AIBU to feel annoyed about discounted attractions for benefit claimants?

[Sheldonsheher]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15721199/Benefit-claiming-families-UK-attractions-working-Brits.html

I know I’ll get slated as the origin is the daily fail but, but this kind of annoys me too! I mean as a single parent I don’t want to pay £60 to go to the zoo either.

Then as I said earlier - why is your thread not titled - AIBU to think the zoo should be cheaper. Or AIBU to think the cost of living is so high I can't afford to pay for a day out.

Rather than demonising benefit claimants unnecessarily?

@op we have an average income, we can't afford regular trips to the zoo. I still do not begrudge a family who has less than me getting a freebie. I just can't bring myself to be that selfish.

I hope you had a great time

If it wasn't for the offer I wouldn't be able to go either. No real difference in the situation.

You don't want to go on benefits to go to the zoo for £1, but you do want to stop people on benefits from going to the zoo for £1.

You sound like a toddler that doesn't want to give their little sibling an outgrown toy. I don't want it but you can't have it either.

I don't agree with this. I wouldn't willing subsidise this kind of thing.

Discounted tickets always affect those who pay full price! They pay more to cover the loss. It’s economic reality of running a business.

The big issue is that families just above the benefits level are severely punished. They get nothing and they are worse off than people on benefits. Add up school meals, discounts, paid for school trips, paying more for dc at university etc and many other things and there is a big problem: it puts people off working. The poverty trap is real and it’s those just above the benefits level. They are most out of pocket and work does not pay.

How are working people ‘punished’ because others are getting something you’re not? It’s a bizarre way to see things, and smacks of entitlement.

Am I being punished by someone who wins the lottery? Or someone who gets a few tins of shit food from a food bank? It’s just pure malice.

Because they have upped the price for everyone else to cover these discounts.

You are not.

How do you prove you can't afford it to the zoo? You can't.

How do you define "can't afford it"? Cash in the bank but other priorities? No cash in the bank because it's all tied up in long-term savings accounts? High wage earners who have large mortgages and private school fees, leaving little for days out? How about someone on a low wage. What if they have a high wage partner? What if they don't have a job? But they're supported by rich parents who pay for their house and credit card?

What is very easy to do, however, is prove you claim UC, which almost certainly means you're on very low income and genuinely can't afford it.

This is what people don’t understand. I have no issues with low income families getting discounts to help with accessibility etc. but £1 entry when everyone else is paying £30+ is a piss take. The gap needs to be closed a bit.

No they don’t! You really don’t understand how charities are run. Without initiatives like this, they wouldn’t be a charity, they’d just be a business. They are able to claim far more in grants etc than it costs them to let a few people in for nothing. It is profitable for them to do this. They’d probably charge the rest of us even more if they weren’t getting revenue from grants.

Have they?
By how much?
Are the prices more affected by the UC discounts or all the other discounts they offer?
Is it an extra 1p on your ticket to cover UC or an extra £1? or £10? Is it anything at all?

How much does the discount for groups up the prices? What about the discount for schools? What about childminder discounts or home educator discounts or NHS discounts?
I feel like we need to know what we're talking about.

Luckily you don't have to then. The attractions offering it aren't tax payer funded.

Chester Zoo do the UC tickets 17th-25th December.
That is a very small window in which to go.

And are you opposed to helping those in need generally?

If the UC tickets get more expensive will that make the standard ticket cheaper?

Doesn’t matter - the large gap between £1 and everyone else paying £30+ is still

No I think days out should be accessible for everyone
not £4 for one family £100 for another
that is not fair at all
in what world is that fair
just because people don’t claim stuff doesn’t automatically mean they are loaded
ALL KIDS deserve nice affordable days out

What discounts are you willing to subsidise?

I don't think the issue is people not understanding this. The title of the thread is AIBU to feel annoyed about discounted attractions for benefit claimants?

So yes, some people clearly DO have an issue with low income families getting discounts.

These are private businesses, who can charge what they like. If you think full price is too expensive, or you don't agree with discounts - don't visit. There'll be a similar attraction elsewhere not offering the same.

It’s still not fair that large gap

Is the zoo not a charity just by supporting the animals? And animal conservation? Anyway.

How many people actually pay full price for these places? Most I know wait until there is some sort of suitable offer for them be that £1 tickets, discounts for locals or breakfast cereal 2 for 1!