Housing and Council Tax Benefits

Fraud Investigation

The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is seriously committed to tackling the issue of Benefit Fraud. As such we approach this problem in a highly trained, professional manner, working to guidelines and legislation laid down by the government.

We are aware that some people will attempt to obtain benefit to which they have no entitlement or continue to receive benefit for which they are no longer eligible. It is therefore committed to a robust anti fraud stance in order to protect public funds and to ensure that benefits are delivered only to those who have entitlement to them.

We know that most of our claimants are honest but we have a responsibility to the residents of the borough to investigate those who are not.

We investigate all allegations of benefit fraud. When a fraud has occurred we will consider taking prosecution or sanction against the person or persons involved depending upon their personal circumstances and the gravity of the case. Decisions will be taken in accordance with our prosecution policy.

Why report benefit fraud to the council?

Benefit fraud is not a victimless crime. On a national level it is estimated that £2 billion is lost every year through benefit fraud. This equates to £70 a year for every taxpayer. This level of fraud means that:

Locally it reduces the amount of money available for the council to spend on the local community and contributes to increases in council tax
Nationally it diverts money from where it is needed, such as schools and hospitals, which in turn leads to additional tax increases

How can the council prove that we are committed to tackling the problem?

Our Fraud Investigation team works closely with other agencies in its bid to stamp down on benefit fraud. Joint investigations are carried out with the Department for Work and Pensions and neighbouring Councils and can often involve the Police, Immigration Service, Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue.

We also participate in Data Matching Exercises, which are conducted by the Housing Benefit Matching Service and the Audit Commission's National Fraud Initiative, who cross-reference information held by public authorities and a number of private companies. Any conflicting data is then referred to the relevant authority to investigate.

In order to thoroughly investigation allegations of fraud we need as much information as possible, for example:

The nature of the fraud
Name and address of the person(s) concerned
Details of employment including the type of work, name and address of the employer, hours of work, approximate earnings
Details of any undeclared partner including their name, description, employment, departure times from the property
Description of vehicles, including number plate
Details of any lavish spending, which may be inconsistent with somebody on benefits

The types of fraud, which we are currently investigating, include:

Undeclared partners (Living Together)
Undeclared non-dependants
Undeclared work
Undeclared bank/building society accounts
Undeclared savings and capital
Undeclared income
Undeclared occupational/private pensions
Subletting
Non-occupation
Contrived tenancies

If you suspect that somebody is committing benefit fraud we want to hear from you. You can speak to us in person at the Council offices, or by contacting us using the Fraud hot line or email address shown.

All calls will be investigated by Fraud Investigators and all information supplied will remain private and confidential.

Contact

Fraud hot line: 0800 328 3250

Email: fraud@lbbd.gov.uk|

Housing and Council Tax Benefits

Revenues and Benefits

90 Stour Road

Dagenham

RM10 7JD

Reception hours:

Monday to Friday, 8.30am - 5pm