To think people take the absolute P**s when it comes to paying their own way

[chopper23]

I am member (lurker) on a Facebook group that helps people get their debt wrote off, advocates not paying TV licences etc the group gets my back up, but it provides some regular entertainment. BUT tonight has shocked me, people are actually calling our NHS disgusting for charging for prescriptions ?! Are people crazy, do people want everything for free in life?

Grrrr I just felt like I needed a little rant

What is the group 😂

I pick up my prescription every month from same pharmacy, and every month I have to instigate me paying, last time they actually asked me "do you pay"? With that I asked why would I not? (Mid 40s, income,etc) and the reply I got was well most people don't and the NHS don't check up!!!!
I am stunned and very angry!

Is of beat the bailiffs and banks by any chance? I am also on it for comedy value.
YANBU. I hate things like that.

We get free prescriptions in Wales but I'd rather we paid something for them, even if it was a £1! So many people take the piss and get paracetamol, or calpol or even Aveeno cream ffs!! Paracetamol only costs between 17 and 40p in the cheaply shops, maybe if they had to pay the chemist for it they'd think twice about seeing the doctor.

The most infuriating group on Facebook, but annoyingly addictive. I have to restrain myself, everyday not to comment & call everyone a robbing, dumb fuckwit

It's called.... 'beat the bailiffs and the banks'

You're finding entertainment/laughing at people who are struggling and are in debt what?

No, if you go on the page it's people who rack up debt and then purposely wait for it to be sold to collection agencies, so they can use a loop hole to try and get the debt wiped. '3 lettering' although banks & agencies are catching onto this.

They also believe nobody should pay for a TV licence, but are happy to watch TV.

The one that gets my back up the most...: those who don't pay their Sky subscription, wait for it to get cut off and then contact sky who offer to wipe their debt to take out a new cheaper contract - so the cycle starts again.

Oh and do not get me started on those who feel that water rates are unnecessary.... people actually never pay their water bill!! £1000' in arrears but know due to human rights they can't cut off.

These are people who exploit the system & plead poverty and the wonder why rates are so high...... perhaps because we are all having to chip in to pay off their unpaid bills

Blimey, the NHS certainly checks up around here! DH recently got a £50 fine notice through the post for getting a free prescription that they thought he should have paid for (admin mistake, he was entitled to free prescriptions at the time). It took some sorting out before they retracted the fine.

I also think the TV license is the most regressive form of taxation and should be axed so I struggle to get het up about people not paying for it to be honest.

It's definitely beat the Bailiffs and the banks
The thing is, the premise of the group is actually really good. A lot of people don't watch live to these days and I've seen many members there and outside of that group paying for it when they don't need it. So they do give great advice about not letting the TVL salesmen into your house and knowing your rights.
The 3 letter thing also has some standing as you have never entered into an agreement with the debt collection agency, especially when they bought the debt for pennies.
And Bailiffs are just a horrible bunch who do take advantage of vulnerable people.
However the success of a lot of members fighting certain debts has lead to do many people taking advantage, and I cringe whenever I see a post saying "help, can't pay me sky this month, what's the link to get it wiped off tia"

I can't get worked up about people depriving Sky of money - I think they've got more than enough tbh.
TV licence - we shouldn't be forced to pay for the bbc whether we want it or not. Again, I can't get worked up about people dodging it.
The NHS is paid for via taxation - prescription charges penalise people for being sick and are unfair. Especially to people with long term illnesses who need lots of medication. Although I do agree with you that getting paracetamol on prescription is taking the piss - it's about 20p per pack.
A lot of people have debt because they were given credit they should never have had. Time some companies learned to lend responsibly. Often people default through no fault of their own.
And access to water is a human right. I don't really take issue with people paying a fair cost but some companies really do take the piss with their pricing, which encourages people to screw them over.

Ha i joined this group for a laugh but it winds me up. I have to stop myself when someone says there's a bailiff outside what should i do? From saying pay them? The non paying of tv licence is ridiculous too

People join groups like this to laugh? What? We all know there's some cheeky fuckers around, but "this person is posting there's bailiffs at the door, ha haaaa!" is a fucking strange way to get your entertainment.

