Benefits - Only for lazy, stupid people....

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Its not at all rare for a large amount of housing benefit to be claimed in London though.

You have never lived in London.

While this turns out to be true, my mum lived in London when her mum was on benefits, so let's not make assumptions about my knowledge eh?

Original post by MrHappy_J

That's rather horrible, i feel sorry for your mum.

She's appealing.

Reply 941

MrHappy_J

Original post by minimarshmallow

While this turns out to be true, my mum lived in London when her mum was on benefits, so let's not make assumptions about my knowledge eh?

She's appealing.

Quite right too, I hope she gets what she deserves :console:

really, does the assessor expect your family to live on microwaved meals? it's like they don't care at all.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 942

SpicyStrawberry

Original post by Elissabeth

No, but plenty of disabled people DO work.

Alison Lapper as I've mentioned before.

There are exceptions to the rule, and Alison Lapper is one of those exceptions.

You know nothing of minimarshmellow's mother's disability so are in no position to comment on it.

Reply 943

Elissabeth

Original post by minimarshmallow

While this turns out to be true, my mum lived in London when her mum was on benefits, so let's not make assumptions about my knowledge eh?

.

Was that in recent years?

Reply 944

minimarshmallow

Original post by Elissabeth

Was that in recent years?

Well my grandmother is still on benefits in London right now, we just don't talk to her.
I also have friends from university who's parents live in London on benefits. Friends from other big cities - Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol who's parents are on benefits. One of my best friends has 8 siblings, 7 of which are younger than her.
Please stop jumping to conclusions about me. Please stop thinking the exception is the norm. Just, stop posting really.

Reply 945

Elissabeth

Original post by minimarshmallow

But what is your point?

Your grandmother does or doesn't live in luxury? And your friends parents?

Other big cities are still nowhere near as expensive as the most expensive London areas, so you can't compare.

Reply 946

Elissabeth

[QUOTE=minimarshmallow;36786234benefits. One of my best friends has 8 siblings, 7 of which are younger than her.
.

What civilised person in this day and age has 9 children?

Surely that is the real question, not how much they receive in benefits?

Reply 947

Iron Lady

Original post by Elissabeth

What civilised person in this day and age has 9 children?

Surely that is the real question, not how much they receive in benefits?

Quite so. A ridiculous number.

Reply 948

Tiger Rag

Original post by MrHappy_J

Quite right too, I hope she gets what she deserves :console:

really, does the assessor expect your family to live on microwaved meals? it's like they don't care at all.

They're currently reforming DLA and one of the criteria is about being able to use a microwave. As someone who is wheat intolerant, this would leave me with 2 choices - live on tinned curry and rice or eat a load of processed crap I'm not allowed.

Someone I know was told recently that the council won't give her hours for helping with cooking a meal.

Why should we be forced to live on processed crap because our disabilities mean we can't cook a meal? Where's the equality here?

Its not at all rare for a large amount of housing benefit to be claimed in London though.

You have never lived in London.

Depending on where you live in London, it's not that expensive.

Reply 949

minimarshmallow

Original post by Elissabeth

What civilised person in this day and age has 9 children?

Surely that is the real question, not how much they receive in benefits?

Original post by Iron Lady

Quite so. A ridiculous number.

Who on earth are you to say that they are uncivilised because they have a lot of children? They're all well fed, intelligent and wonderful people - it isn't up to you to say that they shouldn't exist.

Reply 950

minimarshmallow

Original post by OU Student

Well we spent extra money on a microwave with maaaaaaaaassive buttons instead of one of those wheels you have to turn or small fiddly buttons that we could have got cheaper, so my mum could have a ready meal on the off chance that my dad was stuck in traffic at work (he's a professional driver) and wouldn't get home till waaaaay past tea-time. Otherwise she never eats ready meals. Even sometimes when my dad is late coming home she can get my brother to open and heat a can/carton of soup and butter some bread for her (obviously only if we have soup in and he isn't out/busy, normally he'll do it while he's doing his own tea anyway) because she really really doesn't like eating ready meals because they're bad for her. She's trying to lose weight because the arthritis means she can't exercise as much so she's overweight, and being overweight puts more strain on her ankles so they get worse. If she is expected to live off ready meals, she'll put on more weight because they're full of rubbish nutritionally, which will make her disability worse. Yeah, that makes sense?
Seems like we should have just saved our money on the microwave.

