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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be gutted at losing my benefit

491 replies

Clappingforjoy · 03/12/2020 19:05

I am going to inherit some money from sale of parents house and have told universal credit to close my claim but I'm gutted about it.
I have always struggled never had 2 Penny's to rub together and it just so happens I will go over the 16000 mark with this money and know i must sound greedy but my income is very low and i am scared this money will all go on living costs.

OP posts:
LokiOdinson · 03/12/2020 23:06

@Mrgrinch do I have to quote myself here to specify what I actually said or are you just gonna cherry pick?

" If I forced myself, I could probably work. I have a degree. Finding a job is another matter entirely but it would be incredibly detrimental to my physical and mental wellbeing to try and work."

" but it would be incredibly detrimental to my physical and mental wellbeing to try and work"

thelake · 03/12/2020 23:08

@lokiOdinson everyone deserves what they can afford. Afford meaning they can actually purchase without it being detrimental. Unfortunately, society paints the picture that everyone deserves what everyone else is having. Consumer debt and credit card usage is absolutely insane! My mother in law tells me in 'her day' people didn't buy on credit in the same way as nowadays.

thelake · 03/12/2020 23:09

Also, I don't see why some people think they are special. It is detrimental to a lot of people to do their jobs but they suck it up and get in with it.

timeforanewstart · 03/12/2020 23:09

@rockhopper20 but there are lots of small business who will struggle to survive if min wage goes up go high , not all business owners are super rich
Houses should never of been allowed to go up so quick and become so out of line
25 years ago I lived in london and earnt £19000 you could buy a 2 bed flat for £65000 now same job pays around £35000 the same 2 bed flat £325000 , there lies a lot of the problems . Why house prices were allowed to rise so much is silly , building more coumcil/ social housing at the time could of helped as demand for houses would of been less , allowing 100% interest only mortgages so people bought a house they could never afford etc , was allowed to go on , all things goverment at the time could of intervened in

justgeton · 03/12/2020 23:11

@thelake

Also, I don't see why some people think they are special. It is detrimental to a lot of people to do their jobs but they suck it up and get in with it.

Yep

LokiOdinson · 03/12/2020 23:11

Also, I don't see why some people think they are special. It is detrimental to a lot of people to do their jobs but they suck it up and get in with it.

I spend 4/7 days on average in bed for most of the day in pain. By detrimental I mean I would physically not be able to do anything once I got home except try to go to sleep. I nearly failed university because of my health issues and it's up to my doctors and myself, not some rando on the internet, to decide what's physically healthy and possible for me. This is why ableism is so rife in the world.

yellowcatss · 03/12/2020 23:12

[quote ricecookie]@justgeton the amount of money that taxpayers are paying out due to benefit fraud is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the cash that taxpayers are paying out to large businesses in order to prop them up.[/quote]
what are you talking about?

Mosell · 03/12/2020 23:12

I don’t think its particularly fair to expect everyone else to buy you a house because you choose to not improve your earning potential

There are many vital jobs that do not pay enough to buy a house. There used to be sufficient council housing so those on lower wages would still have secure housing. This is not the case for many now. What do we do as a society if no one works in the lower paid jobs? The pandemic has shown us how important jobs at all levels are.

As so many low paid now have to privately rent and get housing benefit/UC towards the rent this can cost the State over a lifetime a lot more than if the person saved their WTC and bought a house.

Mrgrinch · 03/12/2020 23:13

@thelake are you sure you meant to tag me in that post?

@lokiOdinson no- I'll quote you.
Benefits are a choice to me
You can't say that and then go on a tirade at someone for not knowing about your long list of conditions that you did not mention. People are not psychic. Saying that you could "probably" work but you think it would be detrimental sounds to me as if you haven't bothered to try.

Mrgrinch · 03/12/2020 23:15

I nearly failed university because of my health issues
See, how do you expect people to magically just know that information. Especially when you say you could work because you "have a degree".

justgeton · 03/12/2020 23:15

[quote Mrgrinch]@thelake are you sure you meant to tag me in that post?

