Would you snitch on a dole cheat?

Foxhound38

Apparently there has been a huge increase in the amount of people reporting dole fraud to the department of social protection in the last year (don't have the source, just heard a segment on the radio about it).

So would you do it? Have you ever done it? Would you be hesitant to do it? Interested in the AH consensus here.

For my part, I don't know. I'd want to be pretty damn sure someone was taking the piss before reporting them.

Absolutely, benefit & insurence fraud are 2 of my big bug bearers. I wouldn't hesitate.

cloud493

Yes, why wouldn't I?

Menas

Without batting an eye lid - yes. Sick of paying high income taxes and vat, property charges etc...

Tilikum

No. I'm not a rat agent Kujan.

jimgoose

What do we mean exactly by a "dole cheat"? Some poor skin who does a couple of days work per week off the books so he can have a few pints Saturday night? No, I'd count my considerable blessings and keep my fool mouth shut.

pauliebdub

Depends who it was:

A friend or relative that i cared about - no

Neighbour or someone i didnt like - yes.

robinph

Foxhound38 wrote: »

I'd want to be pretty damn sure someone was taking the piss before reporting them.

Why would you feel the need to be certain before reporting them? It's not as if they will convict them based solely on an anonymous tip off.

keano_afc

Some advice then, please.

Friend of my sister in law, living with her partner. They have 3 kids together. She claims single mothers. My brother told me recently the social called over to the house not so long ago and he had to escape via the back door. She thinks nothing of posting pics on Facebook of all the things she buys the kids. The sitting room last Christmas was unreal, you literally could not see the floor for all the presents. He has a pretty decent job, so they're doing pretty well.

I'm having a hard time not reporting them. She is a very good friend of my brothers wife, but I'm having a hard time not picking the phone up. Report or ignore?

Meathlass

jimgoose wrote: »

What do we mean exactly by a "dole cheat"? Some poor skin who does a couple of days work per week off the books so he can have a few pints Saturday night? No, I'd count my considerable blessings and keep my fool mouth shut.

Yes, that person in your description is a dole cheat. A couple of days work @ 8.65 an hour into the hand is €121 a week. I would have absolutely no hesitation in making a report.

pauliebdub

Id go ahead and report them if they are not good friends of yours. This can be done anonymously as far as i know. Your brother and his wife would be none the wiser.

keano_afc wrote: »

Some advice then, please.

Friend of my sister in law, living with her partner. They have 3 kids together. She claims single mothers. My brother told me recently the social called over to the house not so long ago and he had to escape via the back door. She thinks nothing of posting pics on Facebook of all the things she buys the kids. The sitting room last Christmas was unreal, you literally could not see the floor for all the presents. He has a pretty decent job, so they're doing pretty well.

I'm having a hard time not reporting them. She is a very good friend of my brothers wife, but I'm having a hard time not picking the phone up. Report or ignore?

Nidgeweasel

No. But then again I'm not a snivelling grass/tout.

Meathlass

keano_afc wrote: »

Some advice then, please.

Friend of my sister in law, living with her partner. They have 3 kids together. She claims single mothers. My brother told me recently the social called over to the house not so long ago and he had to escape via the back door. She thinks nothing of posting pics on Facebook of all the things she buys the kids. The sitting room last Christmas was unreal, you literally could not see the floor for all the presents. He has a pretty decent job, so they're doing pretty well.

I'm having a hard time not reporting them. She is a very good friend of my brothers wife, but I'm having a hard time not picking the phone up. Report or ignore?

I'd report them. As well as getting loan parents, they're also getting medical cards and subsidised rent. Sure we'd all be doing pretty well if we could work and claim social welfare at the same time.

If the social have already visited then someone else may also have reported them.

LeNNoX

I agree with jimgoose - not for people who are just getting by and doing a few extra hours.

keano_afc, be sure you have all your facts right before you report them.

I would advise not to tell anybody that you reported them (if you do), as you don't want it coming back to you.

jimgoose

keano_afc wrote: »

...I'm having a hard time not reporting them. She is a very good friend of my brothers wife, but I'm having a hard time not picking the phone up. Report or ignore?

If I were you I'd stay out of it. There tends to be no dividend in these things.

Meathlass wrote: »

Yes, that person in your description is a dole cheat. A couple of days work @ 8.65 an hour into the hand is €121 a week. I would have absolutely no hesitation in making a report.

Everyone, particularly the extremely wealthy, does very nicely for themselves out of the public coffers. Some welfare schemes have very respectable names like Section 50 tax relief, and what-not. People on the bottom nibbling at the edge of the pie have a minimal effect, but I suppose they're useful for keeping us all watching and sniping at each other, so job jobbed.

