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help fraud problem

  • Message 1. Posted by nicvejanet09 (U14207968) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    I would like some advise please, i know a certain person who has put in a claim for a back injury against the council.
    This person has had an operation on his/her back and has been told by the solicitor to expect up to 750000 pounds which is rubbish by the way, the person concerned claims that he/she had something fall on his/her back at home something that he/she had reported was faulty a number of times.
    I however have found that the real reason is that this person got the injury was while working, you may ask in that case why did they not put in the claim against the company they were working for, this is simple they were working on the side while still claiming benefits. I want to know is it too dangerous to report this person to the solicitor that's acting for the council, this person has been in trouble with the law in and out of prison all his/her life, he/she has been on drugs for years as well, the trouble is i know this is true but don't have the proof, any advise please.

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  • Message 2. Posted by hossylass (U3749845) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Not sure that you can prove anything.

    However they wont be working, so thats one area of fraud out of the way. smiley - smiley

    You could notify the defence (i.e. council) that you believe that the person became injured doing an activity away from their home.
    But you would have to have decent evidence and be prepared to account for what you have said, possibly even in court.

    Good evidence would be that a cctv or similar saw them leave their house in fine condition, only to return in an ambulance, taxi, car, or hospital transport, or doubled over in pain.

    You could write and tell the concil what you believe and hope that their solicitor investigates this.

    The big crime in your eyes is not the working, but in this mentality of "sue, sue, sue". I agree in that you dont know if the person was working, or receiving pay etc.
    All you do know is that they are trying to sue the council for something that the council are not responsible for.

    Thats wrong in my opinion, in that I dont agree with sueing except in exteme circumstances.

    I cant see how someone with no previous employment record would get anywhere in that region of compensation, as there is hardly a loss of earnings that they can claim !

    I wonder what could have fallen on their back for them to claim this amount, was it the roof? smiley - laugh

    By all means warn the council of what you think you know, but stick to what you do know, i.e. that they hurt their back away from the house.
    And ask that it is treated as confidential as far as is possible as you are worried about retribution.

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  • Message 3. Posted by helena of course (U14050249) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    I dont what the work they do is but it would seem to depend on that i.e. if someone with issues is doing a job they know is unsuitable for their disability , then can you still claim ?

    I know theres safety issues but a defective machine that injuries you is not the same as attempting ot say lift a heavy item that does.

    from my humble perspective you would need to clarify that perhaps first of all .

    Its interesting argument because if soemone does have issue it doesnt mean to say it cant maniest or get worse over time , but obviously wear and tear isnt the same as say broken arm or something obvious .

    Proving it too based on previous health compared to know is something else id expect you need.

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  • Message 4. Posted by Rob (U6912717) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    lulz what the solicitors told him.

    my solicitors working at a reduced rate of only £180 an hour, told me I could expect in the region of tens of thousands of pounds for the clinical negligence i suffered many years ago.

    THe problem is they gave up based on what 1 independant guy said. My medicone records had been altered, and this was too difficult to prove - half my medicines - the grounds for the thing - were removed. The chemist had conviently just renewed their system and all history rx were gone.

    sorry offtopic

    if you KNOW this, as opposed to wild romour, what u need to do is secretly record him/her braggin about it - they will if they are the type of person you make out i assure you.

    Just drop in conversation "oh i heard about that little con, good on you I say, they deserve all they can get"

    he/she will loosen up and spill the beans i grntee. I dunno if u have a mobile that has video/audio capture, u can stick it in a chest pocket, or have it on the side turned upside down etc

    if u cant use that, and are deterimned, there is loads of 'secret' stuff u can get on ebay.

    the thing is, all solicitor can see is the money, they dont care about the person or anything, all they want is the legal aid. Anything that is gonna put a block onto the claim for legal aid is gonna be ignored, they dont look for an excuse not to pay themself!

    so avoid them as u suggest, u need evidence that is more than word of mouth.

