AIBU to be miffed about Chester Zoo?

Have you reported them, seeing as you know so much about their circumstances, or are you just having a general moan, about your PIP neighbour?

Those who claim Universal Credit will think you are unreasonable because human nature means they think they deserve it. Those who are wealthy and are (as yet) unaffected by the cost of living crisis will think you are being unreasonable as you aren’t being ‘kind’. Those in the middle who are struggling and yet receive no help will think you are being perfectly reasonable as they are sick of being cash cows and seeing everyone else have a perfectly lovely time. Being in the middle stinks right now.

Me too! 😁

We need some really big conversations in this country about fairness and distribution of help.
At the minute it's a system that is leaving a section of the working population increasingly angry and demotivated and we need to explore that not laugh at it.

Yes, we really do need to have big conversations, about fairness, and distribution of wealth. About why such a small percentage of the population are able to hoard wealth, and become wealthier by the day, whilst the majority are barely making ends meet, and being encouraged to turn on each other, and punch down. Start talking.

A single parent with a disabled child will receive £400 per month on UC once the child turns 18. If they are classified as a carer then they will get a carers element of £200 however their Carers Allowance of £83 will be deducted pound for pound. That will leave them with less than £300 per month. If they rent they will have a housing element which will rarely cover the full rent. The part of the rent which is not covered will be paid out of the £300 they have left.

If the child is so disabled that the parent cannot work this is what they will have to live on whilst caring for their now adult child who will probably need more care once they leave school.

But sure, it's a lifestyle choice and you would grudge them the odd trip to the zoo.

Yes they may have been relatively comfortable while the child was under 18 but that changes dramatically once the child reaches 18. Any benefits the child gets may have to be put towards any social care package they receive and the government are now cutting the "disability" element of UC by 50% from next April and are considering abolishing it completely for those under 23.

Living the high life on benefits indeed.😡

And you know it was genuine because?

An earlier PP said it was £155 for 7 of them to go to the Tower of London but £1 when she was on benefits.

I'm assuming that's a £1 each-£7 in total.

That does seem a massive drop, especially as the family of 7 who have to pay full price are most unlikely to be earning 22 times more than the family on benefits, yet they have to pay 22 times as much.

I'd prefer that everyone got a cheaper rate, rather than one family pays £100 and another pays a fiver.

Just pretend to be depressed and suffering anxiety and panic attacks which mean you can't leave your house and therefore can't work. That's what my neighbour has been doing for the last 3 years

The poster up thread is moaning and her kids phone a month!

begs belief

However AIBU to be upset that yet again working families don’t seem to benefit from much?

I mean, working families benefit from their wages, don’t they?

I’m sure the kids will be benefitting in other ways

please don’t begrudge these kids - I see them at the Foodbank helping their parents pack all the time - very sad

be angry at the govt not these families - keeping rich rich and even richer

I think the point from some is that when you're just above the line for benefits but unable to afford days out like this for your children it's frustrating. Of course it's great some kids will get to go because of this scheme but when you don't qualify because you are above a threshold but still can't afford to give your children those experiences, it can be hard to swallow at times

You talk about attending the zoo only once a year because of the price, but also say you understand some families on UC/etc may never get to visit the zoo. Are you really grudging people their first time round a place you can afford to go to every single year, on the basis you yourself can’t go more than once a year?

Your kids get to go to the zoo once a month! So you know how privileged that sounds??? Clearly not

Thats the problem

we used to go maybe twice in a childhood

sack the membership and do different things if your kids need entertaining all the time

Well you know you so you can report

that’s a fraud not a genuine benefit claimant

I agree with you. Make it cheaper for people on benefits but £1 is taking the piss.

My neighbour claims universal credit because he claims he has such bad anxiety attacks he cannot leave his house. That is absolute bullshit as he leaves his house almost every day to shop, see his girlfriend, walk his dog and, best of all, work CASH IN HAND.

Plus, of course, tax is not paid on universal credit no matter how high the amount is.

I get state pension at a slightly higher amount because I never opted out of SERPS and now have to pay tax on it. Makes me sick

Try blackpool zoo op its cheaper and better IMO

Fellow low-ish earning full time childcare payer who receives no benefits, it is frustrating that we seem to be the ones struggling. I’m sick of working for not a lot of spare money. I’m a bit pissed off with Chester Zoo about something else tbh. We’re members and only get a 10% discount for their Christmas lanterns in the evenings that they do, and it costs a fortune so we can’t afford to go! We do go to the zoo once a month or so, although the membership is expensive we don’t ever pay for other days out because we can’t afford it.

No it isn’t - it’s avoiding Victorian England and there clearly is enough money

the real problem is 5 % of country own 90% of wealth

We chose a different path in life and that’s ok but what’s not ok is the state of the welfare system which isn’t welfare anymore it’s a lifestyle.

Of course your own security is worth it

and not being viewed as disgusting by those who make threads like this

Ive only read the first page of comments - but actually OP im going to agree with you!

If we didnt own our (very cheap less than 150k) home, we would be entitled to full market rental (more than double our current mortgage) via UC 🙃, and i suppose, would also be entitled to the £1 zoo offer..

Whilst im greatful to own our home it does make you wonder if its worth it!

The headline for schools is ‘free tickets’ which is technically true but they are limited as are these UC tickets. Limited to how many, I don’t know, but in the case of schools, my child’s primary ended up paying!

Thanks for the heads up OP! We're off on Monday for a fiver! We've only ever been to small zoos and have been wanting to take them to Chester 😁

We do work, and we get a small amount from UC