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Benefits for some not for others!

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posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 03:02 AM
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Hello all,

Once again its time for me to bitch and moan about something dear to my heart. Recently my partner and I applied for something called a sure start maternity grant. This is a £500 grant used to buy bits for our first child and anyone in the UK can apply for it! Oh wait, you can only apply for it if you are ALREADY receiving benefits.

We were rejected because I dont claim any money from the government. How does this make sense? I work in the public sector and get paid no where near the national average for my line of work but too much to receive any help. With my partner going on maternity leave in 10 days we will be on a reduced combined wage which means that 66% of my wage will go to paying rent / bills / debts / getting to work, this does not include food + baby bits. We were hoping to get this grant just to support us with nappies etc (I did the smart thing 3 months into the pregnancy and went out to buy high chairs etc and when we found out at 20 weeks what the baby was I went out and purchased bibs, vests, growalls, clothes, more nappies, wipes etc) but because I have been paying into the system for 15 years without fail and my partner for 13 years, on our combined low pay we are not entitled to help...

But the following person is:

A friend of mine suffers from a little known problem called bone idleness, we both applied for council housing (I bit the bullet and applied as I cannot afford a 2 bedroom flat in my area). I work 40+ hours as does my partner, he hasnt worked in 10 years nor has his partner. They live apart and she is 3 months pregnant. We both went to the local housing asco together... it was amazing... He was treated like royalty and given a band B (which I class as B for bullsh*t) and I was given band D.

Now a bit of backstory, he still lives with his parents in a 4 bedroom house and he is the only child still living at home, theres plenty of room for him, his partner and their baby, his parents said he could have them all live under the same roof. The officer in charge of his case told my friend to claim he would be made homeless by his parents so he would be put on a higher band + be entitled to more.

I walk into my my meeting, I explain my case, tell my interviewer about my situation, my wages, the rent costs. I did not lie at any point and I openly admitted that I could barely afford the rent on my wages with a baby in the house due to terrible maternity pay for my partner and that the jump from one bedroom to two within the area (30 miles) was so big that I would not be able to support a baby, my partner and pay rent in these properties. Also that our contract on our current property runs out soon (in 3 days actually) and the land lady then has the right to remove us at any time to get in tenants who will be there for a fixed term, not month by month. So I actually have the chance of being made homeless...

The reply? Oh it was a thing of beauty:

"Do you own a car?"

My reply: "Yes"

"You could sleep in the car whilst you look for a new property".

This all boils down to the fact that I have a job and am looked upon like someone trying to play the system when I am genuinely trying to get some help to support my family. I know some people will say I should just get a better paid job, and yes I have been trying to. Between hospital trips, 3 operations and making sure my partner is ok I have been going to all sorts of different interviews. Next month marks one of the biggest moments in my life (2nd biggest, first was meeting Adam West in the flesh) but everything has come at the same time.

Dont get me wrong, I will love my baby. I will make sure that the baby wants for nothing. I just wish the benefit system was fair...



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 03:22 AM
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I sympathise, trouble with benefit systems in the UK are " Cut off " points, that make the system appear unfair.

I.e you can only get benefit "x" if you earn less than " y" etc, I'm sure you know the story.

Meanwhile, a neighbour with too many kids, all mod cons, a decent car, etc, gets all the benefits you can only dream of. And probably because you earn a little more than them, or have your own home, or are honest...

....Or because they know how to lie, cheat, and play the system.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 03:34 AM
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I feel your pain !
No I felt your pain !

I was working for around 1500 a month pick up . Have 4 kids . Picked the kid up from school and noticed a form .
Free school diners for kids ?
ONLY IF EARNING LESS THEN 16000 OR BEEN IN THE COUNTRY LESS THAN 2 YEARS !

Long story short
That instance I went on sick !
Got a 4 grand pay off
And it turns out I was working for 30 pound extra a week .

And I got a 100k council house free rent !

