To think this is just wrong..?

[Maria1979]

I know of a couple with 3 children who are currently living in a new apartment provided by the city I live in. On the paper none of them works but they are both working full-time. Her husband bragged infront of the school about holiday plans to a luxurous resort for one month (!) and I just wanted to tell him to alleast have the decency to shut up about it. They get child benefits but also benefits from not working as well as housing benefits. This has nothing to do with me and it's not like I'm going to report them but does he have to rub it in? OK, Im jeallous, we cant afford to go anywhere this year but at the same token we arent stealing tax payer's money either so we can look ourselves in the mirror every day. What do you think ? Would this annoy you too or is it just me?

Aye.

No it would not annoy me as I leave jealousy for children to feel

I have struggling family members and friends with 2 working parents and I also know of a few lazy couples who don’t work for no reason other than laziness who manage to afford more than those working. Yes it’s natural to be peeved but jealousy doesn’t bring anything good to your life, worry about what you have x

They both work full time but can get a month off?

They both work full time, but claim benefits, so they would have to attend appointments and interviews in between their full time hours and prove they are looking for work.

I don't know.....seems like one of those benefit bashing threads that are unrealistic and designed to whip up a frenzy to me.

Report them or decide to get over

I suspect you know nothing of their circumstances

If they can do it, so can you

Don't you remember Ferris Bueller:
"why does he get to ditch school and I don't?"

"You could ditch..."

"Yeah but I'd get caught!"

"Then you're problem...is you"

😁

If they're claiming unemployment benefit and they both work full time then either report it or get over it

However, I know many, many people who work and live in social housing. That's not a crime and there's nothing wrong in it

OP may be working on a plot for their latest novel.

Report them for benefit fraud then

https://www.gov.uk/report-benefit-fraud

How do you know what benefits they are claiming? Job seekers isn't enough to pay for a months holiday and there are loads, I would say the majority of people who live in social housing but also work. Lots of people who work and need to claim benefits (unfortunately).

There are also lots of people who are up to their eyeballs in debt, it will catch up with them eventually.

How do you know they get ‘unemployed’ benefits and not top ups? Either you know these people very well and they’ve trusted you with this information or you’re actually misinformed/don’t have full disclosure. Child benefit doesn’t even come into it unless their ‘just take a month off’ jobs also earn them over 60k a year. Not sure what ‘and housing benefits’ means since it’s all under the same umbrella these days…

I wish MN did a guide on the proper way to respond to these threads. There are a lot of people breaking with convention and trying to make sense of the OP rather than froth apoplectically, spew some bile on the vulnerable before declaring their devotion to the cult of conservatism. At least I think that was teh word I heard.

Oh aye. Do you also tell people who are depressed to just, I dunno, stop being depressed?

I recently found out that the husband of someone I know really well went to prison for embezzlement a few years ago. I understood him to be working overseas for a few months!

Do they keep a goat though?

Do you know so much about them because you're close? That's why you don't want to report them?

"On the paper none of them works"
What paper?

Some people have big gobs and can get themselves into trouble.

.

It’s been a while since we had a benefits bashing thread.
Said no one ever.

You may wish to check out David Thorne ... in particular his blog about doing work for free ....

It never ceases to amaze me how some posters on Mumsnet seem to know sooooooooooooo much about the lives of their neighbours/acquaintances. From the ages of their children, to their wedding anniversary date, their middle names, their N.I. number, their income, their outgoings, the price of their rent, how much universal credit and housing benefit they get etc, and how much they spend on frivolous shit, computers, smokes, booze, holidays, playStations, iphones, netflix, amazon, apple tv etc etc...

Mind your own business @Maria1979 Their life is absolutely nothing to do with you. Get a life. 🙄

My ex best friend was saying she was a single parent and not working, whilst her DP was actually living with her FT and they were both working cash in hand jobs.

So they got benefits and 2 decent wages coming in.

I was a single parent working FT time and struggling to pay my rent each month, whilst they both had cars, went on holiday regularly and always bragged about how much cash they had.

It’s one thing to do it, but it’s so shitty to brag and laugh about how good you’ve got it.
(Especially when they knew I was struggling as a real single parent).

I was definitely jealous and bitter about it and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Because it’s people like them that give people who do need to claim a bad name and those that genuinely need it are sometimes not given it or have to jump through hoops.

So report them for benefit fraud...

Then they can pay it back and it can go to those who genuinely need it.

What if the holiday is a gift from a relative though, or as a result of inheritance from someone in the family passing? :S

Just because a family are receiving those benefits and aren't working or on paper aren't working doesn't necessarily mean that they've spent their benefits on the holiday and are taking the mick - The FT work they're in may not meet the threshold for benefits deduction so it may not count as FT work even though you see it as FT work.
They could well have hidden disability that means they cannot work in the normal way.
It doesn't exactly sound like you're keen on getting to know them beyond the very surface level to know for certain one way or the other tbh - You could always ask if it's genuinely bothering you that much?