Cutting Edge: Pram Face

[VanishingLadyAppears]

Monday 9.00pm channel 4

I'm definitely watching this and I hate to admit it but years ago i was infact one of those ignorant people who thought young girls had babies to get houses, benefits etc etc. I saw the clips for the show and felt so sorry for the girl who was upset about her child living in a cold house, but i suppose there are going to be folk who say you made your bed lie in it. This is going to be a very interesting and sad watch

Still waiting for the platinum port to load up. Are people buying them?

they're almost all sold.

the catholic church sold a disused loft last year to miller homes.

across the street from a pub down the street that's seen 3 murders in the past 5 years.

'apartments' - they're flats, ffs - start at £198,000. two bedrooms.

those at least have off street parking.

there are two remaining, and they won't be finished for another 4 months.

thanks for ur concern guys!

tax credits are a joke... dont even get me started! when i was on maternity leave and was only getting 300 and month instead of my usual £1200 they said i wasnt entitled to any more money because they still enter my wages as if i was working still... and they would re evalute at the end of the year and give us a lump sum when i didnt earn as much as was onthier records...
so i other words "u starve and you can eat as much as u like next april when we pay you"

croydon council wont rehouse us because we couldnt pay the full rate of council tax at a previous address for a few months so we are in arrers.
apparently that means we dont "qualify"

also we arnt overcrowded until thomas is five (!!!)

You are singing my song, Natty.

damn maggie thatcher... damn her to hell

She really fucked things up.

There is a HUGE problem w/affordable housing to rent b/c of that policy.

i know, i cant believe it, its ridiculous!
the whole thing really upsets me because everyone is like "ooo ur young.. did you have the baby to get a council flat?" and i want to swing for them, because i live in a shite private flat (£650 a month just for a one bedroom) and i work 40 hours a week, never see my son, and everyone thinks i have an easy ride.

Yeah, and don't forget all the 'you shouldn't have had a child if you couldn't afford it' folks.

Oh, so let's see, only rich people should have kids.

It all just pisses me off and it's so damn depressing to be in that situation, it's not true.

Trust me, I know .

And if I won Lotto, the 'charity' I'd fund would be to help working poor people get a damn break.

god if i won the lottery.. do think i could sue maggie??

she ain't worth it.

besides, you'd probably lose and that's a waste of money could've used to help people out.

the hell w/her. she'll get hers.

SO do you think the principal of Tax Credits could work if administrated differently and do you think they have helped anyone get out of poverty?

So you think the admin is the problem? If this was improved making it simpler and less likely for people to make mistakes do you think it would help people out of poverty?

I think what would help is just what Sue suggested.

Just don't tax people at the bottom end of the scale so damned much.

The 'forms' for tax credits. OMG! It's a f*cking BOOK.

My DH has extreme learning difficulties. He was completely unable to make heads or tails of that excuse for a 'form'.

I have a university degree and still had to give it my undivided attention.

So you can imagine the clerical errors that result when all that info has to be keyed into the system. That's what happened to us.

I think taxing people less lifts them out of a poverty, not this ridiculous tax credit system.

I completely lost faith in it after what we went through.

We don't bother claiming them any more at all, despite being pretty hard up, b/c we don't want to live in fear of getting one of those letters in the post telling you you 'owe' them thousands of pounds you don't have b/c . . . well, shit, you're so poor you actually needed them in the first place.

Talk about kicking people when they're down!

I'm sure there are centers where you can get help to fill out the tax credit forms, I can't remember the name of them though.

it doesn't matter, bubble, b/c you fill it out properly and they STILL manage to cock it up.

fortunately i kept copies of everything we sent to them.

errors in tax credits have cost the taxpayer about £4b now.

surely there's a better way?

They screwed ours up a while ago too, but they have helped us out loads since being self employed.

Expat I really think it is terrible that you don't claim what you are entitled to because of previous cock ups. I remember reading what happened to you before but I can't remember if you ever lodged a compliant. Did you complain formally?

I think it is such a shame cos I am sure the system if simpler would deffo help lots of people. You suggest lowering taxes for the lower paid but it is the same Gov Dept so how can you be sure that would be done correctly.

It is good to hear that Bubble has had a good experience with them.

They gave us £100 as 'compensation'.

No, I never bothered to complain b/c tbh I'm glad to see the back of it.

I'd rather be skint than live in fear of that again.

The hell w/that action. Better to work 3 jobs and just know that's what you've got to work with.

I have to say that I watched this documentary and it made me very sad. I, like these girls, am a young single mum living in Exeter and it IS hard. I thought they came across really well. Luckily, I have never had to go on the housing list, but getting my flat with a private landlord was a real struggle, given that not only was I a single mum but a student as well so had two sets of stereotypes working against me. The council down here are crap. This is a very expensive city to live in and the property is ridiculously overpriced. Even with housing benefit, 'fair' rent is considered to be £160 less than I actually pay, so have to find this out of my own pocket. But I was so pleased when that girl got a job. I was horrified to read of your problems with tax credits expat, but I have just been to a jobcentre meeting to calculate how much better off I will be working in a job I have been offered, and it works out that, even after all the childcare, council tax, etc has been paid I will be £75 a week better off. I think they really need to emphasise this more. There is a sad belief by too many people (not anyone on this documentary necessarily, but people I meet in everyday life) who really think they are better off on their bums. It has made me realise just how out of sight poverty really is though- I live in the same city, which is fairly small, and in the same circumstances, but I had no idea it could be that bad I am lucky that I have been at uni I suppose, it has given me something to aspire to rather than dwell on my current situation.

Yes it's terrible what happened to Expat but I am glad that there are success stories out there as well.

I think the tax credits system is a brilliant idea......in theory. Unfortunately in practice it is anything but, and as someone who was overpaid because she stupidly thought that a 18 year old at university would be classed as in full-time education, and then had to pay back the extra she was paid, I know.
However I would beg to differ that the old system was any better. Most of the 'working poor' who get some tax credits, especially those who get them for childcare expenses, wouldn't have got a penny under that old system. When my second dd was born in 1991 my dh was a student, earning something like £40 working in the cafeteria at the weekends and I wasn't earning anything. We applied for the Tory equivalent of tax credits (can't remember what it was called) and, despite being entitled to it, were knocked back three times on different grounds. Eventually almost 12 months later and after two succesful appeals to the Social Security Tribunals we finally got the money and backdated to when we originally claimed it. By that time I was back at work (had to obviously or we would have starved) and while the money certainly came in handy, it would have been a heck of a lot more handy when the four of us were trying to live on £40 per week or whatever and pay mortage etc, etc.

Tens of thousands of families have been overpayed and then forced to pay it back, when obviously if they're getting them they're not in a position to well afford it.

I mean, £4b?! People, mine is anything but an isolated case.