And I spend all the time with my kids .

I know all the ins and outs .
From a guy who has worked hard for 20 years .



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 03:38 AM
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a reply to: thekaboose

Hi thekaboose, congratulations on the imminent arrival of your new baby


Have you tried visiting the following website ; Benefits Calculator ?

I have several staff in the same predicament as you, they work hard and when they need that little extra help, there is none ;(

However they used the website I've posted and found that they are entitled to some extra help, in one case I helped a lady that works for me to use the site and she is now £240 per week better off.

good luck and I hope the site is of some use to you



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 03:52 AM
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originally posted by: Denoli
I feel your pain !
No I felt your pain !

I was working for around 1500 a month pick up . Have 4 kids . Picked the kid up from school and noticed a form .
Free school diners for kids ?
ONLY IF EARNING LESS THEN 16000 OR BEEN IN THE COUNTRY LESS THAN 2 YEARS !

Long story short
That instance I went on sick !
Got a 4 grand pay off
And it turns out I was working for 30 pound extra a week .

And I got a 100k council house free rent !

And I spend all the time with my kids .

I know all the ins and outs .
From a guy who has worked hard for 20 years .


So everyone else should pay for your 4 kids, seems to be a common trend these days, people have a bunch of kids and have someone else pay for them, you choose to have them you pay for them, why should the government or taxpayers be burdened with the cost people's children.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 04:05 AM
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a reply to: NeoSpace

Most people only pay enough to cover there own benifits recieved from society.

The myth that the average tax payer is paying towards the upkeep of others is simply that.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 04:05 AM
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thekaboose could learn from Denoli, who appears to know how to work the system.

As someone who has not worked since 2005, or paid any income tax since then, I don't mind who cheats the system, wrong as this is, at least I'm not paying for these people.

And no, I'm not claiming any UK State Benefits, just careful with my money over the years... Live within your means.... I know this is an outdated concept, but it has served me well over the years. I can manage without a lot of the things most people expect / take for granted.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 04:28 AM
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a reply to: thekaboose

I read your thread with disgust and if anyone had told me to "sleep in my car" they would have been needing a visit to the dentist cheeky git!

I am disgusted with the benefits for shirkers. People forget that council housing was originally meant for the low wage earners who worked in the community - today you can arrive and get the lot without putting a penny in, or simply get pregnant, be a drug addict or alcoholic and get state help. If you work and do your 'bit' today it simply doesn't pay, but these are the current and previous governments criteria.

Giving housing to women who appear to opt out of the workforce by becoming mothers is fine, provided their family pay their rent, not the state. In fact it seems to be that our unmarried lineage could be stopped overnight by simply saying, "Oh dear, pregnant go back to your parents and live there". That would free up the housing for a lot of workers who actually deserve it because they are putting something in.

But with the wealthy running the government, one must remember they have to invest their money so they have a vested interest in getting their dividends from these investments. Its patently clear they and the elite have deliberately allowed corporations not to pay their taxes and passed laws to benefit corporations over the voters, thereby keeping the tax bill on the poor by crafty osbornian tricks such as giving in one hand and take back 1/3rd more for the coffers.

Good luck I hope you survive and keep your family together.

I live on a a mixed estate of tenants and owners. I am horrified to see who the newest cars belong to because most of the users are not working or doing part-time jobs that wouldn't pay to run a car, apparently they are getting them from the state for various reasons. When you add that to the idea of sleep in ya car its such an insult to normal workers whom we couldn't do without.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 04:30 AM
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a reply to: NeoSpace

Aww come on man he has a 100 grand council house who would want to live in those areas!

Feel rather sorry for him


But yeah,I get your point



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 07:10 AM
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This is another problem with the system. It only "helps" you if you go all in. There are no hand-ups in it. You are either all-in and on the take for everything, dependent for everything ... or there is no help for you.

