to be fed up of being skint and feeling like a scrounger?

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Really sick of hearing that people on benefits are lazy scroungers.

DP has done three weeks work which he hasnt been paid for. Boss called them in yesterday, expecting them to return to work even though he still hasnt paid them. We have had to sign on just to be able to eat.

The government would say "Just go get another job!"

How? Where are these jobs? DP is very qualified in a lot of different areas of work, and there isnt a single job. The woman assessing his claim wanted him to take a 20 hour pw job over an hour from where we live. So we would be paying for him to travel to work and not much else.

Its so tiring and stressful. Today we literally have £3. We have to move house at the weekend and no idea how we can do it. I am so bloody sick of hearing how lazy people are when infact they arent.

How do we make the government listen? Thats a genuine question! Are there petitions or campaigns I should support? Would writing to No.10 help?

When will this end?

I don't think writing to number 10 would help but maybe your local MP?

What is your situation? Do you work? Do you have friends who can help you move? Has your husband been to citizens advice about his non payment for work. I imagine 3 weeks worth of work is worth a few hundred pounds. This is something you should be fighting them for as he's worked for it.

Yeah we have a solicitor dealing with the unpaid wages.

Im pregnant. I have applied for a few temp jobs but heard nothing. We arent eating at the minute. Any money we get is spent on getting food for DD.

DPs friend is helping us move the major furniture but he works with DP so cant afford the fuel to do any more as he hasnt been paid either. We have no clue how we are going to afford the petrol for the move iyswim.

Its just so tiring. DP was on min wage jobs before and then got this one which pays really well, if it bloody paid!! So we thought we were getting somewhere and now we are worse off than ever. :(

It's very frustrating.

I am not gonna lie - I am one of these people that has said this - but NOT to people in your situation.

In the town we live in for example I was going to the post office one day - there was a bloke out front, scrawny, tattooed, topless swigging a can of red stripe. He was bragging to the 2 blokes he was talking to that he had just got his money for the week and was going to go and buy a load of booze and go home and sit in his garden.

He was bragging about how he didn't 'want' to work, lying to job centre etc. Doesn't see why he needs to as he has a house they pay for and money to spend on fags and booze.

If the government sorted out these lazy bone idle fuckers then real people that struggle and deserve help would get the money they needed!!!

It's ridiculous. I know someone who's brother won't work. He's in his 30's, claims benefits and disability bcoz he has 'depression' & epilepsy (he last had a fit when he was 14 & he is in NO way depressed). He had the check up that the government had promised to crack down on people who don't need to work - he simply told them that he wanted to kill himself. Form signed - disability benefits again approved.

Trust me that people do not think that you are scroungers - I think there are just a lot of people working the system who are giving people that impression.

Hang in there

That sounds horrible. Are the solicitors aware of the speed needed to sort the wages?

You sound like me a year ago, it was such an awful time but things are so much better now. I totally agree about people's attitudes towards those on benefits, it must be lovely in the perfect world they live in! Things can and will get better, its just hard to see it atm.

Where are you op? If you're anywhere near me I would be glad to help.

Wouldn't the 20hr per week job open the door to tax credits?

do you have a trussell trust ? speak to your geath visitior or doctor , go to citizens advice . You are not a scrounger . do you have anything to pawn or sell ? we have done thuis and it can bridge a gap xx

Won't the solicitor cost a fortune though, or can you still get Legal aid for that sort of thing?

YANBU to feel how you do but I'm sure no-one who knows you thinks you're scroungers.

Thanks for your replies :)

Please dont be offended that I will refuse your kind offer of help. (Too proud for my own good and a bit stubborn)

The solicitor has done everything he should have. He knows how bad a situation we all are in. The boss keeps fobbing him off though. Says he will pay "at lunchtime" and then "by the end of the day" etc etc. Then acts shocked that his workers wont work and was angry that one guy didnt show up...he broke down halfway there as his car ran out of petrol.

Oh I completely agree about the people spending their dole money on booze. The statements used by people are so sweeping though. The majority of people want to work but we are all branded the same!

