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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

For being FED UP that people are living in council houses & on benefits, yet some how can afford to go on a holiday every year??

289 replies

cleo43 · 11/04/2008 01:34

I have had it with lazy shites that sit in the house that I & my dh ( the tax payer) pay for , living on money that I & my dh ( the tax payer ) make possible, having more than I have!!

Perhaps it's a little bit of a green eyed monster going on here ,but, this evening my neighbour that lives in a council house & on benefits has been round to show me her new car and ask me to look after "her" house when she and her husband ( plus the two children and a grandchild) go on holiday next week!!
I am sick of it. It was only last month that she was dragging me in to see her new giant flat screen tv!!
We can't afford these things yet we have to pay for these idiots to have them??

OP posts:
amytheearwaxbanisher · 11/04/2008 01:40

doesnt seem right but i quess you cant tar everyone with the same brush if she is in a council house and married ho is she getting benifits?

Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 01:54

Because he is on "jobseekers" as has been for the last three years I have known him! Apparantly flicking through the paper quickly whislt in the pub counts as seeking a job!
I don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush. I have a few friends that are single mums and in other situations and absolutely deserve every penny that they get, and more, however, I think if you are a couple with or without kids and are able then there is no excuse. I have so often heard "I can't get a job". Well macdonalds and alike are always offering!! AIBU?

OP posts:
amytheearwaxbanisher · 11/04/2008 01:58

no not if there are two adults at home for three years that could work i didnt realise jobseekers paid enough to afford a holiday a new car and a flat screen tv

YouCantHideFromTheFlipside · 11/04/2008 02:01

Bitchy!

Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 02:12

Amy, nor did I. It should not be possible.

OP posts:
Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 02:12

Bitchy???

OP posts:
YouCantHideFromTheFlipside · 11/04/2008 02:35

It's a nasty judgey post to be honest, read it back and tell me I am wrong.

Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 02:42

YES, IMO you are wrong. Tell me why you think it is "a nasty judgey post".

OP posts:
YouCantHideFromTheFlipside · 11/04/2008 02:45

Sigh.

Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 02:51

Sigh? I take it you agree then?

OP posts:
Original poster
cleo43 · 11/04/2008 03:10

Or perhaps not FLIP , but, For the record I know these people well and am not making assumptions about their situation and I have told her exactly what I think.

OP posts:
seeker · 11/04/2008 06:10

These things are not possible on jobseekers benefit alone. It may be that sh is getting other benefits if she is looking after her grandchild?

If you thing she is claiming fraudulently because she and her partner are actually working and claiming then you are within your rights to report them. But be careful. Be sure thst the TV and car and holidays are not being paid for by other members of the family.

KelaS · 11/04/2008 06:54

Of course, just because someone pays for something, does not mean they can afford it - for all you know they may be running up massive credit card/hire purchase debts that they are going to struggle to pay off.

windygalestoday · 11/04/2008 07:21

Why should people on benefits not have nice things? maybe they are in debt to buy these things? clearly if she had the money and the ttus she wouldnt 'show off' what she had - mybe you chose to invest in property as a long term financial plan-i dont for a minute think tht these things are paid for on jobseekers allowance in fct i know very little about modern dhss applictions but im sure its no joy HAVING to survive on that money- whose to say shes not eting value soup every night and sitting in a cold house to fund wht she might see as her last piece of social stnding.
My friend is on benefits and takes great pride in her home doing 1 room at a time using catalogues so much so she existes on 6 ready meals for £5 all week and her children eat spaghetti and beans or ravioli most nights to fund it.

LaComtesse · 11/04/2008 07:42

I agree perception of poverty has shifted in recent years so now being without a top of the range TV has been ranked as being "poor" but I'd be loathe to deny anyone a holiday, whether they worked or not. We all need a break from time to time.

In the case you instance you are the best person to judge since you know them.

TotalChaos · 11/04/2008 07:43

get an evening job at McDonalds to pay for it then. or go on benefits yourself since you reckon it's such a fine life.

Oblomov · 11/04/2008 07:50

Mumsnet has a very odd view odf these things. Everyones assumption is to defend them and suggest that their friends and family are paying for these extras.
I know that there are plenty of mumsnetters who are on benefits. Everything is legit and none of us have a problem with that. But i think it clouds our judgement. Not everyone plays by the rules.
Where I live, lots of people are on benefits, making extra money all over th eplace and are quite brazen and open about what they do. I wonder what mumsntters would make of this ?
Give up on this discussion. Mumsnetters defend too much on this issue. It will end badly.

moreJellothanJlo · 11/04/2008 07:52

cleo43, my neighbours are exactly what/who you are talking about and it pisses me off too
they seem to have no morals about not working and are now onto their third child, so they'll be raking it in (she actually told me she can't afford to work )

moreJellothanJlo · 11/04/2008 07:54

thye are on jobseekers, housing benefit, council tax benefit, god knows what else, she told me she couldn't earn enough to pay her as much as she gets on benefits so she doesn't see why she should try to get a job (but pockets the jobseekers allowance anyway)

moreJellothanJlo · 11/04/2008 07:56

also(I'm mad now!!) I work for minimum wage £5.52 an hour and she told me she wouldn't work for a pittance like that!

SmugColditz · 11/04/2008 08:02

use entitled to to check out the rates on benefits. £59.15 PW is the rate for 1 adult claiming jobseekers.

YOu say she has a new car ... perhaps it is a mobility car? In which case one of her children need it.

I am on benefits, and I am going on holiday in August. Yes I, feckless jobless scum, will be spending your hard earned cash while enjoying myself, and indulging my children to boot.

And I'm sure I know the bit that really rankles! We (the feckless jobless poor) are completely unaccountable to you, The Great Providers. We don't have to tell you where that money came from, or who paid for it, or how we have managed to scrape it together, or how long we will be paying Provident back for - you have no right to know!

If she's committing benefit fraud - shop her. She's not stealing from You, The Taxpayer. The government would be taking it from you anyway. She's stealing from me, The Poor. There is only so much to go around and liars make sure there is less of it, and inspire hatred amongst people who would maybe otherwise be quite happy to chat to a single mother on benefits in the playground.

bambi06 · 11/04/2008 08:03

we have a neighbour too thats on benefits, single guy thats at college drives a sporty car and keeps changing cars[new ones!! has designer gear. drycleans his clothes and is on benefits!!!how come..weve had to save up for years to just get our new[secondhand]car !!!

FrannyandZooey · 11/04/2008 08:05

great post

moreJellothanJlo · 11/04/2008 08:05

no one is discussing you colditz, I was discussing my neighbour, the op discussing her neighbour

Oblomov · 11/04/2008 08:06

It always astonishes me that mumsnetters do not know people who cheat the system.
Plenty of people claim all sorts of benefits, do a bit cleaning, buy and sell cars, things that are not very traceable. And this allows them to live the life of riley.
Plenty of wifeswap type programmes have shown, clearly, finances that have been very well examined, to show that certain families on benefits have more disposable income than a family working very hard. This has been shown time and time and time again.
But Mumsnet refuses to see this, when these kind of discussions come up.

Mumsnet often looks at people as if they are all as genuine/caring/honest as most of us are.
But most people are just NOT.
It is a mystery to me, thats for sure.

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