Single person benefit fraudsters targeted in new crackdown (From Echo)
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Single person benefit fraudsters targeted in new crackdown
10:06am Monday 15th October 2012 in News By Gina Marden
PEOPLE, who fraudulently claim to be single to get a reduction in council tax, are the subject of a new crackdown.
Basildon Council has launched the drive to snare people who claim the 25 per cent discount by claiming to be living alone, when they are in fact co-habiting with spouses or partners.
Each year councils across the country receive a massive volume of applications for the Single Person Discount, but hundreds later turn out to be fraudulent.
But now Basildon Council is launching a zero-tolerance crackdown on the cheats.
*Full story in Tuesday's Echo
Comments(11)
shallotman
says...
11:19am Mon 15 Oct 12
Basildon.lad.21
says...
11:34am Mon 15 Oct 12
Ian P
says...
12:13pm Mon 15 Oct 12
shallotman wrote:So just how do you evict someone from a property they own? They are talking about Council Tax here not housing benefit or such like.
Should be an automatic eviction.
alimac69
says...
3:22pm Mon 15 Oct 12
andy:)
says...
3:49pm Mon 15 Oct 12
IF the person is getting council tax benefit then the council pays the whole amount so whether there is a discount or not is then irrelevant.
It could be argued that a single person is using far less council resources than a family of 5 and that the discount should be more than 25% or that large families pay more.
Son of Stropmag
says...
3:54pm Mon 15 Oct 12
andy:) wrote:Well put. I can understand how people might misunderstand but there is no excuse now.
Good there are some cluless idiots posting on here, it is NOT about council tax benefit, its the discount that single people get (25%), it doesnt add upto a huge amount so could be argued there are better things to investigate.
IF the person is getting council tax benefit then the council pays the whole amount so whether there is a discount or not is then irrelevant.
It could be argued that a single person is using far less council resources than a family of 5 and that the discount should be more than 25% or that large families pay more.
xxxdave
says...
3:55pm Mon 15 Oct 12
xxxdave
says...
4:20pm Mon 15 Oct 12
At least it is not fraud....
jolllyboy
says...
8:10pm Mon 15 Oct 12
JennynneJ
says...
8:49pm Tue 16 Oct 12
xxxdave wrote:You would know GayDave.
This appaears to be happening in every town these days...
as We all read your cobblers in the following papers...
Harwich and Manningtree Standard,
Echo News,
Essex County Standard,
Basildon Recorder,
Colchester Gazette,
Clacton, Frinton & Walton Gazette,
Harwich & Manningtree Gazette,
Braintree, Witham, Halsted and Maldon Gazette,
East London and West Essex Guardian,
This is Local London,
Brent Wood Weekly News,
Southend Standard,
Maldon and Burnham Standard,
Thurrock Gazette.
xxxdave says...
11:06am Mon 15 Oct 12