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  • Message 5. Posted by myrtlemaid (U7171398) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Is recording someone without their knowledge legal and admissible as evidence ?

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  • Message 6. Posted by mrs.hamishthespider (U14124667) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink


    If the person sues the council and wins,
    then obviously others see this as a legitamate case?

    It sounds like you don't agree with the person'ts lifestyle and that you want to put a stop to it? Do you see the person gaining the money for unlawful means?

    Is it possible that there is more to this case? Perhaps you aren't aware of the full extent of the situation?

    If you have no evidence then is it a cause for concern?

    Do you have proof that this is fraud?

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  • Message 7. Posted by Dopeychirper (U14114100) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Couldn't you simply report this person anonymously to the benefits people and let them investigate. Surely if they find something illegal that they cannot deal with, they'll pass it onto the Police or whoever.

    I think there's a free phone number you can report benefit fraud on.

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  • Message 8. Posted by MattJ8 (U13967450) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Right...I thought I'd throw my POV into this one.

    Firstly you shouldn't feel obliged to go around collecting evidence on this. You can easily go the the Local Authority or their solicitors with what you know, just be prepared to be asked detailed questions on how you know this. You don't need to "prove" anything. The Local Authority's solicitors would use this information to start collating further evidence in order to defeat the claim. Please be aware that if you were to report it they would likely want you to give evidence in court on this point. This information will be very uiseful to them in defeating a claim.

    You could report this anonimously by letter. You would want to give them as much info as possible though so that they could collect enough info to successfully defeat the claim.

    If you are going to report this then you need to consider whether you want him to know you're giving evidence against him. You mention his past and I am guessing you are worried about possible retaliation. If this is a concern then please think twice before taking action.

    Rob, I think you're being rather harsh in saying solicitors don't care. Like all professions there are people that are nice and people that are nasty, people that care and people that don't. Please don't tar everyone with the same brush mate.

    MattJ8

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  • Message 9. Posted by RoseRodent (U1896879) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    By what means do you come to know that this person was working when the injury happened? If you were there then your witness testimony is evidence in itself. It is up to the legal processes to decide if it's *enough* evidence, but it is still evidence. If you know this by someone telling you then you don't know it, it's hearsay. All you could do would be point the defending lawyer to the fact that such and such a person may be able to add some pertinent evidence. Don't tell them what you "know" because you don't know it and your statement is not admissible in any way. If you heard from a friend that his friend was there when this happened then stay out of it! You really don't have any idea what did and did not happen. Unless you know the name of a person who can verify the facts by being there at the time it's not worth saying anything, I don't think, or it ends up sounding like a character attack.

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  • Message 10. Posted by MattJ8 (U13967450) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Sorry RR but that's not the case.

    Hearsay evidence is completely admissibile in Civil proceedings and could be incredibly useful to the Local Authority. It's only in Criminal proceedings where the admissibility of hearsay evidence comes into question.

    I completely disagree that if you cannot find someone who was there at the time then it's not worth saying anything. This kind of evidence is extremely useful (potentially I should add as I don't know enough about exactly what info you have, but it definitely sounds useful).

    MattJ8

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  • Message 11. Posted by myrtlemaid (U7171398) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    presumably as the injury was serious enough to neccesitate an operation this person was taken to hospital in an ambulance, from the place the accident occurred, presumably they keep records of who was injured and when .

    presumably the company for whom they were working have it recorded in their accident book .

    presumably several people also working at the place of employment saw it happen too ?

    Even if the person you feel may be making a false claim against the council was a casual some records will have been kept to enable them to be paid.

    The hospital to which they were taken will also have records of their admittance and treatment.

    in fact Id be amazed if the coucils solicitor the councils solicitor hadnt already looked into that.

    If you MUST report this person then there will be lots of records to which a solicitor or indeed the DWP could refer ..

