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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder how so many of you can know some lifelong dole scrounger when the official figures are so low?

290 replies

ValarMorghulis · 14/01/2012 17:47

I am forever seeing ignorant rants posts on here from people who are appalled that Bob down the road has never worked a day in his life, that their relative is a career claimant or that Sue next door is knocking out child afyer child with different men and not one of them funding their children.

yet the statistics state, and there is no reason to believe them to be false, that the numbers of long term claimants ( 5 years or more) is actually 0.3%

This raises two questions for me.
Firstly, why are we all so convinced that half the world is a lazy feckless scrounger satisfied to sit back and have us taxpayers pay their way. It clearly isn't the case at all.
And secondly, if the numbers are so small how come they all manage to live within close proximity to a Mumsnetter?

OP posts:
hiddenhome · 15/01/2012 18:05

My own mother was a total scrounger. Used to tell me it wasn't worth her while working because she'd have to pay rent and dental bills etc.

dh's best friend hasn't done a days work in his life - supposedly because of vision problems Hmm but still manages to spend his life doing archaeology and writing books.

Both 'on the sick' as opposed to the dole.

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 18:05

ValarMorghulis no the tax payer is paying for it

A working person will have to pay intrest on the loan and banks don't give £1000 loans for birthday parties
That would be places like payday lones which charge up to 30% intrest

If she wants £1000 parties for her kids she should blooody well work for it

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 15/01/2012 18:07

maypole that's what the benefit fraud investigator's job is; they've seen it all before. They honestly do camp out and prove stuff like that. All you have to do is report them

RuleBritannia · 15/01/2012 18:09

oldmerryolesoul On behalf of tax payers, I proppose that you report them all. Any seconders?

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 18:09

Triggles a child's economic situation directly effects their education out come

And when a child who dose not proform well the school and the teacher gets the blame, it's a lot harder for a child do do well if their parent has never worked and has a large amount of children on welfare

Teachers should take a round view and look at ALL factors that effect a child

Original poster
ValarMorghulis · 15/01/2012 18:10

what she chooses to spend her money on is her business.

She pays back the loan. Out of money she is entitled to (unless you know she is claiming fraudulently, in which case report her)

It is not your business.

The attitude that because she is on the dole her spending should be open to scrutiny is so very wrong.

OP posts:
maypole1 · 15/01/2012 18:12

itspeanutbutterjellytime right I never been investergated so I don't really know how they work.

Hopefully they will be made to pay the lot back and money stopped I don't want any one going to jail but they must be stopped its not right

AmberLeaf · 15/01/2012 18:14

A social fund loan is basically an advance on the weekly amount the government sets that she would recieve.

Its given and then repaid deducted at source, usually at a much higher rate than £4 something too.

Its not money on top of her weekly benefit amount.

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 18:14

ValarMorghulis in my view she is not entitled as she can work but has chosen not to

I am glad you think this sad state of affairs is ok but many don't

That fit and healthy people can decided to make a lifestyle of relying on the state

itspeanutbutterjellytime · 15/01/2012 18:17

Exactly maypole if you have suspicions you should report them. It's a crime at the end of the day. You wouldn't think twice about reporting any other kind of crime. It's an anonymous system and the people concerned will be investigated. If they're found to be committing a crime; they will be held to account and the courts take a dim view of it.

PreviouslyonLost · 15/01/2012 18:20

Oh Amberleaf friend didn't witness 'accident', neither did 7 yo who was 'looking after' sibling at time...DN didn't substantively change behaviour/abilities afterwards, to this day...I am a qualified, and SSSC registered Social Worker, reflecting on an episode from

Spero · 15/01/2012 18:21

Official figures are crap. Next newsflash - bears shit in the woods.

90% of my clients never have worked and probably never will.

Original poster
ValarMorghulis · 15/01/2012 18:24

Maypole - she is entitled as she is a single parent raising a chid presumably under 7 as older than that and she would have to move to JSA and activly seeking employment,

You seem angry that she is claiming benefits legally.

How much do you think it would cost the tax payer for her to put her children into childcare in order for her to return to work? She will get 85% ( i think though may have changed recently) of her childcare fee's paid by HMRC.