ENormaSnob the goalposts have moved for tax credits now, you need to be working at least 24 hours per week to be able to claim wtc. Loads of people have been fucked over by this

We are waiting on tax credits but when I phoned the other day I was told it wasnt on the system yet and could take 3 weeks just to get put on the system, never mind assessing it and paying.

Havent a clue how much the solicitor is costing. Pretty sure the unpaid wages will cover it easily though.

Its just such a bloody mess. I am fed up of worrying and budgeting every single pound. While DPs boss swans around with millions in the bank.

Can you get a short term loan from your council to help with the move costs? Or pawn something. But don't go near the 'short term loan' stuff on the internet or tv.

I really do sympathise with you and for what it's worth, I don't think you're a scrounger. I always think 'there but for the grace of God...' - no-one knows what's round the corner.

I think WilsonFrickett is onto something there, the jobcentre can give you a crisis loan if you call them. We had to do this when our bed collapsed and we couldn't afford a new one.

As DP has only signed on we have to wait til monday before we qualify for help. We will have moved by then. We did get a crisis loan but that went on food for DD, new cheap crap shoes for preschool, and electric.

Thank you for all your kind words. I know we arent really scroungers, but it bloody feels likd it right now. And we just cant see a way out!

Well make sure you find out exactly how much the Solicitor is costing/has cost so far...because it sounds like your DH's boss might well be on the verge of bankruptcy

I really can't see someone with millions in the bank, not paying someone to the point of being taken to court over it.

You don't want to be saddled with a huge bill and no wages IYSWIM.

I can sympathise with you so much OP....I'm there too. That stinging sense of shame, as if you are a less deserving person. The constant attempts to justify yourself, to prove that you're not a scrounger, that you're different from "them".

And bubalou, that kind of attitude is really hurtful. Believe me, I feel a little stab of pain every time I hear someone go "Oh, well I don't mean you, you're deserving..." Because you can't help feeling paranoid. As if you're constantly being judged by society, constantly checking up on whether you're "deserving" enough. Because everybody has a different opinion on who might be "deserving", and there are plenty out there who think that being a single mother would make me a candidate for the stocks...

(I would normally, at this point, list my situation, attempts to start a business, attempts to find work etc, but you know what? I'm not going to. I am simply not going to give in to the temptation to justify how worthy and "deserving" I am....)

fuckbadger FYI the Government are intending to phase crisis loans out.

Of course..........

Also, OP: You really think the Government give a shit? That they don't know about the poverty and hardship they are plunging a good proportion of the population into? Really? Really?

(Sorry if this last post sounds angry- believe me, it's not you I'm angry at!)

To be fair to bubalou, she heard someone bragging about how he didn't 'want' to work, lying to job centre etc. Doesn't see why he needs to as he has a house they pay for and money to spend on fags and booze

Why shouldn't that make her angry?

The only thing that was unnecessary about that post imo was the description of the man's figure, his tattoos and what he was drinking.

If you've never lied to the job centre stubbornstains, then there's no reason to be offended by her thoughts really.

I didn't know they were phasing crisis loans out? I thought they were just severely limiting the amount people can have in a year?

I'm probably wrong though.

I actually think it would be better for us if he was going bankrupt. But he has proved his ability to pay to the solicitor. He just wont do it. I think he wants the next orders to be done and then use that money to pay IYSWIM. But how can he expect the workers to work for no pay!!

Add to that our landlord being a cheeky bitch about us moving. We are doing her a favour by not staying here and running up debt. Her husband threatened DP aswell. (We arent worried about that) but their attitude is not helping.

Yes worra, but that kind of example is picked up on and promulgated by the mass media to create a culture of hostility to ALL benefit claimants.

AFAIK you have only ever been able to have one crisis loan at a time. They're not that easy to get hold of even now....

If he's qualified and experienced, is it possible for him to set something up for himself and become self employed? He'll still get the tax credits (providing he works over the minimum number of hours per week), and you can still get housing benefit whilst he's building things up? In the mean time, you could really do with accessing your local foodbank. Don't go to payday lenders, they are the scum of the Earth. If you need something to tide you over, there's always credit unions.