"Surviving" on Benefits the real story

bryemycazbryemycaz Posts: 11,735
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I love how the DM is painting the picture of benefit scroungers like the evil Philpotts as having all the latest gadgets and bucking the system. Which eneded in tragedy for the 6 children.

People like Philpott whilst yes they do live on benefits but come on they are getting money "elsewhere". That's why they can afford everything and live.

Of course not every one who bucks the system goes to the lenghts he did (thank god). However they do get their money some how and its either cash in hand or something else. These people do get caught however they stick together and don't shop one another.


Now the people who are surviving on benefits alone and doing everything by the book. They do not have Sky TV, Plasma's, Playstation's etc. Unless they are second hand or bought with high interest rates from places like Brighthouse. It really sickens me that people who have become unemployed and are now trying to get back on their feet are tarred with the same brush as the criminal element benefit scroungers.

I personally know of two people who on become unemployed have had to pawn most of their luxury goods as they needed the money to feed themselves and to afford heating for this year. One of them has 3 children, so is he now a "breader".
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Comments

  • annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    my tv`s so big i have to watch it from the neighbour`s house.
  • mooblymoobly Posts: 281
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    I saw that article posted on FB this morning. It made me so bloody angry!! They've painted it like, 'this horrific tragedy could be expected - because the family were on benefits.'

    Disgusting.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 11,133
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    Hating people on benefits and labelling them all as scroungers seems to be the done thing nowadays.
    The media are just as guilty as anyone, a day does not go by without the red tops printing a story to wind up the taxpayer :rolleyes:
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 445
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    Most people who I know who are on benefits are a lot better off that my husband and myself and we both work my husband ft and myself pt.
    We only have normal bills no hp. And we still. Have to save for things we want. Our neighbours have 3 to 4 holidays a year when we struggle and have to save all year to have one.
    I think a lot of people on benefits know how to work the system.
    Then on the other hand I know a older gentleman who is on benefits who struggles to put food on his own table.
    The system is so wrong.
  • Gusto BruntGusto Brunt Posts: 12,351
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    I guess I could survive on £50 quid a week, but I'd be down to eating mash, chips and bread all week. Not very healthy.
  • molliepopsmolliepops Posts: 26,821
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    mrsbadger wrote: »
    Most people who I know who are on benefits are a lot better off that my husband and myself and we both work my husband ft and myself pt.
    We only have normal bills no hp. And we still. Have to save for things we want. Our neighbours have 3 to 4 holidays a year when we struggle and have to save all year to have one.
    I think a lot of people on benefits know how to work the system.
    Then on the other hand I know a older gentleman who is on benefits who struggles to put food on his own table.
    The system is so wrong.

    What sort of holidays though ? When we were unemployed we had holidays, tents in fields in the middle of February, or we were invited to go with relatives who paid for us.

    As for luxury goods someone else mentioned, we had a car, tv etc that we had worked for years to pay for and felt we would be daft to sell them when we could be back in work shortly. Also sky etc on contract as it isn't so easy to get out of contracts you have started in better times.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 445
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    They go on caravan holidays. And yes there are expensive. We can't afford to have a sky contract. As we needed a new boiler so it was that or sky.

    Just wondered what you meant by we started in better times.?
  • Mrs FinkelsteinMrs Finkelstein Posts: 950
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    mrsbadger wrote: »
    They go on caravan holidays. And yes there are expensive. We can't afford to have a sky contract. As we needed a new boiler so it was that or sky.

    Just wondered what you meant by we started in better times.?

    Not many caravan holidays are expensive - where I live the pitches are pretty cheap (in comparison to a hotel room or B&B). I could do a caravan holiday pretty cheap, especially going 'off season', take your own food, toiletries etc, cheap pitch for a weekend. Some caravan sites are pricey, but if you go for one which doesn't have many facilities then it's pretty cheap, boring, but cheap.

    And the PP meant 'we started in better times' - you (the general you) take out Sky when you have money, it's not easy to cancel the contracts later without incurring extra costs sometimes.......not specifically talking about your situation. That's how I took it anyway.
  • SchadenfreudSchadenfreud Posts: 1,382
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    I have my own small business, my wife works part time, my kids are at Uni/college and whilst we have a reasonable standard of living we do know people who have never worked a day in their lives (not legitimately anyway) and are better off than we are.
    They've played the system very well and have made it work for them.
    We also know people who have been made redundant who are now on benefits, and because they haven't been in 'the system' from the start they are finding it a real struggle.

    There's something broken when it pays to be a long term benefit claimant as opposed to working and paying into the system, where you get shafted if you lose your job.

    I have a friend who's never worked and has a one year old car, and has a life of riley. He's now looking for a job because those 'bastards in goverment' (his words) are starting to make it harder for him.