Sclosages

I did - don't know what the outcome was. Typical set-up that gives single parents a bad name

Her: Working 19 hours a week in Tescos - getting wages from that - at a conservative estimate €190 per week (tax free allowance for two childer and herself would mean she wouldn't pay tax)
Her: Claiming single parents for 2 kiddos - 250 per week (minus the 19 hours - maybe 100 per week Lone Parents?)
Her: Council house - paying 35 per week rent
Her: Children's allowance for the pair of future delinquents - 270 per month, so another 60 odd per week
Him: Claiming dole from his parents address, living with her. 186 per week

They were fairly creaming it alright. €600 a week income, rent €35 per week. Lovely hurlin!

Volvoair

struggling family with young kids, hard times, battered ould car....NO.
smarmy ***** living the high life,definelty YES.

Ranchu

Snitches get stitches.

AboutaWeekAgo

Meathlass wrote: »

Yes, that person in your description is a dole cheat. A couple of days work @ 8.65 an hour into the hand is €121 a week. I would have absolutely no hesitation in making a report.

Living the big life on 300 a week.

TheBeardedLady

Depends. I think realistically though, I wouldn't report and I can't justify why I wouldn't tbh.

DrumSteve

"Put an Irishman on the spit and you can always get another Irishman to turn him." GB Shaw.

AudreyHepburn

I would without hesitation....my pet peeve is people defrauding and milking the system.

This self entitled mentality that so many people display in this country drives me mad.

runawaybishop

AboutaWeekAgo wrote: »

Living the big life on 300 a week.

Ah its only a few bob, sure we should all go ahead and do the same.

Vincent Vega

I'd sooner report a 'dole cheat' thread starter. :pac:

Dole threads are so frequent & predictable I wish the mods would just one a sticky at this point.

Maybe kill a few birds with one stone with a 'Them wasters on the dole, Travellers and other undesirables' thread or something similar.

Iwasfrozen

Foxhound38 wrote: »

Apparently there has been a huge increase in the amount of people reporting dole fraud to the department of social protection in the last year (don't have the source, just heard a segment on the radio about it).

So would you do it? Have you ever done it? Would you be hesitant to do it? Interested in the AH consensus here.

For my part, I don't know. I'd want to be pretty damn sure someone was taking the piss before reporting them.

Straight away no hesitation. Dole cheats are the scum of the Earth, bottom feeding parasites.

Ruu

I'm snitching on suspects from this thread as we speak! :mad:

Sclosages

Sclosages wrote: »

I did - don't know what the outcome was. Typical set-up that gives single parents a bad name

Her: Working 19 hours a week in Tescos - getting wages from that - at a conservative estimate €190 per week (tax free allowance for two childer and herself would mean she wouldn't pay tax)
Her: Claiming single parents for 2 kiddos - 250 per week (minus the 19 hours - maybe 100 per week Lone Parents?)
Her: Council house - paying 35 per week rent
Her: Children's allowance for the pair of future delinquents - 270 per month, so another 60 odd per week
Him: Claiming dole from his parents address, living with her. 186 per week

They were fairly creaming it alright. €600 a week income, rent €35 per week. Lovely hurlin!

They would have almost been as well off living together and calming family income supplement so they were more stupid that anything else.

The Backwards Man

Working and signing, no. Wouldn't have any sympathy for them getting caught, but at least they are being productive.

Signing under different names or something like that, absolutely.

Summer wind

I couldn't be arsed to be honest. Why should I do the governments job for them. I live my own life and let others get on with theirs.

heldel00

I honestly don't know how they do it! Different breed of people!
Few years ago, when I first moved out of home, I had no TV licence and was constantly afraid to answer the door in the evenings and skulking around the place like a real crim!
When I moved into my new house I went and got one as soon as I moved in because I hated feeling like that.

Menas

In 2013 33% of the governments total revenue was spent on welfare.
So 33% of all the taxes I pay goes on welfare. If they can minimise fraud it increases the chances of tax cuts in the future.

doc11

mariaalice wrote: »

They would have almost been as well off living together and calming family income supplement so they were more stupid that anything else.

She can claim it herself and it's the same limit for a couple as a lone parent so she's definitely better not including him.

doc11

Trigger Happy wrote: »

In 2013 33% of the governments total revenue was spent on welfare.
So 33% of all the taxes I pay goes on welfare. If they can minimise fraud it increases the chances of tax cuts in the future.

A lot of that is not means tested, a pensioner gets a contributory pension regardless of assets

doc11

doc11 wrote: »

She can claim it herself and it's the same limit for a couple as a lone parent so she's definitely better not including him.

Yes but its not a huge amount and I was responding to a poster who added ...that woman's children were going to be future delinquents, the poster doesn't know what is going to happen in the future and its an irrelevant point.

Menas

doc11 wrote: »

A lot of that is not means tested, a pensioner gets a contributory pension regardless of assets

Of course, but the fact remains that 33% of the governments income goes on welfare. So it should be in all our interests to get that figure down by minimising welfare fraud which would hopefully lead to less borrowings and lower taxes.

Timberrrrrrrr

jimgoose wrote: »

What do we mean exactly by a "dole cheat"? Some poor skin who does a couple of days work per week off the books so he can have a few pints Saturday night? No, I'd count my considerable blessings and keep my fool mouth shut.