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  • Message 12. Posted by Wheelthing (U12214367) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    nicvejanet09, you seem to have been busy building up a dossier on this ‘certain person’ you know.

    Ever thought of a career in the police force, private investigation industry, or with MI5 or MI6? Or, possibly in the net curtain twitching sector?

    If you’ve any time to spare, could you call around to me and help me find my TV remote control that has gone missing.

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  • Message 13. Posted by MattJ8 (U13967450) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Woah there WT. I think that's more than a little harsh. (I'm assuming) you don't know the complete situation here (just like the rest of us) and as such It's way too harsh to start making comments like that.

    MattJ8

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  • Message 14. Posted by Wheelthing (U12214367) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    (I'm assuming) you don't know the complete situation here (just like the rest of us)


    Correct, MattJ8; but then, I'm not sure the OP knows the full situation either. The post comes across to me as a gripe from someone who is perhaps resentful of another person's 'good fortune' - if you can describe a paltry sum of money in return for a disability good fortune.

    Living in a society where disabled people are viewed as a strain on the national coffers; in a society where disabled benefits’ claimants are treated as worse than tax dodgers; and, in a society where we’re increasingly undervalued and demonised by the media, does not encourage me to go along with curtain-twitching-half-facts.

    If the OP knows that someone is doing wrong, then great; he or she should carry out their civic duty. Coming onto Ouch and posting, what looks to me a gripe-ful of grudges against a ‘certain person’ in no way improves our standing in society as a group.

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  • Message 15. Posted by Rob (U6912717) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink


    Is recording someone without their knowledge legal and admissible as evidence ?


    you have no privacy rights what-so-ever when you are in a public place - eg outside ur front door.

    If someone wants to photograph you, film you, record your sounds etc, they have every right to do this providing

    a) they are not obstructing your right of way
    b) they are not stalking you under the crinimal definition.


    As for recording someone in their own property, there is no law against this (obviously to break in and plant hidden cameras needs a warrant). But as for sticking a camera in a button and going into someones place - this isn't breaking the law - otherwise all these documentaries would be criminals.

    The only acception to recording someone on their property is if they clearly state upon entering the property "do not photograph/film/record as the arrangement for coming"

    if they then do film, photograph or whatever, they haven't broken a privacy law, it then becomes tresspassing, as they have broken the verbal agreement of which entry was granted.


    If i wanted to, i can stand outside on public property and photograph away at your home, and follow you all over and film you.

    in public spaces, there is no privacy law with regards to photographs, video or audio.

    the only time someone can say something is if its a terrorist thing, or you are defined by the criminal defintion of being a stalker.

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  • Message 16. Posted by Wheelthing (U12214367) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    in public spaces, there is no privacy law with regards to photographs, video or audio.


    Aren't the police exempt from this?

    the only time someone can say something is if its a terrorist thing...


    Which can be any time the police deem it so.

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  • Message 17. Posted by Peggythepirate (U5469993) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    I don't know about grown-ups. It's certainly against the law to take photograhs of children without their parents' permission.

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  • Message 18. Posted by nicvejanet09 (U14207968) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Can i say this has nothing to do with disability or twitching curtains,
    it's all about fraud, this info came from the persons sister, the person concerned is a low life who is a complete menace to society. He/she will try anything to get money for drugs etc, the person is the scum of the earth and needs to be stopped from ripping people off.

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  • Message 19. Posted by auntie CtheM (U10642659) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    Then I think that the Council's solicitor will be able to find out the person's background, get hold of their medical records, look at whether they pay their council tax or library fines, ask the Police what records they have and so on, and build up a picture of the person's life.

    This is the job of the solicitor.

    If this person has been harassing you in any way, then that is a completely different legal matter.

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  • Message 20. Posted by Tinbasher (U3230013) on Monday, 9th November 2009 permalink

    I think you have WAY too much time on your hands.

    If you have direct evidence of a crime ring crimestoppers. If not live and let live.

    Tin

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