We are anxious to ensure that people who are entitled to benefits receive all the help they need. We do however consider benefit fraud to be a serious offence against not only the Council and the Government, but against society as a whole. Bath & North East Somerset Council has a dedicated and professional Investigations Team that investigate allegations of fraud and gather the evidence required to prove or disprove that an offence has been committed.
By Phone:
- Call 01225 47 77 77 (option 5) to speak to someone during office hours.
- The National Benefit Fraud hotline: 0800 854 440 (between 7.00am and 11.00pm, seven days a week).
By email: investigations@bathnes.gov.uk
In writing:
Please send all correspondence marked “Addressee Only” to;
Investigations Team
PO Box 2797
Bath
BA1 1WF
What information do you need to provide?
The list below indicates the type of information we need in order to initiate an investigation. Don’t be put off because you don’t know everything on the list, just provide as much information as you can.
Name(s) and address(s) of person(s) involved.
Type of benefit fraud being committed.
Description(s) of persons involved.
Vehicles.
Additional information...
If someone is working and claiming:
- Name & address of employer.
- How long has person has worked there?
- Type of work done? - Number of hours? - Level of earnings?
- Time the person works (start and finish).
- Are any work clothes worn - description.
- Is a company vehicle used?
If someone is not declaring a resident partner:
- Name and description of partner.
- Approximate age.
- How long has partner been resident?
- If partner works, full name and address of their employer, plus times they work. Any work clothes worn / do they have a company vehicle?
- If the partner is also claiming benefits, do you know from what address and what benefits are being claimed?
If someone is not living at an address:
- How long has the person not been resident?
- What address does the person live at?
- Name of householder there.
- Have all belongings been removed from address?
- Does anyone visit to pick up post at address? - When and how often?
If someone is not declaring other capital owned:
- Type of capital? Bank accounts/house/unit trusts/stocks/shares/premium bonds etc.
- Which bank(s)?
- Address of property(s) owned?
- If other property owned, is it rented out? - to who? - How long has it been rented out? - Any other tenant’s names? - Amount of rent charged?
- How long have they owned the property?
If someone is not declaring other income:
- What type of income is it?
- How much? - How long have they been receiving it? – From who?
If someone is not declaring other adults (not their partner) living with them:
- Name(s) and descriptions.
- How long have they been resident?
- Do you know their previous address?
- Working or claiming benefits? - Full employer details.
- If working, the times they work?
- Do they pay rent to stay there?
Landlords
Sometimes landlords can be involved in the fraud. If you know or suspect a landlord to be involved in fraudulent activity please provide as many details as you can concerning the property, the tenants and the circumstances involved.
Employers
Employers can sometimes collude with employees to help them abuse the benefits system. Please provide us with as much evidence as possible if you are aware this is happening. Employer name, address, premises used, vehicles used, as many employee names as you can, suppliers or customers that employees may deal with regularly.
Vehicles
Provide the make (e.g. Ford) model (e.g. Mondeo) colour and registration of vehicle(s) being used. If a vehicle has logos, markings or business details on it, please ensure these are also given.
Potentially Violent
Confirm if any person involved in the fraud is known to be potentially violent. If yes, how do you know this?
Remember, the more details you can provide about the alleged fraud, the more likely it is that we'll be able to initiate an investigation.