To be cheesed off with Universal Credit entry fees?

[MaturingCheeseball]

I know it’s been done before, but…

I thought I’d like to visit Chatsworth House with (teenage) dd. The cost is £33 each PLUS parking at £7.50. So £73.50.

Then I saw the universal credit/pension credit/pip etc price. THREE POUNDS. And free parking! So £6.00 for two adults (age 17+).

I do not have 12 times as much money as someone on these benefits. I doubt many people do. I’m not begrudging the disadvantaged a day out, but come on! The price differential is ludicrous.

When I saw the £73 price I just decided we couldn’t go, and so be it. But upon seeing the potential for a £6 entry, it made me feel mugged off.

You said:

I don’t begrudge the discounted tickets but the price gap between the subsidised and non subsidised really needs to be re-visited

You have no idea of the numbers involved, no idea how the schemes work, no idea of the operating costs or the conditions under which the schemes work but you confidently assert that the gap should be closed.

As PPs have done, you are making sweeping assumptions about both schems and business models without considering how such changes would actually work or if they are even possible.

Depends where you are buy the Days Out Guide is good for places offering 2-for-1 entry if you travel by train.

Lottery Open Doors days is also another good one to keep an eye on (similar to, but separate from Doors Open Days, which is usually September and has places open that aren’t normally open to the public).

The irony of you calling me angry when you're the one pissed off a tiny proportion of people are entitled to a discount 🤣

Yes people on pension credit get the discount but, surprise surprise, pensioners do not. Most people on pension credit get more money than those just on state pension so, again, how is that fair?

How would you prove eligibility if you were low income but not on benefits? The PP is correct, if your category is low income you need to prove it. In the absence of benefits statements you would need to prove income in some other way.

I think the perception of what disposable income actually is, has gone awry.

No, they don’t. Around 40% of UC claimants are in any kind of work. And of those, around 10% work 30 hours or more per week. Those are the governments own statistics.

I do think a lot of these places overcharge full stop.

Paying £30 plus per person to look at an old falling apart castle or stately home.

There is a place we used to visit a lot that asked for a donation, then a donation became a fiver, then it was £10. Free events became £15. Charged nursery’s £60 to decorate a Christmas tree each. Most of the visitors were locals who would pop in and give a donation and buy some food and drink in the cafe.

Now they complain footfall is down and the cafe isn’t making as much money.

But why is it great that one group is priced out and the other isn’t?

Perhaps what we should aim for is a happy medium, which seems to be what OP wants. Not a 12x difference.

Or to apply it to a different case: an Easyjet flight is not 12x more expensive for non-UC than UC passengers. Is it wrong that it’s not? What should the right ratio be? What’s the principle here?

I've sent you a PM

I have checked because like you say most of the time PIP isn’t included but it is here. However the dates are very limited, not an issue for us DH will take the day off work.

Surely the issue is the price rather than just the lower price for poor and disabled people?

Because PIP has nothing to do with income.

How do you figure that out ? Pension credit tops up to the minimum income guarantee threshold, which is £230 for a single person. Pension credit would only make someone better off than on state pension alone if their minimum guarantee threshold is raised because they are disabled and claiming a qualifying benefit.

I understand the resentment here. We both work full time and don't claim UC, but can't afford the entrance fee, or at least would have to think hard and prioritise to do so. The gap in price is very stark here and it doesnt seem right that it's so large.

I also don't understand the principle, to be honest. Yes I get that the thinking goes that enjoyable things in life shouldn't be out of the reach of people on low incomes but there are plenty of things out of the reach of people on high incomes but no demands for discounts.

As a single mum struggling financially and panicking about entertaining kids all summer I’m so excited to see that I can treat the kids to London zoo for just £20 the three of us. Thanks for this thread!

And yes I do work despite the attitude every person claiming universal credit is a scrounge: I am very grateful for universal credit as it helps to keep a roof over our heads.

YANBU OP. Price differences like that are so obviously unfair they invite criticism and create division.

Im all for these places being more accessible to people on low incomes but there has to be a better way of doing it. Schools or charities or foodbanks or GPs could issue vouchers where they can see there is a need.

This isn’t true though. A simple google search shows that less than a third of universal credit recipients (working age) are in any type of work. Of those that work, there are few that are full time. The AET threshold for hours for benefits is 18 hours at minimum wage per week. For a couple, the work requirements aren’t even for one set of full time hours between them.

OP I’m sorry you couldn’t go. It’s really not fair

I agree - not everyone is a freeloader. Many work incredibly hard. However, there are also those who choose to work less because the state then subsides them - this is annoying.

A family member on benefits has just had a boob job, I kid you not, and won’t work anymore hours as it’s not worth it. It is this small number that tarnishes those who need support through no lack of effort on their part.

I don’t know how you’d organise it so that those who put their efforts into playing the system can’t, whilst also protecting and supporting the genuine.

No-one's got a need to visit Chatsworth House! You could make a case for a museum or gallery but the national ones are free anyway.

It’s obvious why everything is so expensive, the prices (and tax) is ramped up for hard working people who don’t get any benefits to pay for all the discounts. I was amazed to be asked by Sky the other day if I was on UC as I would get discounts ( was removing items from our account). Sky to me is a luxury. I heard a guy on the radio saying that the better off should pay more for water to subsidise those on lower incomes.

It’s nothing to do with jealousy. It’s the fact people are getting up day on day out and working hard whilst others are choosing to work less hours and get all the top ups and discounts (only about 30-40% working full time get UC). I hope people vote with their feet, these venues will struggle to offer such generous discounts. Personally I’d never spend that sort of money on a place like Chatswieth house.

It would cost over £100 to do the house, gardens, adventure playground and farmyard for 3 of us. A mile walk to the train station, hour on a train then around an hour on a bus. So 6 hours travelling to allow for wait times and distance between station and bus interchange. Cost of around £30 for travel. Tickets for £7 for all of us makes it possible.

The answer is they are a private company and can set prices as they please. The beauty of living in a free country is that if you don’t like the price, you can go somewhere else

The National Rail 2 for 1 site will give you discounts to all sorts of places including London Zoo if you produce a train ticket (tbh they rarely ask).

Because it's a commercial decision, not a governmental one.

They have chosen to be included in the scheme. It's brings in people who otherwise wouldn't come.

it doesn't affect the price for people that don't qualify for the cc discount.