with Benefit Fraud.

And as the ad says: "No ifs or buts..." FRAUD IS THEFT!

Reply 12

yawn

cheesecakebobby

How about we legitimise their fraud? For example if they are claiming disability we break their legs

lol - I feel like that when I see an able-bodied person taking the last disabled parking place from a disabled person.

"You've got my space, do you want my disability too?"

Reply 13

dyslexic_banana

Zebedee

Yeh, they are a joke. Benefit fraud deserves a prison sentence of 2 years IMO.

A sentence of greater duration than someone who mugs an old lady, or very badly beats someone up.

yawn

It is our civic duty to report those who are perpetrating fraud. If we saw someone rob a bank we would give evidence to the Police -there is no difference with Benefit Fraud.

Hardly comparable crimes; benefit fraudsters take a relatively little amount, spread out between millions of taxpayers; the cost to the individual taxpayer is absolutely tiny.

Hasn't anyone told you, kids? It's not cool to grass.

Reply 14

Tufts

dyslexic_banana

Hasn't anyone told you, kids? It's not cool to grass.

I lost the desposition to ensure my coolness by whatever means when I left school.

DB are you saying that what these people are doing should be aloud to continue?

Reply 15

Arminius

dyslexic_banana

A sentence of greater duration than someone who mugs an old lady, or very badly beats someone up.

Hardly comparable crimes; benefit fraudsters take a relatively little amount, spread out between millions of taxpayers; the cost to the individual taxpayer is absolutely tiny.

Hasn't anyone told you, kids? It's not cool to grass.

don't make excuses for them, they are leeches and should be treated as such,

Reply 16

ol3

dyslexic_banana

benefit fraudsters take a relatively little amount, spread out between millions of taxpayers

The national audit office estimates that we lose £2bn a year due to benefit fraud, hardly a little amount.

Reply 17

Apagg

dyslexic_banana

So everyone may as well just commit benefit fraud then, as you think it's ok. Except then the cost per taxpayer would be huge. Perhaps then you'd start to object to it.

Reply 18

cottonmouth

Tax fraud and other white collar crimes are more disgusting in my opinion. They take more money than benefit fraudsters ever could. And yet they never receive the same amount of negative attention.

I can sympathise with poor people, living on barely anything, who fiddle with the books a bit to get an extra £30 a week or so. Hardly as bad as evading tax(from a moral perspective, if not a legal one), or commiting fraud at high levels and making millions

Reply 19

ol3

cottonmouth

Why do you think tax evasion is morally worse than benefit fraud, they are simply opposits with the former people fail to pay what they should to HMRC and in the latter they receive money they shouldn't, both through deception, why is one morally better than the other?