If she went to work full time the chances are that her childcare fees will be close to the same amount she gets in wages. It will certainly far outweigh what she pays in taxes.

She is actually doing the tax payer a favour by NOT working and instead staying at home to care for her children until they are in full time education.

OP posts:
itspeanutbutterjellytime · 15/01/2012 18:29

I think there can be a lot ill feeling from people who perceive others to be getting a 'free ride' and make a snap judgement.

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 18:31

ValarMorghulis when she gose out raving she has no issue with leaving her 7 year old with her twins so I am sure they could cope watching the little one after school and during the holidays it's not as if they have jobs either

So she basically has free child care although when any one mentions working to her often site no child care hmmm

Original poster
ValarMorghulis · 15/01/2012 18:50

if her daughter is 7 then she will now be all but forced into employment.

looking after a sibling every now and then is very different to having to become a childcarer full time.

OP posts:
molly3478 · 15/01/2012 18:55

I doubt many of them will actually go in to employment valar they can make you try but no one can make you work there are loads of ways round it.

AmberLeaf · 15/01/2012 18:59

PreviouslyonLost

If I didn't make it clear in OP, or others that followed, child was NOT hit by car

So on what medical evidence did this uninjured child manage to qualify for high rate care DLA? what non existant injuries entitled him to school transport? because simply being in reciept of HR DLA doesnt mean you are entitled to school transport and you just dont get DLA if there is truely nothing wrong with you as a claim needs to be backed by genuine checkable medical evidence.

Its hard to get an award of DLA-you need evidence to back whatever you fill out on the 42 page long form.

lilyliz · 15/01/2012 19:04

I know 2 SILs and a neice,all three scroungers and have been for years.The strange thing is all the men in the family are really hard working blokes.I din't know when the rule ended that you had to have paid 2yrs N.I. to claim benefits because anytime I have to claim anything this mantra gets trotted out yet seems o.k. for others to never to have paid in to the system and be rewarded.

garlicfrother · 15/01/2012 19:05

There is one vacancy for every 4.7 JSA claimants - government's own figures. Even if all the 'scroungers' had a character transplant and took up all the vacancies, there would still be 1,228,538 people on the dole - and no jobs whatsoever.

That's only JSA, it doesn't include the 2.5m on ESA/Incapacity.

All this 'scrounger-mongering is the government's way of covering the fact that it's created a stagnant economy. It's got o plans at all to create 1,546,100 jobs let alone to stimulate small enterprise so some of the sick people could work at their own pace.

By the way, when you report someone for benefits fraud all their payments stop while they're investigated. Somebody doing that made me homeless - I was getting Working Tax Credit and Housing Benefit at the time; somebody thought that, as I was working, I must be cheating.

Triggles · 15/01/2012 19:24

"And when a child who dose not proform well the school and the teacher gets the blame, it's a lot harder for a child do do well if their parent has never worked and has a large amount of children on welfare

Teachers should take a round view and look at ALL factors that effect a child"

Bullshit. If their parent has never worked and has a large amount of children on welfare, the child can't do well in school?? A child may have a lovely mum who is attentive and does their schoolwork with them and raises them (and their siblings) well, but doesn't work.. so simply by virtue that they are on welfare (and also have siblings), then they are doomed?? What a load of rubbish!!

There's a huge difference between a "round view" and making assumptions or judgements about the parents' choices, when the teacher is not in view of all the facts.

molepom · 15/01/2012 19:40

Maypole

"it's a lot harder for a child do do well if their parent has never worked and has a large amount of children on welfare"

Are you seriously, sitting there saying that my kids dont do well at school because I am unable to work and on benefits? If you are, I suggest you put on your flame retardant suit because you are in for one hell of a ride when other posters realise this.

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 19:43

Their is a strong collerlation between welfare and a child not doing well at school

Not telling the truth about that is what is bullshit

Triggles · 15/01/2012 19:44

collerlation? correlation you mean? statistically, perhaps. But you can't simply assume it.

maypole1 · 15/01/2012 19:46

Why would I need a flame proof suit

Their are parent may be like your self can't say as I don't know you who value your child's education

But the fact is their is a strong link between parents who are long term unemployed or who have gentrions who have never worked and children not achieving

Swipe left for the next trending thread