Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

To have the green eyed monster

74 replies

Aeschylus · 30/06/2010 13:12

Ok. I feel a shit for feeling like this. Our friends who have 4 kids live a life of luxury on benefits have just moved into their new home which is a 4 bedroom old vicorage and absolutely stunning and all provided by the tax payer. And here we are with 1 dc in a 3 bed terrace with a sensible mortgage. not much money and certainly can not afford any more dc. Makes me wonder why we bother I know I am being pathetic but to top it all of they are having sky multi room installed in all 4 bedrooms and we are stuck with freeview. People claim we are a fair society and if we are then I would like to know how

OP posts:

Original poster

Aeschylus · 30/06/2010 15:08

it is the payment you get for when you dont work/ not looking for work. i.e when you are a single parent etc and can not work

OP posts:

booyhoo · 30/06/2010 15:11

'tis i TNMM, teh one and only

so is this woman claiming to be a single parent when she is in a relationship?

Original poster

Aeschylus · 30/06/2010 15:13

no, he does not work, but has to pretend to look for work, she gets social as she is the carer for the chrildren, and her partner has no income

OP posts:

EricNorthmansmistress · 30/06/2010 15:24

aeschylus you are all confused, seriously

They cannot get HB to pay all the rent on a 4 bed house, unless it is ridiculously cheap for the area - doesn't sound likely.

She won't get a seperate benefit from him as he lives with them - he will be claiming JSA for both of them and she will get child benefit and child tax credits. This is not 'on the social', whatever that means, it's a universal benefit for those under a certain income

If he claims JSA and she claims Income Support then they are committing benefit fraud as she must be claiming HB/CTC as a single parent.

EricNorthmansmistress · 30/06/2010 15:24

Oh - and JSA is getting tighter, he will not be able to pretend to look for work for much longer!

Ghostlove · 30/06/2010 15:25

Having lived entirely on benefits (and now living on IB with a working partner) I can tell you that that simply isn't possible. They're either fiddling the system or have other sources of income.

Original poster

Aeschylus · 30/06/2010 15:31

is JSA really getting tighter my brother who lost his job like so may others, basically got told there are no jobs! and feel free to look but just wait until things get better..

I think the goverment need to inform the Job Centers if it suppose to be tougher

OP posts:

booyhoo · 30/06/2010 15:43

there are no jobs, that is rubbish. of course there are jobs, just not as many jobs spread across as wide a spectrum as there have been in the years leading up to the current financial climate. to tell someone tehre are no jobs is ridiculous and i would be very annoyed if i was unemployed and actively seeking work to hear a job centre employee tell me not to bother.

EricNorthmansmistress · 30/06/2010 15:48

I don't understand your point. I'm saying that JSA is getting tighter - so people who aren't actively looking will not be able to get away with pretending they are for month after month. Your brother, if he is actively looking, will not be sanctioned

And as if there are no jobs! There are always jobs.

Laquitar · 30/06/2010 15:54

Someone else could say that he is jelous of you for not working and owning a 3 bed house.
One baby and 3 bed house is not bad.

But it is really silly to just compare size of houses. You own yours. They dont. One day when your mortgage is paid you will have capital. They will have nothing. Surely you can see the difference. Unless it is a wind up.

And you dont have to move houses every time the landlord wants you to. Am wondering how did they rent a nice 4 bed house with 4 kids and on benefits?

Wonderstuff · 30/06/2010 16:42

There really aren't many jobs about. Dh has had the misfortune to be made redundant 5 times this recession and we live somewhere where since I entered the job market - so over the last 15 years it has always been easy to get fairly well paid casual work. Prior to getting his current job about 6 months ago dh had to claim JSA for the first time and the only work he could get for a couple of months was part time, temporary minimum wage work in a neighbouring town - he did it, but it meant we were worse off as JSA gets reduced pound for pound when you get part time work and obviously we had to find travel expenses. Processing benefit claims takes forever and so there really is no incentive to take anything other than permanent employment, which really really is scarce atm. Honestly if there are so few jobs here the situation must be dire in some parts of the UK.

booyhoo · 30/06/2010 16:47

wonderstuff, i agree, aren't many jobs. but to tell someone not to bother looking as there "are no jobs" is wrong and i would imagine against the policy of a job centre employee.

cory · 30/06/2010 16:54

Aeschylus Wed 30-Jun-10 14:32:42
"Monty, that 25k is everthing from no council tax to no rent etc, it is not 25k in their hand..."

Well, my understanding is that it's only money in your hand that will pay for flat screen tvs and multi-sky. Or do you think they pay for that out of their free school dinner vouchers?

There are a number of possibilities here. They are

a)heavily in debt
b)getting presents from family (not illegal)
c)committing benefit fraud
or
d)having an illegal source of income

Wonderstuff · 30/06/2010 17:01

Dh's experience of the JC was that they were less than helpful, but I can well believe that in some parts of the UK there really aren't any jobs to be had at all some weeks. There really really aren't many at all here, definitly 6 months ago there were none for a good few weeks.

shockers · 30/06/2010 17:08

Do any of the family have a disability?

Original poster

Aeschylus · 30/06/2010 17:11

I agree Wonder, as I said I took my brother there as he could not even afford to put petrol in his car, and he was simply shocked, the bloke literally told him not to bother coming in looking etc.

I appreciate perhaps they should not, but why not be honest. in our local paper there used to be several pages of jobs, now you get half a page if you are lucky, and they will be public sector ones, that will soon be gone as well in the 1.5 million jobs that are to be axed according to the paper

OP posts:

booyhoo · 30/06/2010 17:16

if there are half a page of jobs then how can you say there are no jobs?

ninah · 30/06/2010 17:24

4 dc on £25 is no life of luxury
'you hear stories in the papers' ... don't you just
lol at vicarage
four kids and lives in a castle at taxpayers expense - ooops that's the Windsors

vaunieathome · 30/06/2010 17:50

Arrrgh! This kind of thing makes me seethe!! Totally unfair - please please let the government finally get a move on and sort this rubbish out. Totally not unreasonable to be fed up. Is all the money they are receiving really kosher?? I feel a little midnight call to the benefit cheats people coming on......

chegirlmonkeybutt · 30/06/2010 18:00

You cannot get the 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds unless you meet criteria.

You do have to be on a low income but that does not get you a place.

You need to have other things going on like disability, illness etc.

Why do you need a place for your 2 year old? If you are disabled or ill then I can understand you being upset that you are missig out.

I hate these threads. OP you sound like you have a nice life. You are managing very well with only one of you working. Why are you so envious.

If they are over claiming HB they will be out on their arses soon so that should cheer you up.

booyhoo · 30/06/2010 18:05

when i was on HB i was constantly having to produce my payslips, my bank statements and my tax credit awards. i am glad i dont have to anymore and i definitely am not envious of anyone who does.

Sn0wflake · 30/06/2010 18:06

Sorry but I don't believe you....unless they have illegal income I don't think they could manage this.

shockers · 30/06/2010 20:15

Can I ask again... do any of the family have a disability?

Monty100 · 30/06/2010 20:38

Ninah - Well said!

Flip

1 2 3