My husband and I tried once when we were still in college and making it on our own to get a small grant just to help us over a rough month. We were told that there would be no help for us unless I got pregnant and we were prepared to accept help in every way.

We walked away. What kind of system demands you bring another person into the world when you can't even properly take care of yourselves before it will "help" you?



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 08:16 AM
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a reply to: thekaboose

I agree with you, I've been through similar things although not the same benefit. See I lost my job a few years back (have a new one now) and after ending up using all my savings (about 2000 pounds) I had no choice but to sign on, dont get me wrong I'm not the proudest of people but I was always someone who felt like you had to work for what you get, it's something my parents taught me growing up, anyway, so I begrudgingly went to the local job centre (An hour and forty-ish minutes away) got there and signed on, this is what they told me and what I was offered:

I needed to come back every week to sign on and show that I'd been looking for work (No problem with that).
I needed to show that I've been actively looking for work and not just claiming the benefit (Again I had no problem with that)

And then and here's the funny part, they told me what I was entitled to - Ready - 8 pound 70 a week.

I didn't know what to say, I thought the benefit was a set rate but because I lived with my parents I wasn't entitled to the full benefit. So I sat there for a few seconds and had a thought, 'I've gotta pay to get three buses, I've gotta come here every week to sign on and then pay three buses back,' So still sitting there I did some rough maths and basically worked out that I'd end up with about 1 pound and some change to sign on for a benefit that I would be spending on public transport. When I said this to the woman behind the desk and the toughened grass she looked at me and kissed her teeth, she said 'So what you're saying is you want more money for doing nothing?' I said that I wanted the full job seekers like everybody else and she said 'I'm sorry sir but that is how it has been worked out by the system. If you'd like to contest it you can but it'll be a few weeks wait'

Now I know some of you might say 'Well you should've taken the benefit' but I swear to god I couldn't do it. Outside the fact that it had killed me doing this but now I was being told that I had to pay out the benefit I would get on bus rides just to get to the place to sign on to get the benefit, how backwards was that, so I did what any normal person would do and sort of barked (not like a dog), I laughed and said:

'You realise how screwed up this place is right? I mean how is possible that I try to get Job Seekers and get told that I cant even have a tenner. Why am I not getting the full amount. Ah forget it, this place stinks and I feel dirty just being here. Do me a favour love and take the application form and stick it where the sun doesn't' shine.'

I then left, I didn't kick or attack anyone, I didn't throw a wobbly and trash the place. I just said that and left. Well a week later I got a letter telling me that I had to pay to repair a chair that I apparently broke and was told that I couldn't go back to the same benefit office and if I did I'd face being arrested, they wanted to charge me twenty quid for the chair. I ran the office and told them I wouldn't be paying it and guess what...I had to deal with a bailiff at my door telling me that I had to pay the twenty quid plus 70 pound for them coming out and if I didn't pay it they'd come in and take my stuff, I know the law they cant just force their way in plus I have a large angry dog sitting about four steps behind the front door, I refused to pay and refused him entry.

Years later and I haven't heard a peep from either. I thought I'd share my moment with the benefits office and the it's screwed up.

(edit - I think I might have the benefit name wrong. Whoops. It could be income support, I was working less than five hrs a week)
edit on 22-7-2015 by Dwoodward85 because: Got the benefit name wrong and added some more info.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 08:33 AM
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Would u work for 30 pound a week ?



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 08:45 AM
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a reply to: Dwoodward85

I am shocked at your post, how bloody disgusting treating folk that way. I would have gone back and broke the chair so they had something to complain about.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 08:48 AM
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originally posted by: Denoli
Would u work for 30 pound a week ?


Its a sad state of affairs in this country when you are better of on benefits than working. I'm not sure if you worked full time or not but in answer to your question, if I was only £30 better off after working a 40 hour week, then no I wouldn't either.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 09:21 AM
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originally posted by: NeoSpace

originally posted by: Denoli
I feel your pain !
No I felt your pain !

