Do people really think PIP claimants are fraudsters?!

[Greedybilly]

As someone with a chronic illness in the middle of claiming PIP I think it's important to point out it's very stressful to go through the process and actually get the benefit.
To those who were inferring it's an easy blag - I would say yes there will always be a few scammers who claim fraudulently ( though god knows how tbh?) the majority have to struggle for years/go through appeals/give up.
Just saying this for balance as I feel MN is turning slghtly into the Daily Fail.

😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 Zero self awareness from you as expected! You have made foolish remarks throughout this entire thread.

Exactly. The narrative that there are thousands of people out there conning the system is factually incorrect. Regardless of this, people just love punching down and will continue this tedious benefit scrounger rhetoric regardless of evidence to the contrary.

People don’t notice those that are claiming legitimately though do they? People who are blind or in a wheelchair etc no one bats an eyelid do these people are forgotten. It’s the people blagging a tenuous mental health condition that people remember so they stick in the mind more.

Surely everyone realises the majority of PIP claims are valid?

You have no idea about how many people are coming the system. There is absolutely no way you can claim that the assertion that are thousands doing it is 'factually incorrect'. For you to claim this you would need access to accurate figures on PIP fraud which nobody has. The DWP figures are undoubtedly just scratching the surface as they haven't utilised a methodology that would reasonably catch all or even most of the potential fraudsters.

Or daring to use PIP/DLA for private therapy. That was my favourite.

It’s already inaccessible for some - I’m one of them.

Again, if you think you know better than the people paid to do the job, go apply to the DWP fraud department and show them the error of their ways ,seeing how you know SO much more about this than they do.

I said this on the other thread i linked earlier.

PIP is paid into the same bank account that my UC, my Child Benefit, and my Carers allowance is paid into. Out of that Bank account i pay out EVERYTHING.

Why is it 'a bad use of tax payers money' if i say its coming out of my PIP, rather than out of my Carers Allowance? Its come from the same pot of money in my bank account. You may as well say that me spending my money on a cake or a new dress is bad use.

I'm not sure why ANYONE thinks they have a right to police how i budget my monthly outgoings from my monthly income just because i happen to be Disabled.

Or your claim must have been fraudulent if you found the process straight forward.

I think some people here are missing the lockdowns and curtain twitching.

I really couldn’t care less about your own ridiculous aggressive musings and there have been plenty coming from your end

I know you are trying to be sarcastic but don't you understand that the nature of PIP means that it isn't as simple as showing the DWP the error of their ways? They know full well that if they could mount 24/7 surveillance on claimants and interrogate their friends and family then the chances are this would flush out most of the frauds. This isn't practical or ethical so instead they rely on people being stupid enough to put obvious evidence in the public domain that contradicts their claim or pretty ineffective data matching. None of these methods would catch a smart fraudster but what else can they realistically do? The fact you are naive enough to believe that the DWP have anywhere near enough resource and powers to begin to really weed out the fraudsters makes me think you don't understand how fraud regarding this benefit works at all. It's not the same as other benefits at all where there is nearly always some kind of clear audit trail that will prove fraudulent activity.

Yes, everyone knows how the system works. It seems you get a lot of benefits and some of these benefits you are only eligible for because you are disabled and have needs that are significantly different to the average person. You therefore will have an income that is significantly different than the average person on benefits in your situation.

Is it unreasonable to expect that you spend the additional money you receive on things that are specifically related to your additional needs? If not, why then should you morally be eligible for these additional benefits when someone in your exact situation that isn't disabled doesn't get the additional money for nail appointments etc too? Disability benefits are intended to create a more equal playing field, not to afford some people luxuries that lots of working people can't afford whilst others on benefits (and working) are struggling to eat or heat their homes.

There is not 'morality' in the spending of money you legitimately have on anything you want and need.

Therein lies your issue, that you seem to believe that people in receipt of disability benefit have some moral obligation to have to justify what their money is spent on.

I don't! HTH.

So let's have a thread on universal credit or child benefit for once why is it always pip.

I totally agree with that. They should all be treated the same

and ftr.. yes i do spend my pip on hairdressing, because i am not capable of doing my own hair beyond washing it in the shower and letting it dry.. can't hold a hair dryer any more. I'm not going to apologise for wanting to feel like a human being who is clean, tidy & well presented, despite being in crippling pain 24/7

However, i also spend it on my wheelchair, my crutches, the extra fuel and maintenance of my car, the food i buy pre-cut, because i can't slice/cut food well any more, the takeaway food/delivery on the nights i'm too tired/in too much pain to cook. the delivery charges on any online shopping i do, because i am too tired/in too much pain to go shopping.
My physiotherapy i have 2-3 times a month, the braces i need for my ankles and wrists that wear out and need replacing regularly, the pads for my crutches, the rubber stoppers on my crutches, the specialist cuffs i need so i don't DROP my crutches.
the tyre repair/replacments on my wheelchair, the adapted bags, clothes, and shoes i need to help me dress and carry stuff.

would you like me to carry on to prove i justify where my money goes each month?

Universal credit accounts for 19.4% of government spending pip is only 4%

You seem to believe that disabled people have an unalienable entitlement to this money. They don't. Look at the results of the poll on this thread and other polls like this. Public opinion is turning and in an environment of painful tax increases and public service cuts the general population want to know their money is being spent well. Nail appointments almost certainly won't cut the mustard and will unfortunately add to the narrative that disability benefits can and should be cut without causing too much hardship to recipients. Of course this won't be true for all or even most disabled people but the insistence by people like you that any use of public money is legitimate isn't helping.

Universal credit replaced lots of legacy benefits though such as housing benefit,, tax credits and ESA so it makes sense it is higher and that the amount is still getting higher. Some people are still migrating over from ESA.
A huge chunk of that is also on rent. Top ups for rent could be a whole new thread.

It's people like you who aren't helping. This is the last response i will make to you, because quite frankly, your opinions on the disabled disgust me.

You can join the pile of people who seem to think that being disabled makes us less than human, and not allowed to live a decent, comfortable, happy life, and who i will waste no more of my finite, precious spoons on.

You don't get to add me to that pile just because I don't agree that nail appointments are a good use of taxpayer money. I have never once denigrated disabled people or implied that they are less than. I don't think nail appointments are a good use of money for anyone. I will never be convinced otherwise.

Someone gets awarded PIP. They are not asked what they will spend the money on and they are not at any point asked what they have spent their money on.
It does not matter what some poll on MN says. That is how the system is.
Like the other poster said, PIP goes into your bank account and it just part of the general household pot. For some people that will be their wages too.

But why is the government aka me the tax payer paying people's rent if people can't afford their rent they can move somewhere cheaper i can't not be disabled anymore. Disabled people don't have that choice so why are people repeatedly coming for Disabled people especially when the fraud rate of universal credit is so high

Disabled people are proportionately more likely to be claiming all these other benefits you seem to be railing against as well. Arguably most disabled people would be more adversely impacted by these kinds of reforms regarding housing benefit etc than they would be any reforms regarding PIP.

Not payng peoples rent but paying private landlords mortgages.