The epitome of a dole cheat.

The Backwards Man

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

The epitome of a dole cheat.

That's not cheating, it's called showing initiative, and it built half the houses west of the Shannon before the tiger era.

The people who brought in the "Never snitch" mentality are the scummies that screw the rest of us anyway and get away with it.

Timberrrrrrrr

The Backwards Man wrote: »

That's not cheating, it's called showing initiative, and it built half the houses west of the Shannon before the tiger era.

Claiming dole + working without informing sw is cheating no matter what romantic spin you attempt to put on it.

Roquentin

keano_afc wrote: »

Some advice then, please.

Friend of my sister in law, living with her partner. They have 3 kids together. She claims single mothers. My brother told me recently the social called over to the house not so long ago and he had to escape via the back door. She thinks nothing of posting pics on Facebook of all the things she buys the kids. The sitting room last Christmas was unreal, you literally could not see the floor for all the presents. He has a pretty decent job, so they're doing pretty well.

I'm having a hard time not reporting them. She is a very good friend of my brothers wife, but I'm having a hard time not picking the phone up. Report or ignore?

id report them even if it was my brother.....then again i am heartless

Sheep Lover

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Claiming dole + working without informing sw is cheating no matter what romantic spin you attempt to put on it.

Would you report such a person to the relevant authorities?

Timberrrrrrrr

Sheep Lover wrote: »

Would you report such a person to the relevant authorities?

In a heartbeat.

Foxhound38

Vincent Vega wrote: »

I'd sooner report a 'dole cheat' thread starter. :pac:

Dole threads are so frequent & predictable I wish the mods would just one a sticky at this point.

Maybe kill a few birds with one stone with a 'Them wasters on the dole, Travellers and other undesirables' thread or something similar.

Except I'm not demonizing dole recipients - I'm on a jobsbridge myself, and therefore in reciept of State money.

I'm asking would you report someone defrauding the State

The Backwards Man

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Claiming dole + working without informing sw is cheating no matter what romantic spin you attempt to put on it.

A right wheen of people around here signed and worked in the North in the 80s and 90s. I think they were doing the country a massive service (they had to spend their wages as they got them) and laid the foundation for the modern globally competitive state we live in today. They should be applauded.

ireland.man

Whatever the benefits to the exchequer, it's usually spiteful, passive aggressive personalities who make quiet phonecalls to report on their neighbours and friends.

When I picture someone reporting a dole cheat I don't imagine a person contemplating the ethical and practical ramifications of this action and whether the benefits to the government and indirectly all workers justifies it. Instead I picture a jealous, nosy, unpleasant person looking to find enjoyment from another person's troubles.

Irishcrx

Foxhound38 wrote: »

Except I'm not demonizing dole recipients - I'm on a jobsbridge myself, and therefore in reciept of State money.

I'm asking would you report someone defrauding the State

To be fair, and I'm not trying to be the typical it's the governments fault here but they are the worst offenders for de-frauding the state , pot calling the kettle black!

I'd have a hard time making a call on someone who's working off the books a few hours a week while Enda and his cronies are sitting pretty on a 5 course lunch with a bit of golf which we also pay for...

One is a criminal and should be done , sent to jail , dole cheats - animals.

It's kind of like going to the Doctor back in the day and them telling you how bad smoking is while they blow it in your face..

Timberrrrrrrr

The Backwards Man wrote: »

A right wheen of people around here signed and worked in the North in the 80s and 90s. I think they were doing the country a massive service (they had to spend their wages as they got them) and laid the foundation for the modern globally competitive state we live in today. They should be applauded.

Yet they are for all intents and purpose dole cheats right?

Foxhound38

Irishcrx wrote: »

To be fair, and I'm not trying to be the typical it's the governments fault here but they are the worst offenders for de-frauding the state , pot calling the kettle black!

I'd have a hard time making a call on someone who's working off the books a few hours a week while Enda and his cronies are sitting pretty on a 5 course lunch with a bit of golf which we also pay for...

One is a criminal and should be done , sent to jail , dole cheats - animals.

It's kind of like going to the Doctor back in the day and them telling you how bad smoking is while they blow it in your face..

Presumably he pays for his own golf?

Anyway, 2 wrongs don't make a right do they?

ireland.man

ireland.man wrote: »

Whatever the benefits to the exchequer, it's usually spiteful, passive aggressive personalities who make quiet phonecalls to report on their neighbours and friends.

When I picture someone reporting a dole cheat I don't imagine a person contemplating the ethical and practical ramifications of this action and whether the benefits to the government and indirectly all workers justifies it. Instead I picture a jealous, nosy, unpleasant person looking to find enjoyment from another person's troubles.

Do you imagine dole cheats contemplate the ethical ramifications of defrauding the state, their neighbours & friends?

Fuhrer

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you imagine dole cheats contemplate the ethical ramifications of defrauding the state, their neighbours & friends?

No, they probably just want more money.

efb

I mind my own business, but not impressed and not the lifestyle I'd like