BENEFITS WITHDRAWN A Zoetermeer man must pay back almost €50,000 in social welfare benefits after the municipality discovered he had been “trading” through Markplaats. After an anonymous tip-off, a total of 51 advertisements relating to him were found. According to the court, these were no longer “accidental” sales that did not have to be reported. The man appealed, but was unsuccessful.
Recipients of social assistance benefits are required to keep the municipality informed of all forms of income. Goods sold via Marktplaats are not included. These proceeds do not have to be declared until they are no longer “accidental” sales. And it seems that this is also the case in this case, as the municipality of Zoetermeer discovered.
The municipality launched an investigation into the man after receiving a tip about internet trading via Markplaats. Contact was made with banks, insurance companies and the Marktplaats itself to clarify the man’s situation. The result was presented at the Zoetermeer in a conversation.
51 ads
The man himself is said to have placed a “large number” of advertisements on the Marktplaats. Information from the site shows that the items involved included cars, car parts, scooters, cell phones and study books. In almost four years he would have published 51 adverts for a total asking price of 212,220 euros.
According to the Zoetermeer resident, both the cars and the activities on the Marktplaats are wrongly linked to him. From his account statements it would not be possible to deduce that he earned by selling cars. He should have first had the money to buy the cars and those resources weren’t there, according to his lawyer. It is also unclear whether the goods in the adverts were actually sold by him.
Labeled as trade
According to the court this is established and there is no ‘accidental sale of private goods’ that should not be reported, as stated in the ruling published this week. Sales via Marktplaats can be labeled as commercial activities that can generate revenue. According to the judge, the man could not adequately demonstrate that he had not published the advertisements himself, so the municipality could assume that he had organized the Internet trade himself.
How much the man actually earned from trading at the Marktplaats is not relevant for the information obligation, says the judge. But with this amount of publicity it should have been immediately clear to the man that this could jeopardize his right to social assistance. He should have informed the Municipality.
His benefits were therefore rightly suspended and he also permanently lost the 48,231.13 euros recovered. Small consolation for the man: since the ruling in this case took so long, the costs of the case, almost 1,500 euros, will be paid by the Municipality.
Reimbursement
Cases of withdrawal of social assistance benefits regularly make the news. For example, a woman from the municipality of Wijdemeren (North Holland) had to repay more than 7,000 euros after receiving her shopping from her mother. According to the municipality, the woman violated the duty to inform by not reporting the incident. The value of the expense is then deducted from the social welfare standard. The judge finally reduced the demand against the woman on appeal: she still had to pay 2,835 euros.
This led to the anger of the House of Representatives. It was therefore decided to relax the rules. Patients will soon be able to receive gifts of up to 1,200 euros a year, without their benefits being cut. This is one of more than twenty measures with which the government wanted to smooth the edges of the so-called participation law in 2022. The rules should come into force by the end of the year.
Who is entitled to assistance?
In the Netherlands you are entitled to a general social assistance benefit if you are 18 years or older and do not have sufficient income or assets to support yourself. And if you are unable to take advantage of another benefit or benefit. The Municipality decides on this.
As a single person you can have a maximum wealth of 7,605 euros. If you have a common family unit, for example if you live together, you can have a maximum of 15,210 euros together. You could have the same capital even as a single person with children.
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2024-01-14 09:37:40
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