To think life shouldn’t be easier for those on benefits than those who work?

[Alwaysoverdrawn]

obviously not including the disabled, elderly etc in this

I am so fed up of being poor so I looked into doing an access course to increase my earning potential. My sister is doing one and is currently on benefits, she gets it for free with her childcare paid.

Having spoken to them, we earn too much to be considered for help. Having looked into mine and my sisters finances I think this is frankly bloody ridiculous. We are worse off than her ffs.

We make around £2,500 NET p/m, £1000 rent, £900 childcare -2 adults, 2 kids. So £600 ‘disposable’ pm with a lot of debts to pay.

She gets £670pm plus her full rent paid and a council tax reduction for her and one child.

AIBU to think life shouldn’t be ‘easier’ for those on benefits than those who work?

DP hasn’t been to the dentist despite needing to for years as he can’t afford treatment, I’m really down today. Seriously considering moving out so that I can claim benefits and get out of this horrible rut.

@CantankerousCamel your recent posts are bizarre. There are plenty of people on benefits where I live. I do volunteer work with some of them. But I just don't presume they're "fiddling the system" like some people on this thread do because I don't know their home situations. It's none of my business.

You can choose to be bitter about people who have no job prospects, no financial security and nothing to leave their children in the future or choose to be happy with your own life. I choose to be happy with mine.

Oh I’m not suggesting you ‘lie’ about your OH being there. I’m suggesting if you don’t get why the refusal on behalf of people like graph and freq to see the reality of this situation is completely infuriating, then just have a look on entitled to at what would be available to you if your husband wasn’t there and busting his arse to support you

Um, I am a single, low-income, working parent. It's a bit disingenuous to tell me I have no understanding of my own reality. I was much better off, financially, as a two-parent family.

Well looking at entitled to I certainly wouldn’t be better off as a single parent

@Frequency me too. But apparently anyone who doesn't have neighbours who "fiddle the system" is posh and has no idea about real life.

I want to know where all these people are who aren't working but getting benefits.
Surely, they are made to find work, sign on and meet the requirements of UC, jump through the many hoops they have to before they get any money.

My ex husband earns a lot of money. Way more than what I get with my wages and WTC. I'd be better off with him!

Husband earns £35k. I am far better off with him living away and giving me £800 a month in child maintenance. Fortunately I love the guy and so he is with us.

But I have been in that situation and know you’re better off.

And you think everyone is entitled to that much maintenance 😂 lots of people don’t get anything at all, I’ve been waiting 22 years to get some for my eldest.

@CantankerousCamel my exh earns more than that and I get less than £800pm in maintenance because he has another child from a previous relationship so the amount is halved between me and his other ex partner. So everyone's situation is different. And a lot of fathers out there get away with not paying maintenance at all!

I've just (as in about 5 seconds ago) received an email from my ex asking if I can explain why I should get my £125 maintenance this month. I've just bought one child glasses, the other shoes and promised one a school trip, so apparently, unless I am able to explain where all this 'extra' money came from, he won't be paying me because I clearly don't need his money.

I replied, "Great, no problem. Thanks for letting me know. I'll get on to the Child Maintenance Options people now."

That usually put the shits up him but I expect this months money will be late or short or both.

My daughters idiot dad pays £156 a month and rang up cms and told them he's stopping payment as she turned 18 he got told no as she does 12 hours a week on a Sen course at college.. Bet he was gutted

And you are NOT "working poor" if you're on £35k a year. There are couples out there who barely make that between them. That is working poor.

Frequency, I noticed you said "my" maintenance. You should remind your charming ex that it's the dc's maintenance, not yours! Repeat whenever necessary. If the money is short next time, ask him why he's financially neglecting his dc. A friend did this, and it worked.

Oh I don’t think we are working poor, we no longer have to claim tax credits, I would say we are doing pretty well and I definitely don’t expect to receive anything from anyone.

However it’s not always been this way, also £35k equates to less than the figure mentioned in the OP.

But plenty are living in poverty, while working and while those not working are lifted out of it.

Some of us are able to see those people’s struggles and acknowledge them rather than calling people liars

@CantankerousCamel nowhere did I call anyone a liar. My issue with this thread was with the benefits bashing. Because those people are struggling too.

I appreciate what you are saying but life on benefits isn't easier. I currently live in emergency accommodation in a converted warehouse on an industrial estate. I have one tiny room that has no cooker or freezer. Admittedly the rent for this is fully paid but I only get £231 per month for myself and my 1 month old child

Nobody is saying that benefits are amazing for everyone, but some people get a really fucking easy ride. If they lie about disability, if they are savvy enough to play the system and if they have kids, it offers a better standard of life than you can get even on the mean income of the nation. That’s what needs to be addressed, not people getting less but those who are in the middle squeezed bracket, helped

Camel I don't know why your posts have changed tone today but please note that OP 's original post was discounting disabilities. So she was talking about basic benefit.

Tbh the 99% is being stitched up like a kipper by the 1% with all the power and the money.
Huge companies pay trivial tax whilst small businesses are crippled by taxation and business rates.

Fighting and blame games between working people and those on benefits are encouraged by and serve the elite.

Why do we stand for it?
We should stand together.
It's supposed to be a democracy so why are we the 99% complicit in agreeing to be shafted by the 1%?
Why do we stand by and allow the super rich to get richer whilst everyone else gets poorer?
It's still feudal times in the UK seemingly.

Good questions Snog. And dare I say it (without being told to wear my tin foil hat) but a bit of mass brainwashing in my opinion.

Cantankerous is using this thread to aid her grievances about her disability benefit fraudsters but the OP wasn’t complaining about this and unfortunately, a good discussion got derailed.

^air not aid

Yep because it sooooo easy to claim disability benefits. I tried to get pip for my disability on which I got high rate DLA and the assessor made me feel like shit and told a bunch of lies and they totally discounted what my doctors had said. My consultants is disgusted. The whole process was that rotten I didn’t appeal as it made me so depressed

@tillytop, Unfortunately, I don't think he cares about his children therefore doesn't give a shiny shit about neglecting them. He's only interested in them if he thinks he can wind me up. He does buy them things but only ever to get at me.

For example, two days after I paid £125 for DD to get the glasses she wanted, and a day after I asked him to contribute towards the cost of them (which he refused to do - he paid for them anyway, that's what CM is for) he spent £180 on a pair of a trainers for her. She didn't need trainers. I'd just bought her some a few weeks ago. She did need school shoes. He refused to pay towards school shoes because he'd just bought trainers.

His other DD wants trainers. He sent me a message telling me either he picks cheap ones them or I pay half. He knows I'll pay towards the ones she wants to avoid resentment building up between her and her sister.

What is wrong with these "fathers"? Frequency keep going, bet you're doing a great job without him.