I need some advice..

mulberrytree

Member
Jan 1, 2013
269
0
So yesterday a friend I haven't seen in nearly 3 years rings me and ask if I wanted to pop around for a coffee- I said yes, of course! She is 27, single and has two children who are 4 and 3.

Went there today and she said "wait until I show you what my new "business" is". Basically- she is selling fakes. Fake ralph lauren clothes, fake bags, fake MAC makeup- you name it, she is selling it. I don't know if she is selling these things as legitimate- I couldn't tell the difference with the things I look at so any novice will be taken for a ride. She bragged that she makes "at least two thousand a month" and she is on state benefits too- income support (£55 a week), child benefit (£20 a week for her oldest and something like £16 for her youngest) housing benefit (her rent is pretty much paid for in full), council tax benefit (meaning she will have to pay minimal- about £40 a month, average is about £100- I THINK!) and then tax credits too- can't work out how much but at least another £200 a month.

She uses the money for designer clothes for her kids, she has a state of the art kitchen (I kid you not) and the living room was cluttered with toys from Christmas- including a ride on Audi which is a couple hundred pounds and she has just come back from a 4 night trip to London "where she kitted out the kids from harrords and brought them some lovely toys in hamleys". Now the hotel must of been £150/200 a night for a decent one (which it would of been) about another £100/150 for train tickets so thats several hundred quid worth of trip.


Its all so, so, so, so, so wrong. Selling fakes annoys me alot, its wrong...especially when your not declaring this income to the benefits office, thats fraud. I want to report her....but I have known her all my life and I don't want to hurt my friend.

But then the annoyance of it being so wrong overrules it..

What would you all do?
 
If you haven't seen or talked to her in 3 years what has kept you two apart?

Over here in the states even if I reported someone for abusing government assistance I am not sure how long, if ever, they would get around to investigating and determining what to do about the situation.

I guess take a long hard look at your "friendship" with this person and decide if she is worth the tax you pay to support her habits and lifestyle.
 
I don't know that I could be friends with someone who A)sells fakes and brags about it, no less and B)is receiving financial benefits from the government when they clearly don't need it.
 
You haven't seen her in 3 years then she calls you out of the blue to come over and just happens to show you things she is selling? -- This is not a friend. It seems to me she was hoping to sell you some of her items.

The fact that you're mentally calculating what she might have paid in hotel rooms and train tickets and know the exact amounts she receives in benefits is a little odd. How do you know this? And also, you don't know her circumstances if you haven't seen her in 3 years, who know who paid for her kids toys?

I would ignore her, politely decline if she wants to sell you anything and just carry on with my life. I know a lot of people who live in a way that I don't agree with. I have to be blunt and say mind your own business with this one.

:flowers:
 
Honestly, I would give her a piece of my mind before reporting. Her having 2 kids is the only thing that would make me hesitant to straight up report her. I'd at least want to hear what she has to say although it doesn't change the fact that she's doing something immoral and illegal.
 
So yesterday a friend I haven't seen in nearly 3 years rings me and ask if I wanted to pop around for a coffee- I said yes, of course! She is 27, single and has two children who are 4 and 3.

Went there today and she said "wait until I show you what my new "business" is". Basically- she is selling fakes. Fake ralph lauren clothes, fake bags, fake MAC makeup- you name it, she is selling it. I don't know if she is selling these things as legitimate- I couldn't tell the difference with the things I look at so any novice will be taken for a ride. She bragged that she makes "at least two thousand a month" and she is on state benefits too- income support (£55 a week), child benefit (£20 a week for her oldest and something like £16 for her youngest) housing benefit (her rent is pretty much paid for in full), council tax benefit (meaning she will have to pay minimal- about £40 a month, average is about £100- I THINK!) and then tax credits too- can't work out how much but at least another £200 a month.

She uses the money for designer clothes for her kids, she has a state of the art kitchen (I kid you not) and the living room was cluttered with toys from Christmas- including a ride on Audi which is a couple hundred pounds and she has just come back from a 4 night trip to London "where she kitted out the kids from harrords and brought them some lovely toys in hamleys". Now the hotel must of been £150/200 a night for a decent one (which it would of been) about another £100/150 for train tickets so thats several hundred quid worth of trip.


Its all so, so, so, so, so wrong. Selling fakes annoys me alot, its wrong...especially when your not declaring this income to the benefits office, thats fraud. I want to report her....but I have known her all my life and I don't want to hurt my friend.

But then the annoyance of it being so wrong overrules it..

What would you all do?

If it's fakes she's selling, then it won't be a legitimate business. Not only that, but if it were a legitimate business, she wouldn't be on any kind of benefits. I think the reason she called you was to see if you could be a potential customer. I'm sorry to say that, but I don't think it was for a cup of tea. People like her are part of the problem in England, USA, etc. She's cheating honest people out of their hard earned pay. Not just by selling fakes, but by being on the benefits she's on. Report her. That's all she deserves. And you, my dear, need to know that she isn't your friend. You can do a LOT better than 'friends' like her.
 
Sorry girls I forgot I posted this on here!

I spoke to my friend about this (her sister works for Mulberry) and she added her "selling page" on Facebook and ordered what was being sold as an authentic Mulberry Alexa- paid £350 for it- brand new with "dustbag".

Anyway my friend received and said she couldn't tell the difference- but when her sister looked at it she confirmed it was fake and that she needed to report this girl. Apparently they were "very good fakes" so it would take an amateur (like myself) to notice the difference.

I confronted the girl (who is selling the goods) about it and she got very aggressive and defensive- it even got to the stage where she lied to her mother who rang mine and said I was harassing her. Luckily my mum had seen the messages and knew what was going on so that was a non starter.

The page closed down- but about 4/5 days ago another popped up and I do strongly believe it is here- same location on facebook, same photos she was using, talks the same etc.

I want to turn her in. She is committing fraud, stealing and conning amateurs like me.

But as I said (and as some of you pointed out)...its her kids that are stopping me.
 
You haven't seen her in 3 years then she calls you out of the blue to come over and just happens to show you things she is selling? -- This is not a friend. It seems to me she was hoping to sell you some of her items.

The fact that you're mentally calculating what she might have paid in hotel rooms and train tickets and know the exact amounts she receives in benefits is a little odd. How do you know this? And also, you don't know her circumstances if you haven't seen her in 3 years, who know who paid for her kids toys?

I would ignore her, politely decline if she wants to sell you anything and just carry on with my life. I know a lot of people who live in a way that I don't agree with. I have to be blunt and say mind your own business with this one.

:flowers:

Hotel rooms and train tickets- I travel to London 5/6 times a year and have done for the past 3-4 years..so I think by now I know how much things cost. We pay £150 a night for 4* hotels and rail tickets are £100 with my railcard- more without. Unless she is committing another fraud she won't have a railcard (there are student, disabled and over 60s railcards here)

Benefits- the rates I mentioned are the standard here in the UK. I have been on benefits myself so I know how much is what.

With the kids toys- she has her mum and that is it. Dad isn't involved nor is her dad and she has no other family. Unless her mum is carrying this on as well- it is her "earning at least two thousand pound a month" that is paying for it.