Cllr Ken Moss is helping to launch a new drive against benefit fraud as the number of reports of suspected claimants rises. Hyndburn Borough Council has taken a much more aggressive stance against non-payment of Council Tax and recovery of fraudulent benefit claims which has resulted in 9 prosecutions, 16 official cautions and 1 administrative penalty since the start of the 2013/14 financial year, totalling £49,200 since April 2013.
An HBC spokesman said, "Reporting benefit cheats can inadvertently help the fraudster as the quicker we catch them the less likely they are to end up in court. They will still be dealt with and they will still have to pay all of it back. We have a Benefit Fraud prosecution policy with guidelines setting out levels above which Court is usually automatic. Even without court we still either issue them with an official caution for the offence or and administrative penalty which is a fine – the choice of which if these is applied depends on the circumstances of the case and whether the fraudster is cooperative or not."
Cllr Moss said, "We have a large number of cases that we are dealing with and a number of Hyndburn residents will be finding letters arriving soon. However, despite this we still need help from residents. Don’t assume someone else will tip us off, if you have a suspicion tell us then we can stop them from stealing from the public purse. People can do this in confidence, your details will never be passed on to the fraudster. Help us to stop these thieves and keep your Council tax bill down."
The Fraud Hotline 01254 380240 is available 24 hours a day to leave details, in addition to the Council website’s 'Report a Fraud' page:
HBC Benefit Fraud online form
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