Not to mention that ready meals are more expensive. My dad can make a curry or a spag bol that'll feed the three of them for two meals for less than one ready meal would cost to feed just my mum for one meal (and probably not fill her all the way up), but she's expected to do that and you're not giving her money to do so?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 951

ilovehobnobs

I cannot wait untill they put in force that EVERYONE claiming DLA has to go for a medical assesment. I have cerebal palsay, and although I can walk and my condition isn't as serious as some other peoples, it does cause me a lot of problems.

I have very poor spacial awareness, I am always walking into door frames, knocking things etc- and I am at risk of falls as my balance isn't all that great.

To look at me, you would assume nothing is wrong with me. But look at me after walking round the supermarket for ten minutes- ill probably hobbling, dropping things, and running into the aisles.

You read about people cheating DLA in the paper- how many people do you think sit back at home laughing because they haven't been caught yet and are couple hundred pound better off a month then they would be. I wonder what tricks they pull out of the bag when they get that letter in 2014 that they have to come for a medical assesment to continue getting their benefit.

Minimarshmellow- im getting the impression from above posts that your Mums DLA has been stopped/cut??? As has mine (yet my condition is something that will NEVER change) and as has a lot of other peoples. Just another lovely way Mr Cameron is trying to save money and although I am biased, I don't agree with it at all.

Like the rebuidling of Tottenham Court Road station to accomodate 1/4 million passengers a day- and they admitt it probably won't be big enough. That to me screams waste of money and could be better spent on other things.

Just like they need to spend £30 million on "less sensitive doors" on the tube.

Reply 952

minimarshmallow

Original post by ilovehobnobs

I
Minimarshmellow- im getting the impression from above posts that your Mums DLA has been stopped/cut??? As has mine (yet my condition is something that will NEVER change) and as has a lot of other peoples. Just another lovely way Mr Cameron is trying to save money and although I am biased, I don't agree with it at all.

Yeah, and she's appealing. The day after the assessment she had a flare up and couldn't walk for 4 days. The assessor said that her flare ups were not severe enough to warrant her being on DLA, despite never seeing my mum during a flare up - and not consulting with the GP or hospital she regularly gets treatment from. Also as mentioned earlier she said mum could cook all meals unaided, when all mum said was when she could walk she could put a ready meal in the microwave if my dad wasn't there.
Her condition will continue to worsen, and has done in recent years (I'm assuming yours is pretty stable, won't get any better so they shouldn't take your money off you, but won't get much worse either - please correct me if I'm wrong about that) so it's a joke that after 16 years she's been assessed as no longer being entitled, despite being worse. She's a little better than she was when she was in school and it first appeared, but that's because she got a diagnosis and treatment when she was pregnant with me (7/8 years after the first symptoms) so it was brought under control; but she wasn't assessed for DLA until my brother was born because the social worker had heard that his high birth weight could make her worse (and it did), and she's just continued to get worse since then.

I hope you've lodged an appeal as well, because I've seen someone with cerebral palsy and so I've seen how difficult that can be as well.

Reply 953

Elissabeth

Original post by minimarshmallow

They are well-fed thanks to the benefits system though- having a large family when on benefits is a p***-take.

Why should the taxpayer pay for their selfish actions?

Reply 954

Tiger Rag

Original post by ilovehobnobs

I cannot wait untill they put in force that EVERYONE claiming DLA has to go for a medical assesment.