@lokiOdinson no- I'll quote you.
Benefits are a choice to me
You can't say that and then go on a tirade at someone for not knowing about your long list of conditions that you did not mention. People are not psychic. Saying that you could "probably" work but you think it would be detrimental sounds to me as if you haven't bothered to try.[/quote]
Nobody should be able to 'choose' benefits. Having a 'choice' means you have an alternative. You should be made to do the alternative imo

ricecookie · 03/12/2020 23:18

@timeforanewstart the minimum wage issue is not an unresolvable problem. For example, you could have differential minimum wages by size of companies rather than by age as we do now, etc. There are many different ways around it but the government is not thinking about small businesses especially as those have been disappearing due to other macroeconomic developments.

House prices have not gone up by magic or through a process of unintended consequences. It was a deliberate policy a) to prop up construction firms through help to buy, b) to keep their own constituents happy who saw their house price go up - even though in practice that meant that neither they nor their kids could now afford the next rug on the ladder, c) a lot of people in the right places have made a lot of cash out of it.

Eng123 · 03/12/2020 23:21

It's not right to pay benefits to someone with large savings. I'm lucky and have a well paid job ( that I'm terrified to loose). I don't have savings of that size, if I do get a windfall it's not protected from having to be spent to meet our families needs.

MzHz · 03/12/2020 23:25

In the not too distant past I’ve been so broke I didn’t know how I was going to have petrol to get to work.

Life was me on a Hamster wheel, broken by the ex forcing me into debt to make ends meet, tax credits not listening to me and over paying me then clawing it back
Then council tax benefit did the same, LHA didn’t cover the rent and I had to find hundreds to make up the difference and still I didn’t qualify for benefits because on paper I earned too much.

It isn’t fair at all that someone claims benefits with £26k in the bank, it really isn’t.

Op I wish you all the best, but I had no space or support or possibilities to decide I could only manage x number of hours

You’re managing your life, and now things got a bit easier. You’ve been helped and supported because you needed it. Now it’s your time to support yourself for a bit. I agree, get a better car, get some therapy, retrain to do something for YOU, that can help you live better in the future

You have a huge opportunity to break the mould, do it for you, and for your relative.

Fly!

Whammyyammy · 03/12/2020 23:29

You need to look at both sides. People out there on minimum wage and zero savings and being taxed on that low income.

Should that tax be used to pay benefits to someone who has over £16k in the bank as they woukd like to keep the nest egg rather than support themselves?

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 03/12/2020 23:29

@Soontobe60. Where has op said
“She should still get benefits”. If that was the case she’d have probably kept her mouth shut and not told the benefits agency. ALso wether she inherited or earned it with that amount she wouldn’t entitled to anything. I can’t help thinking that was a sly dig about not earning tbh.

LokiOdinson · 03/12/2020 23:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MsPeachh · 03/12/2020 23:34

Hard one because I can see both sides of the argument. If someone had been saving hard for a deposit/ university degree or whatever suddenly lost their job and was forced to spend that money to live it seems very unfair. On the other hand, I can see why it might sting to see someone with more cash than a full-time working person in receipt of benefits.

OP, if the benefits worries were not a factor at all, what would you want to do with the money? Perhaps that will help you decide on the best thing to do with it.

Mrgrinch · 03/12/2020 23:36

[quote LokiOdinson]@Mrgrinch yes, quote the first sentence and ignore the rest of the context of the post! Cherry picking.[/quote]
Or just omit several details and then berate people for not knowing them.

Either you're trying to cause a stir by saying you're on benefits by choice, or you're unable to work and are therefore on benefits for a reason. Which would mean that you're not on them by choice.

Whammyyammy · 03/12/2020 23:42

@userxx

Put it in your childs account

Isn't that fraud ?

No, its called deprivation of capital. Will still be treated as still having the money, and rightly so.
LoveMyKidsAndCats · 03/12/2020 23:42

Benefits are for people who really need them though, and with £26,000 I think you'll be alright OP.

Original poster
Clappingforjoy · 03/12/2020 23:42

Yes I have declared I'm about to recieve the money because I dont really think I should still get it but I have been depressed about lack of money for a long long time and I'm terrified of seeing this money disappear

OP posts:
BoudiccaD · 03/12/2020 23:43

Have you got kids? Someone less scrupulous could put it in one of their bank accounts and carry on.

400rabbits · 03/12/2020 23:44

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Quotes a deleted post.

Original poster
Clappingforjoy · 03/12/2020 23:47

I get the anger some people are showing on here I myself know people who are claiming benefits as living on thier own when in fact they have some body living with them contributing and I have seen them inherit money it makes my blood boil

OP posts: