for being annoyed that our tax is paying for people to buy wallpaper.

[suzexxx]

I saw a post from a girl on facebook asking whether the social could help her buy things to do up her home e.g wallpaper and paint. Alot of people commented that she could get some vouchers to use on a certain paint brand and B&Q etc.

AIBU to think this girl should save some money or attempt to get a job for extra luxeries before expecting the social to foot the bill?

I'm moving house next month and the whole house will need decorating. However i am realistic in the fact i won't be able to afford to wallpaper the whole place at once, instead doing a bit at a time as and when i can afford it. My partner earns a moderate income and i'm currently on maternity leave, so money is tighter at the moment, but would never expect someone to pay for something i could manage without like wallpaper.

I completely understand people using the social to buy essential items such as a cooker or fridge, but not non essentials.

I am sick of it being said that all of us make judgement without knowing the facts, many of us don't, we bother to inform ourselves about our society and how it is constructed and created.

this and everything else birdsgottafly said I know it is lazy replying but I do think you put it well and this is what I believe , we dont all make judgements we just don't and we dont all get het up and all in a tizz about some random woman on facebook

OP, when the council very rightly did up your council house when you were a child, there will have been plenty of people thinking your mum was a lazy sponger who should have got a job and paid for it herself, instead of squandering taxpayer's money on 'luxuries' like a decently-painted home for her children. What is the difference between them thinking thatand what you are thinking about this woman? Nothing. I find it disgraceful that you have been there yourself and yet lack the basic insight and empathy to not judge her.

I am a SAHM, so don't personally pay tax right now, but I have always, and will always be happy to pay more tax, if it helps others. I'm not a saint - it benefits me to live in a society where people are healthy, more mentally sound, feel respected and worthy, etc., etc.

If someone lives in an unhealthy, depressing hovel that falls well below the general standard for their society, is it really a surprise that some of those people then display behaviour that is unhealthy, depressing and which falls below the general standard?!

When my SIL moved in to her council house she was given £50 in vouchers. The house had bare floors, no curtains, no lampshades (just bare bulbs in every room) and the walls were badly damaged by the previous tenants.
That £50 didn't even cover the paint or filler for the kitchen.
Luckily both sides of the family stepped in and gave what they could (old curtains, paint, flooring etc) to make it liveable. But not everyone has that support.

The person in your OP may well be thinking of getting really cheap wall paper or lining paper. It may well be an essential if she has uneven or badly damaged walls.

For what its worth my SIL is now in a very good job, and is paying in to the system. So I am sure she will pay back the £50.

PS Little bit in love with Birdsgottafly right now.

PS Little bit in love with Birdsgottafly right now.

me too

Birds

What a fantastic post, you are developing a fan club

I have read through the thread now and see the OP has clarified things. Yes some HA and council houses are in a shocking state when you move in. I have had a mortgage or two, I have lived in privately rented places too and in both those options I had choices about how much I wanted to be able to do to a place. I never rented or bought a property in a poor state of repair, I always had carpets, curtains at the very least.

Contrast that with social housing, I am now in my second social property, both have been bare floors (one with rotting chipboard and cracked tiles) another newer property which had previously been inhabited by a drug user. The walls were covered with graffiti, there were holes in the wall from a dartboard and chucks from another area of wall that had evidently been kicked. The HA did none of these repairs and gave me £80 B &Q vouchers to do the work myself. I was still in work at this time thankfully which meant I could get the living room carpeted and painted and get a carpet down in DS's bedroom....everything else waited.

I do suspect that the last the OP refers to will get nothing except a Budgeting Loan which she will have to pay back. I have no issue with this, am about to do the same myself. When I go back to work it will be paid off completely. Like many others, I am grateful that the Budgeting Loan is there for me as at present no mainstream lender will go near me as I am out of work. Far better that I borrow from the Social Fund and repay it than go to Provident and hand over benefit payments to them and huge interest.

I certainly would not be taking this option if I had any other way.

And thank you to the person who suggested looking on Facebook regarding a built in wardrobe, brilliant idea, I will take a look locally.

easier to attack the poor than the rich they dont have lawyers

The reality of working in a flexible low paid job when you have small children and no family support is much more complicated than being given tax credits to support your childcare

I have come to the conclusion some of you are just completely blinkered to life in general

I can see why you think its annoying.

However I am a big believer in surroundings influence us. I think its really positive that she wants to improve her house and its look, and make it better.

everyone deserves the comfort of a home dont they? :( it's just basic stuff

Bet your "friend gets wallpaper with bastarding goats on it"

YABU

I wouldn't post about benefits - or anything economic on FB because you are leaving yourself open to frothers

Still not quite sure what my partner's occupation has to do with anything. If you meant something else why not just say it.

I didnt ever say i was envious of the poster. Just find it frustrating that some people get loads of help and others work hard for their things. At the end of the day when my house has finished being refurbished i can think at least i've paid for it myself and worked bloody hard for it.

But the people who get the help are the people who need the help. The safety net is there for you too, should you ever need it. Why is that not fair?

Yes the council did do up my childhood home, something my mum never begged for it was done before we got there. My Mum paid full rent and works full time, before she got the job as a teaching assistant she volunteered for years in the same position until they offered her a paid job.

Suze you're thinking way too much into it. it really isnt that big a deal.

As long as you do what you feel is right, there's nothing to get annoyed about.

I've seen both sides of it. I just described my Mum and yes i believe help should be available to people who really need it, i did state this in quite a few posts.

I've also seen the other side...my own Dad, his partner and her family all admit to sponging off the goverment. They know every trick in the book to get extra benefits and have often failed to pay bills and rent, yet still carry on smoking/drinking everyday again something which i consider to be a luxury smoking and drinking.

Thank you iloveweetos. I guess i am thinking too much into it, saw one random post this morning and it just made me angry thats all.

Don't you get that council tenants also can work hard? Maybe this one you're talking about doesn't or can't but I work incredibly hard, so do many others. I just don't earn enough, so I got the massively generous 50 quid voucher. I was very grateful incidentally but in reality it won't go far.

But you are being abit hypocritical.

I became a single mother and never expected it. I was grateful for the help that I was able to get. Now I work and was able to get qualifications, that if the help was not there, I could never have dreamt of getting. The qualifications have allowed me to go for a much higher paid job and in turn pay more tax.

And because of that help when I needed it the most, I will never begrudge paying tax.

"DECORATION VOUCHERS
We may offer you decoration vouchers, depending on the condition of the décor at the time you sign for your tenancy. Decoration vouchers may also be given to tenants following repair work if we believe it is more
cost effective than carrying out the work ourselves.

These vouchers are issued as a goodwill and discretionary gesture and are only intended to cover the cost of basic materials. The value of the vouchers depends on the condition and size of the room and can roughly be summarised as follows:
? Small rooms (less than 6.3 square meters / 70 square feet) - up to £30
? Large rooms (over 6.3 square meters / 70 square feet) - up to £50
? Hall, stairs and landing - up to £100

You will not be given vouchers for a particular room or area that we deem to be in a reasonable condition. When assessing decorating allowances, we do not take into account personal preferences, such as colour or fashion. The vouchers can only be collected and signed for by you. They may be obtained from the Council?s Cash Office. They can be exchanged for a range of materials at any of the following stores:
B&Q
Homebase
Warwicks (Wickham)
Brewers

The participating stores are only authorised to exchange vouchers for the following items:
Friezes, Rollers, Stanley knife, Sealer, Paste, Glazed tiles, Scrapers, Seam rollers, White spirit, Mastic, Wood filler, Sugar soap, Sandpaper, Varnish, Tile adhesive, Paint, grout, Paint brushes, Wood stain, Paint brush, Paint trays, restorer, Wallpapering, Paint stripper, table (1 only),
Wallpaper stripper Wallpaper" Winchester Tenant's Handbook.

When we moved in, we were allocated £380 of vouchers. We immediately went B&Q with them and bought the items on our list. The woman was absolutely hostile, made me go and get my tenancy agreement despite us having the new system vouchers, where the administration is done at the council, not B&Q, then refused us half the stuff in the trolley based on the fact that it wasn't exactly as stated i.e. 'frog tape' was not accepted as 'masking tape'. She wouldn't even let us buy a £3 bucket and a sponge (for sugar soaping paintwork) with the vouchers because 'we might use it to wash the car instead'.

We got back to the house, stripped the wallpaper, which was so old half of it fell off the wall. Unfortunately, the plaster came with it. The voids team had to come back and replaster the majority of the house because they hadn't checked the wall integrity before they released it for let.

Havent read whole thread but i bet some of the people on here saying "nowt wrong with bare walls" would be humming a different tune if someone started this thread.
"AIBU to leave my HA property undecorated and falling into disrepair because i cant afford to decorate!"