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.

I get it op. We aren’t entitled to anything other than standard child benefit. We rent our 3 bed home, we have one car which is ten years old. We cannot afford days out at that price.

But has anyone said that only people on PIP and UC have problems?

As a consumer - I'm well within my rights to form an opinion and put forward suggestions (based on my £90 vs £5 tickets - for a (theoretical) same size party - whether you deem them workable or not.

Op you are right working people who cannot claim UC are getting mugged off. As soon as benefits are mentioned on here the world and his wife come out. Also it’s a very big difference in costs why not just give UC 10% discount or something but no it has to be extreme I love these posts because I think there must be more benefits claimants on here than working people. People are not jealous of anyone who claim there pissed off with the government treating us less favourably no one is jealous of someone who has to be topped up with UC but it’s frustrating for the ones who are just surviving and now days out are another benefit.

It’s no longer tiny though and that’s the problem. Almost 10m working age people are in receipt of benefits. That’s 23% of the working age population.

Does any city still dot it where children are given free swimming vouchers in the holidays.

I remember it as a child the whole school every child would get a booklet of free entry tickets to use at the lido.

If people are going to whinge about the discounts, I really wish they would at least bother to look into how they work.

Charitable funding pays for them. It has nothing to do with customers who pay full price.

Well yes of course. But it’s still valid to discuss. You don’t take the view that anything a private company does is not ours to question, do you?

The % of UC claimants in work is now going to look very different to what it did a few years back given that old style ESA claimants have been transferred over to UC.

Not a remotely helpful decision in terms of keeping clarity in benefits figures imo.

I work 3 jobs at approx 60 hours a week and still get UC and one of those roles is as a qualified bookkeeper. Check your facts!

No, it's not on this site, it's the mood across the UK.
The whole welfare system needs changing.

No one begrudges the genuinely needy being given a helping hand for basic necessities but trips to zoos, stately homes, galleries and museums etc almost giveaway prices being paid for for other people just above benefit level is not acceptable.

If you are London based look at Tower of London. They do £1 entry, plus 50% off in the cafe with those tickets. Last year when their kids eat free offer was on it could be combined with the 50% off as well.

London transport museum also does UC tickets.

It's 2% of the total tickets that are available for this scheme, so , yes, it is a tiny percentage.

You must be very well off with 3 jobs and 60 hours a week.

Your post just proves that UC is out of control.

They’re not being paid for by anyone else.

Complain about the disparity if you must, but at least complain correctly.

These schemes have no impact on the general entry prices for places. They bring in funding, not cost money that needs covered by others.

It is a constant source of amazement to me that, on MN, pensioners - who are just about the only benefits claimants who have to pay in to get anything out AND pay tax - are so derided, yet criticise UC claimants - some of who have never paid a penny in tax - at your peril.
Why is that?

But that isn't happening. Those not on benefits aren't subsidising the scheme for those on benefits, that isn't how it works.

Don't be silly.

'Funding'- you mean money from taxes?

The full price is being subsidised by the people who pay full price.
Otherwise everyone may as well get in for £6 or even free!

The same shit pile many posters here are getting their ‘facts’ from.

There is no minimum hours rule to ‘keep UC off your back’. It depends on the set earnings threshold as well as hours worked. And it’s actually just under 40% of UC claimants who work. The DWP doesn’t publish figures on full time versus part time work - it only identifies those who earn enough not to have any conditionality and those who don’t.

The needy may have enough for the very basics of survival, but you take a hard pass at any sort of joy in their lives? (Also these tickets aren't being funded by anyone else, as demonstrated upthread).

I genuinely do understand the feelings people have towards UC because of the few people who genuinely do abuse the system. What needs to be remembered is that a lot (I think the majority!) of people claiming UC are also working, just on low income. We claim, my husband works 40 hours a week, I can’t work because I am a carer to our severely disabled child. We absolutely could not survive without the UC top up, and I don’t actually personally know any families that don’t work at all but live off UC solely - I do think they are the minority, they just give everyone on UC a bad name.
edited to add - I think the biggest issue is that places do charge astronomical prices for entrance these days. I do think it would be better for everyone to pay the set amount but at a lower price, to ensure it’s accessible and affordable for everyone ☺️

For the record I’m a single mum of 3 with additional needs and a carer for my elderly disabled mum. A day off to go out is a rarity.

Poor kids get to go to fancy houses too. If it’s any consolation plenty of families still won’t be able to afford to go once transport costs are factored in, or they go but the kids will be eating home made picnic food and nowt from the gift shop.
that entry price is insane though. I sure as hell wouldn’t pay it.

No it isn’t. This has been explained to death upthread. The discounted tickets are funded by the individual venues in order to continue their charitable status and have access to funding. It’s a business decision.

I’m not the one being silly.