AIBU to be a tad [hmm] about my neighbours new car?

[DairyleaAndPickleOnAStick]

First off, this is absolutely NOT a benefits bashing thread.

I am probably BVU and this will show me up to be a nasty, mean spirited and bitter aul crone, BUT my neighbours just took delivery of a brand new car today- (think 3 letter, premium marque) - which they receive AFAIK through the motibility scheme. (Where I live this is very common practice.) Neither of them work and presumably receive benefits and HB. They definitely rent their house as we know the owner.

My DH and I were both high earning professionals before the recession hit and paid a very considerable sum for our own house, unfortunately we were both made redundant (within weeks of each other) several years ago and have fought tooth and nail to keep our home (both working very low paid unskilled jobs, taking in lodgers and DH moving away for a year to retrain.)

Obviously we are very fortunate to have been able to hold on to our home but it has been an incredibly tough few years- the pressures of redundancy, unemployment, and being on the breadline have taken a massive toll on our mental health, wellbeing and relationships- both with each other and family/friends.
My DH came home today soaked through after being out all afternoon in the pouring rain selling electricity door to door.

As I said upthread this is not a benefits bashing thread- I am fully aware that being on benefits is no picnic- DH and I spent 6 months on the dole and it was beyond grim, however AIBU to want to weep out of frustration seeing my neighbours new beemer parked in the driveway??

Who wants to let FACTS get in the way of a good rant though.

ABat

Pag, it is deeply depressing.

The thing I have learnt over the last couple of years is that bad things sometimes do happen to you. The ignorance displayed by Dairylea, Bubblymoon, geegee and others on this thread is the real luxury I wish I had. Far more luxurious than any BMW or other top marque car.

I'm facinated at the level of ignorance in some of your posts too bubble. So its all terribly facinating for everyone isn't it.

I get you OP.

I hope though that in the midst of the roasting you have had, you have recognised that however much you may think that you understand someone's life from the outside, you rarely can.

My life looks peachy. I have a huge house, lots of money, so people think it is easy. But life with disability is awful.

And even, even if your neighbour has managed to stiff the system he would be massively in the minority. And questioning anyone simply because to you, it doesn't stack up, means that there is a good chance you will hurt people whose lives are hard and for whom their struggle is not an ecomonic downturn but something that is likely to bear down on them for the rest of thir lives.

I thought the OP asked for this to be pulled last night?

Agree with Pagwatch comments. Because of comments like the OPs I do wonder sometimes what the neighbours assume is my financial situation. I have a motability wheelchair accessible vehicle for my son, its on a lease, it has to be given back and I have paid £2000 upfront cost for it and my sons monthly DLA mobility component to rent it. They will see very obviously that my son is severely disabled (so no fraud there). I am on my own, getting £58 CA a week for 100plus hours work so how can I afford the 4 bedroom house, the work that I have had done on my house, the major landscaping of my garden, the holiday I had for the first time in 5 years? ??
Well OP and others like you, I worked bloody hard before my son was born, I was a high earner which allowed me to get a mortgage but essentially the wolf was kept from the door after disability hit us by members of my family dying and leaving me an inheritance which I have all but spent keeping us afloat. Oh and I have never received a penny from the benefits agency to help pay my mortagage and I pay full council tax and £1700 a year in dual fuel (high because of the need to heat my sons room -no help here either) and yes, when he stays in hospital his DLA care money is taken from him. And yes I am a tax payer (albeit not much) and I do not begrudge our welfare system helping people in their hour of need.

Please , unless you have access to someones bank accounts you do not know the financial details of their existence so do not rush to judgments.

I am completing today a form given to me to specify my wishes for my son's future condition medical treatment given he has a "life limiting condition" Although I did know, it was a shock to be asked to fill it in. I really feel for the new families that will discover their child has a disability next year and the years after if the proposed cuts come in.

Bubblemoon - you may be interested to know that disability hate crime is up by a third. Some discussion as to whether this reflects better reporting, or whether it's been fuelled by the recession and people with disabilities being seen as welfare state scroungers.

Advert

One pair of eyes, intact optic nerve and undamaged retinas required. In exchange a black Ford Fiesta. Low fuel and DLA for life yipeee. Free house, and a difficult life in a way you cannot even begin to imagine.

