The National Fraud Authority says that fraud costs the public sector £21 billion per year.
If you wish to know more about the way we deal with fraud please see our anti fraud and corruption strategy and sanction policy, available to download from this page.
Benefit fraud is our biggest fraud risk, by both the number of cases and the amount of money that is lost.
The types of benefit fraud that we look at most commonly relate to four areas of the claim:
Liability to pay rent
The rent is artificially inflated
The landlord is a close relative
The claimant owns the property
For some other reason there is no liability to pay rent
Income
Undeclared or undedeclared earnings
Undeclared other income, eg Tax Credits, Maintenance, Pension Credits, Occupational Pension
Undeclared boarder/lodger
Capital
Undeclared bank accounts containing more than £16,000 in total
Undeclared assets for example property in this country or abroad
Household make up
Undeclared partner
Undeclared other adult resident in the property
Undeclared sub tenant
If you are committing fraud it is always best to let us know before someone reports you or you are detected through one of the many data matching reports we undertake each year.
We are committed to investigating any allegation that is brought to our attention.
Contact us
Revenues Section
PO Box 355
TW3 4PJ
Tel: 020 8583 4242
Benefit Fraud Investigation Team
Civic Centre
Lampton Road
Hounslow
TW3 4DN
Hotline: 020 8583 2111
Fax: 020 8583 2360
Email: fraud@hounslow.gov.uk