    It's a strange world we live in.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 445
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    The sites they go to are places like haven and butlins so not very cheap.
    Yes I understand about contracts and having to carry on with them until they end.
    Tbh I think most people will think, and also a lot of people on benefits will think that the whole system that is set in place is wrong. A lot of people like above person said don't want to work.
    I don't blame them people its the system. If the goverment was paying us to cover what we earn I'm sure we would want to stay at home.
  • ML11ML11 Posts: 888
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    I was on incapacity benefit back in 1999 to 2001 where just before my oldest was leaving school I was getting just over £170 per week with full housing benefit, free prescripitions, free dental and I was running a car. I must admit, I did not want to go back to work but had to after the oldest left school resulting in a £40 cut in benefit the presssure was on. I wonder how much I would get today if I was in the same position. However, I did bluff my way into a good paid Social Work post.
  • monkeydave68monkeydave68 Posts: 2,421
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    moobly wrote: »
    I saw that article posted on FB this morning. It made me so bloody angry!! They've painted it like, 'this horrific tragedy could be expected - because the family were on benefits.'

    Disgusting.

    he did it because he wanted a bigger house at the taxpayers expense

    time to stop paying people to keep having kids that wont amount to anything buy crime and sitting on the dole

    we import enough dead legs to have even more
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,162
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    my tv`s so big i have to watch it from the neighbour`s house.

    and by that do you mean you live in a cardboard box outside dixons
  • SchadenfreudSchadenfreud Posts: 1,382
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    and by that do you mean you live in a cardboard box outside dixons

    We were evicted from our cardboard box, we 'ad to go and live in a lake.
  • Malice CooperMalice Cooper Posts: 1,266
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    Nobody should be knocking a family or person with 4 kids who find their circumstances change through no fault of their own, but these breeders who have a dozen children or more and never work are just parasites on society and it isn't the children's fault either.
  • SJ_MentalSJ_Mental Posts: 16,138
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    The Mrs was watching a program about Philpott last night, And he was bragging his income came from breeding his dog, So even pets weren't free from him using them to his monetary advantage.
  • asyousayasyousay Posts: 38,838
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    Nobody should be knocking a family or person with 4 kids who find their circumstances change through no fault of their own, but these breeders who have a dozen children or more and never work are just parasites on society and it isn't the children's fault either.

    But it becomes our responsibility when they then do the exact same thing in 15 years time . Because they will just do what there parents have done before them.
  • Everything GoesEverything Goes Posts: 12,972
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    I have my own small business, my wife works part time, my kids are at Uni/college and whilst we have a reasonable standard of living we do know people who have never worked a day in their lives (not legitimately anyway) and are better off than we are.
    They've played the system very well and have made it work for them.
    We also know people who have been made redundant who are now on benefits, and because they haven't been in 'the system' from the start they are finding it a real struggle.

    There's something broken when it pays to be a long term benefit claimant as opposed to working and paying into the system, where you get shafted if you lose your job.

    I have a friend who's never worked and has a one year old car, and has a life of riley. He's now looking for a job because those 'bastards in goverment' (his words) are starting to make it harder for him.

    It's a strange world we live in.

    I know a few people like that. None of them friends I might add. One has never worked a day in his life and he's about 40 years old. He spent his life on sickness benefits and is worried that his cushy life might end. Another enjoys his rounds of golf whilst on sickness benefits. Its a hard life!
  • annette kurtenannette kurten Posts: 39,543
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    and by that do you mean you live in a cardboard box outside dixons
    :oyou`re the manager arent you.
  • LyricalisLyricalis Posts: 57,958
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    he did it because he wanted a bigger house at the taxpayers expense

    time to stop paying people to keep having kids that wont amount to anything buy crime and sitting on the dole

    we import enough dead legs to have even more

    Nice of you to have pre-judged the children like this. I guess you're happy that some of them won't now live to become adults? They would have been a drain on taxpayers after all.

    I'm just glad the police didn't feel the same way.
  • bryemycazbryemycaz Posts: 11,735
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    Lyricalis wrote: »
    Nice of you to have pre-judged the children like this. I guess you're happy that some of them won't now live to become adults? They would have been a drain on taxpayers after all.

    I'm just glad the police didn't feel the same way.

    Indeed my OH comes from that kind of background. She made sure she was not going down that same route. Apart from having a couple of years off after being made redundant whilst pregnant with our youngest. She has worked since she was 18. Shes now thinking of becoming a TA at the local school.
  • getzlsgetzls Posts: 4,007
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    klendathu wrote: »
    Hating people on benefits and labelling them all as scroungers seems to be the done thing nowadays.
    The media are just as guilty as anyone, a day does not go by without the red tops printing a story to wind up the taxpayer :rolleyes:

    It's the same old Upper Class policy, set worker against worker.

    They have always done it and always will.

    They know a lot of us are too stupid to know that they are doing it. It works.
  • SchadenfreudSchadenfreud Posts: 1,382
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    getzls wrote: »
    It's the same old Upper Class policy, set worker against worker.

    They have always done it and always will.

    They know a lot of us are too stupid to know that they are doing it. It works.

    Well thank the lord for Karl Marx and his enlightened socialist teachings, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have known I was being oppressed.
  • monkeydave68monkeydave68 Posts: 2,421
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    Lyricalis wrote: »
    Nice of you to have pre-judged the children like this. I guess you're happy that some of them won't now live to become adults? They would have been a drain on taxpayers after all.

    I'm just glad the police didn't feel the same way.

    yeah because there are hordes of them working and living productive lives already arn't there
  • LyricalisLyricalis Posts: 57,958
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    yeah because there are hordes of them working and living productive lives already arn't there

    Care to elaborate on this? It seems to me that you are emulating the people you seem to despise.
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