I am dreading this. I have to go through enough painful tests each year to check that my optic nerves aren't damaged further. Why isn't my consultants word enough? He's seen the scans of my brain and knows a lot more about the effects this has on me.

As has mine (yet my condition is something that will NEVER change) and as has a lot of other peoples. Just another lovely way Mr Cameron is trying to save money and although I am biased, I don't agree with it at all.

I don't agree with it at all. 20% are set to lose their DLA under the proposed system. Yet, only 0.5% of them are fraudsters.

Reply 955

Elissabeth

Original post by ilovehobnobs

Well, have you ever stopped to think about people with short-term things?

I broke my ankle and got nothing whatsoever, despite not being able to work.

It was really difficult to do things as well, couldn't cook, shop, carry things, put laundry out or get in and out the house myself without help.

So I don't really see why you should be given so much money.

Reply 956

KimKallstrom

Original post by minimarshmallow

And you continue to think that extreme, rare cases are the norm.

I can tell you for a fact that they are extremely common. Look at the property portfolios for the London-based housing associations. In my job we deal with literally thousands upon thousands of these properties.

I'm not exaggerating when I say one would have to be a lawyer of ten years or something to even begin to be able to afford to live in the properties of one housing association I currently deal with. They alone have around 6 thousand properties. They're one of around ten who operate in their borough alone.

Another one deals mainly in an area that my friend had to move out of as he could not afford to live there anymore. He is a chartered accountant!

Reply 957

ilovehobnobs

Original post by Elissabeth

Why didn't you claim sickness benefit? Its easy enough. You would of just need a note from your doctor saying your unfit to work.

If you don't earn enough for SSP, you can get ESA.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 958

minimarshmallow

Original post by Elissabeth

They are well-fed thanks to the benefits system though- having a large family when on benefits is a p***-take.

Why should the taxpayer pay for their selfish actions?

Well, both parents worked - the dad full-time except paternity leave and the mum part-time from when her eldest hit school so they were taxpayers as well.

Original post by Elissabeth

I thought that was what incapacity benefit was for? Statutory sick pay if you have to take time off work... I'm not really clued up about incapacity benefit, but I remember being told it was for people with short-to-mid term problems.
I had a serious sprain to my ankle a few years ago after a rugby player from college stumbled and stood on it trying to regain his balance (fantastically unlikely, wish we'd videoed it for You've Been Framed). I was on crutches for two weeks, my friends and family had to help me out - dad drove me to college instead of me getting the bus, friends in college would carry my food to the table in the canteen etc. they didn't mind because it only lasted a few weeks and then it was over, and I did the same for a friend when she broke her leg later that same year. However, my mum needs constant care, my dad can't work full-time because she needs someone during the day. Friends cannot be looking after her constantly in the same way that you can do a little bit for someone for a short time. She won't get better in 2 weeks time and then be able to help someone else out to repay them for their help. She won't get better AT ALL. She will continue to get worse for the rest of her life.
Short-to-mid term problems are a pain, I'll give you that. I've experienced them myself. But then they're over and you go back to normality. You may have had to lend money off someone or dip into an overdraft (like a friend of mine did when she had swine flu) but then you get better and go back to work and a few pound a week will pay the money back and it's all fine again. That will never happen for my mum. She will never be able to go back to work and repay any money she had to borrow to pay for essentials because she isn't working.

So yeah, I have thought about people with short-term problems, and concluded that you can't compare the situations.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 959

Tiger Rag

Original post by Elissabeth

Disabled people aren't given so much money. Many disabled people find that their DLA is taken completely by social services and /or their disability costs far more than their DLA.

A broken ankle isn't a disability - not being able to walk due to severe CP is.

Short term things are different. It's not as if your partner / parents had to give up work to look after you for the rest of your life, is it? I have a friend whose daughter is in that situation - she needs care 24/7. Someone with a broken ankle doesn't and it's only a temporary issue. The friends' daughter will always have her severe disability. Unless somehow, someone is able to reverse the brain damage she has and all the associated problems.