Roll up!

Bubblemoon

Mentioning benefits/DLA doesn't unleash vitriol.

Implying that it is widely defrauded and given to scrounges does.

I have some sympathy with the op. I can see why she posted although I disagree and think she was misguided.

But if you wish to support her I am not sure why you would add a dollop of ignorance yourself by implying that those receiving DLA do not pay tax.

The last time I changed my daughters car one of the smallest BMWs was on a nil down payment scheme and my renault was nil too but that was at the dealers discretion iirc. You don't have to have a motobility car either, you could keep the allowance and spend it on fags and booze and going to mecca bingo

It gets taken from you if you try to spend it at foxy bingo though. That's true that is cos my friend what lives on the moon said so.

I'm with GeeGee. I'm no tory though, far from it. If someone can afford to top up to a BMW then they could most likely have afforded a reasonable second hand car on their own. I am gutted that George and Dave are taking another 10 billion away from the budget for the welfare state. Children are literally going to be left hungry. Misdirection of funds to date has only worsened the shitstorm coming for the genuinely desperate. I would far rather see vulnerable adults and children fed and housed than i would see money given to enable the purchase of luxury items by those who could afford basics on their own. There are limited resources and prioritising allocation is the key going forward.

Not a brilliant idea to cry fraud and "let the DWP sort it out" unless you either know for certain or actively want to be malicious.

Some MNers have had essential benefits suspended for months during DWP investigations, iirc. Accusations complete codswallop - curtain-twitchy neighbours with no actual knowledge - but meanwhile the family's missed therapy appointments or gone without heating or paid for debt.

If you hear someone bragging about how they're fiddling the DWP, then go for it. If your knowledge is rather more imaginary limited, not such a good idea.

Btw, DLA is like Winter Fuel Payments, pensioners' bus passes and - until now - Child Benefit, ie not means-tested. Which is why David Cameron claimed it for Ivan. There's a valid discussion to be had about whether all of these benefits should be means-tested. But it's a separate discussion to is an individual committing fraud.

the last i heard Mrs Pritchard at no 53 had funded her down payment with healthy start vouchers

DLA is NOT about what people can and can't afford. DC himself claimed it for his son did he not?

xpost with parcing, great minds and all that

I was investigated by the DWP wrt Child Tax Credit (which I don't claim at all fwiw, before you all think I am the lovechild of Beelzebub) and it wasn't stopped whilst they investigated it.

Prioritising allocation requires engaging your common sense rather than just wanting people to look all desperate and needy before they get assistance.

Giving someone who can work and earn and maintain a regular life in their home, seeing to their own needs saves a shit load of money.

I expect Saintly would be able to give some estimate of how much care for her DS would cost if, without the use of the car which enables her to care for his needs, she needed to request residential care for him.

It's not rocket science.

Propert you do understand that the car is given to the disabled person don't you. They hire it and pay a monthly hire fee (and an upfront payment of however many thousand if it's a flash car). Then they give it back and Motability sell it and keep the money.

Or are you commenting from a position of ignorance?

Well yes DS1 is a juicy £200 grand plus if someone else cares for him. Annually.

Think about this though Dairylea ...
Things are hard for you and your DH at the moment but you have managed to hold on to your house and cover your mortgage. If you are lucky enough to continue to do this, in the future when your dc are grown up and have left home you will own your house outright and could end up wealthy enough to retire comfortably and buy a nice shiny BMW of your own.
You do come across as bitter and jealous in your OP but if you look at the long term picture, your current situation could be seen as a temporary blip whereas this is potentially as good as it gets for your neighbours.
I do agree that it is frustrating to see benefit fraud going on right under your nose but IMO you should either report them or hold your tongue. What is the point in slagging them off on here - if more people reported benefit cheats then they wouldn't get away with it.

IF i wanted to turn in My DLA to mobility then a garage near us is doing BMWs with low deposit I wonder if i could get curtains twitching and my husband works that would make some peoples heads explode,

it would be the same here but as far as I am aware my daughter isn't capable of laying a patio, so I think we might be okay

Although his respite centre has a big brand new MPV, and a blue badge. [badge]. Scrounging bastards.

oh ha ha that was meant to be

We should have [badge] smiley though, for these threads.