Also most people in England don't pay for prescriptions, because most prescriptions go to people who are already exempt (age/contraception/etc). Administering a system where some people pay and some don't costs money in itself, so it doesn't save as much money as you'd think over systems like Scotland, Wales and NI which don't have prescription charges.

The NHS definitely check if you are entitled to free prescriptions, sight tests, dental care etc. If you are found not to be entitled, it is very likely that you will have to pay a penalty fine. Not worth the risk.

Also if you really like reading about "robbing, dumb fuckwits", you're going to love reading about offshore tax havens and the people stashing money in there. www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/06/daily-chart?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/

Only 1 in 4 prescriptions is paid for anyway. Anyone in receipt of benefits, over 60, still in education, on maternity, diabetic etc do not pay for prescriptions. The whole system is a farce and costs more to administrate than it raises in funding.

Prescriptions are free in Scotland and Wales so why not England?

Yes, people should pay their own way.

Rees-Mogg

The prescription thing is a hot potato. I'm entitled to free prescriptions (thyroid issue). I always pay, and doing so means quizzing by the pharmacist every bloody time.

chopper23 - I watch the group on fb, when I first joined I genuinely thought it would be helpful to me. However there is a general air of "grabbyness" about the group but it is entertaining (which is why I am still there).

Thank you for summing it up perfectly in you last post.

They'd be having conniptions if they ever had to come and live in Ireland. We pay for our GP visits, we pay to be admitted to hospital, we pay a maximum amount per month on prescriptions...and we pay our taxes which goes to the health service which has some of the worst waiting times on trolleys and for particular services, for example scoliosis treatment. We spend so much money on it but it is far from being a beacon of what a good health service should be.

I'm surprised by some of these posts. You have to fill in a declaration printed on the prescription, and they do check up.
People on low incomes get free prescriptions because they cant afford to pay.

It's more like 90% of prescriptions are free, because the people entitled to them for free are disproportionately more likely to need them (children, elderley, pregnant and nursing mothers, those with chronic conditions, plus also those on very low income and of course free contraceptives).

Of the few that do pay, no-one needs to pay more than £10 a month because if you need them regularly, you can get a prepayment card. So I can't get worked up about the cost of prescriptions because it's only ever going to be a small amount of money for people who do pay.

But I do wonder if any money is actually saved with the current system. If they were all free, they could do away with the checks on making sure people with free prescriptions are actually entitled to them and the costs of running the prepayment scheme.

Maybe they should go this way and then put effort into making sure medicines aren't wasted - doctors and pharmacists asking patients if they are using all the medicines prescribed and encouraging those who can pay for cheap things to do so - maybe don't prescribe things that can be bought for less than £1 unless someone is on a very low income for example - stops people getting a prescription for cheap painkillers.

When people don't pay for things, they often build up huge stocks of things that are never used because they don't always see that it still costs the NHS to prescribe them.

I knew exactly which Facebook group you were talking about before you even said.

AlltheGood, the NHS most certainly do check up! I have a lifelong debilitating condition and have a repeat prescription which my local pharmacy sort out every month. I have to show my exemption card every single time and even though they know me, greet me by name before I even get to the counter, know my husband and daughter, and have known us all for over 10 years, even with all that I have to show my card and if I don't then I have to pay and claim it back.

YANBU. I know many people on a personal level who are always trying to find ways to get out of paying for things they should be. I know a fair few who don't pay for subscriptions, they have told me "oh I just fill in the box to say I get it free, and I've never been caught out"
I've a family member who found out that when her son turned 5 and started school, then she could no longer claim income support and would have to actively seek work whilst claiming JSA, so she went to her GP and claimed severe depression and got signed off as too unfit to work.
When I was nearing the end of my maternity and struggling financially as I'm a single parent, I got into quite a bit of debt with my Gas, Electric and water bills. A friend of the family told me I could claim through a government scheme and they'd pay off all of my debts. I told her I'd rather not as I'd gotten myself into the mess so I had to get myself out, and she told me she had done it twice from 2 different addresses for over £1500 each time, and that I was just too proud and stupid.