I was working for around 1500 a month pick up . Have 4 kids . Picked the kid up from school and noticed a form .
Free school diners for kids ?
ONLY IF EARNING LESS THEN 16000 OR BEEN IN THE COUNTRY LESS THAN 2 YEARS !

Long story short
That instance I went on sick !
Got a 4 grand pay off
And it turns out I was working for 30 pound extra a week .

And I got a 100k council house free rent !

And I spend all the time with my kids .

I know all the ins and outs .
From a guy who has worked hard for 20 years .


So everyone else should pay for your 4 kids, seems to be a common trend these days, people have a bunch of kids and have someone else pay for them, you choose to have them you pay for them, why should the government or taxpayers be burdened with the cost people's children.


Did you read the post or do u just act like a silly bastard all the time ?
Don't answer I'll guess .



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 10:24 AM
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a reply to: flammadraco

Your reply cracked me up and yeah now thinking about it, I should've gone back and broke the chair lol. A star for u.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 01:50 PM
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The annoyance is understandable but it's weird that you'd display so much backbiting jealousy towards your so called friend. Maybe he'd be better off if he wasn't.

I think that's more indicative of what's wrong with this country: everybody angrily counting eachother's pockets.



posted on Jul, 22 2015 @ 10:29 PM
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I know nothing about the U.K welfare system, but I am wondering why, if you can`t afford a baby without the taxpayers paying for it, then why are you having a baby? If you expect the taxpayers to pay for it shouldn`t you have consulted them before conception?



posted on Jul, 23 2015 @ 03:10 AM
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originally posted by: Tardacus
I know nothing about the U.K welfare system, but I am wondering why, if you can`t afford a baby without the taxpayers paying for it, then why are you having a baby? If you expect the taxpayers to pay for it shouldn`t you have consulted them before conception?


Thanks for the sh*tty response. We were told originally that my partner would have to wait to have children as she had been on the pill without a break for 10 years which can screw with the system and take up to a year to work out... CAN take, so we planned our wedding for next year and paid for it all. A few months later we got hit with the news. Now as I have been living away from my parents for 12 years. Been working for 15 years and paying full tax for my band. My partner's company (2 months before she fell pregnant) closed down making her seek out another job which was a MASSIVE pay cut.

I knew we would never be able to claim any money, but in my area the break down goes as follows:

1 bedroom tiny flat with poor heating + bills £1000 a month
2 bedroom tiny flat with poor heating + bills £1500 a month
2 bedroom flat with heating + bills £1800 a month
2 bedroom house with heating + bills £2000 a month

Annoying thing is if I bought a house, I would be looking at £700-£800 a month. Only issue is, to purchase a house around my way you need £40-£50k savings for a tiny 1 bedroom flat which costs close to £230,000.

My main reason for applying for housing? 2 bedroom flat via the council is £500. Saving us £1000 a month, which would be spent on the baby + putting into a savings account to BUY a property.

In the UK every couple with X amount of children and under £50k a year is entitled to £20.60 a week under child tax credit. So by your logic, EVERYONE who has a child would need to talk to all other tax payers?

Im sorry, but for someone who has "deny ignorance" in the signature commenting on something you know nothing about without reading up... is Ignorant. So keep it up!


@MagnaCarta2015 - Yup I know, I hate the fact that everything in my life I own and have done I have worked for and paid for myself and this is the one time I have asked for help, where as he just cba and gets so much more. Works out he will be taking home more then my partner a month without tax for sitting at home playing on his new xbox one on his 50" 3D HD TV.


Well, I am already looking for another job to earn more then I am now, plus I am looking for a second job so I can support my child + future wife. But thats it, I wanted to be there for my childs first few years before I became "that dad" who is too shattered to spend any time with their child.

Tardacus, I must ask. Do you have children? Have you ever needed help? How much is the average rent for a decent 2 bedroom flat in your area? Whats the average wage? How much do you earn?




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