Oldham Council is committed to tackling benefit fraud. We know that most people who receive benefit are honest. However, there are a minority who are not.
Our Counter Fraud Officers deal with the full range of benefit fraud from minor offences through to major frauds.
We aim to stop as much benefit fraud as we can and we achieve this by:
Prevention - strict benefit controls exist when new claims are made for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit are first made. For example customers must produce more evidence about their identity, how much they have in savings, what their income is and who lives in the household before their Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit is paid.
Checking - carrying out reviews, including visits, to check entitlement during the course of a claim.
Detection - using our improved intelligence gathering and professional expertise to catch more fraudsters, and
Punishments - a range of actions are available, including prosecution where appropriate.
Remember, if you are receiving benefit yourself it is your responsibility to notify the local authority immediately of any change in your circumstances that may affect your entitlement to benefit.
You cannot assume that other organisations, like the Department for Work and Pensions, will notify us on your behalf.
For
more information Benefit Fraud, please contact The HB Counter Fraud Team
Telephone: 0161
770 4969
Email investigations@oldham.gov.uk
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