Frugal spinster, 58, who saved £22,000 nest egg from her benefits for her old age has to pay it all back, plus another £6,000
- She lived penny-pinching lifestyle to build up savings but fell foul of means-testing rules
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.
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Ford, of Valley Walk, Plymouth, who is unmarried, had admitted three counts of benefit fraud and was jailed for four months, suspended for two years by Recorder Mr Jeremy Wright at Plymouth Crown Court.
He made no order for costs or compensation after hearing she now has no savings left after repaying £28,000.
Humble home: The caravan in Valley Park, Plymouth, Devon, where Pauline Ford lived, never going out, smoking or drinking, as she saved for her old age
Miss Jo Martin, prosecuting, said that until 2005, Ford received incapacity benefit and disabled living allowance, neither of which were means-tested, and council tax benefits, which were.
By 2005 her savings had grown to £15,000 which meant she should have declared them when she continued claiming the housing and council tax benefits.
In 2008, she applied for income support, which is also means-tested, without revealing she had just invested £21,000 in a Nationwide fixed bond.
Plymouth City Council carried out a 'Midas' check which revealed her savings, and in 2010, Ford was interviewed by the council and Department of Work and Pensions investigators.
Stash: Ford was jailed for four months, suspended for two years, at Plymouth Crown Court
She admitted she had hoarded the money and should have told the authorities about it.
Miss Martin said the total overpayment of £28,205.76 had all since been repaid, and Ford was now back living on benefits.
She said that claimants were entitled to hold savings of £3,000 to £16,000, but received lower benefits on a sliding scale.
Mr Ali Rafati, defending, said his client had a learning disability and mental health problems.
He said: 'Miss Ford became very worried about how she would cope in old age. For many years she has been living on a shoestring in a rusty mobile home with her 15 year-old dog, saving money for her old age.
'She saved, not spent, but what she put in the bank resulted in overpayment. She has now paid back £6,000 more than she saved.
'Had she spent the money, she would never have come to court. She has no convictions or cautions, and is terrified of being here today.'
The recorder told her: 'On the face of it, this is yet another benefit fraud in a large sum of money. I accept that you have problems with mental health, but I don't accept that you didn't know what you were doing.'
He said people who accepted benefits they did not need were depriving needier people.
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