Woman fined for being frugal

[Retlaw]

A frugal woman who saved more than £22,000 out of her benefits has been left penniless because she did not tell officials about her nest egg.

Pauline Ford, aged 58, lived in a rusty mobile home, never went out, smoked or drank, and only spent the bare minimum she needed to feed herself and her 15-year-old dog.

She wanted to build up her savings for her old age but fell foul of the law by failing to declare her assets when she applied for means tested benefits.



Penny-pinching: Pauline Ford saved around £2,000 a year because she was worried about how she would manage in old age

Ford's miserly lifestyle meant she saved around £2,000 a year and her nest egg grew so large it affected her eligibility for council tax and housing benefits.

There would have been no problem if she had spent all the money but now she has been forced to repay more than she saved and has been left with nothing at all.
Read more: Pauline Ford, 58, who saved £22k nest egg from her benefits has to pay it all back | Mail Online
Todays Lancs Telegraph page 47. Dealers Dad cleared of staching cash, Police found 52,000 in cash plus Gold and Jewelry, defendant claimed he had been able to save 500 to 700 a month from the family's benefits.
Will he get the same treatment

Retlaw

[MargaretR]

There was a similar case in Accrington several years ago.
She was seen regularly in the market after shopping hours picking up discarded veg, such as outer cabbage leaves.

She slipped up when she was seen in the TSB depositing cash in an undeclared savings account.