A Converstion In A Pub
- By SocialHeretic
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Sat 14 Jul 2007 11:05
Evening Stan.
Hi Chas, pint ?
Yeah , at least they haven't banned that !
Saw Bill today.
Bill ? I haven't seen him for weeks . Hows he doing ?
Badly. Problems with the gas , in arrears , and being threatened with court.
Poor " born wrong side of the bed sheets ".
Yeah, nothing but problems since his wife was in that accident. In a wheelchair now until she dies. He gave up work as cost to look after her was more than he earned. Sold the house , and bought that terraced place 'round the corner from me. Time he converted the living room into a bedroom his money almost ran out. No help thanks to means testing. Needs the heat on almost daily , cannot stay in the same room with his wife for long as he is affected by the heat. No help again , pays the same for gas as we do.
Criminal !
Yeah , like us , worked all his life until the accident.
Must be getting some help and all that ?
Well . far as I know , she gets DLA , he gets Carers Allowance .....
How much is Carers Allowance ?
£ 48.65.
That's not bad , no far short of what I earn.
A week. £ 48.65 per week.
Drops pint in shock.
A week ! My teenage son earns more than him, bloody dole scrounger ! Just does down once a fortnight , blah blah blah , signs , and they pay him for doing nothing !
Yeah , that ain't the worse ?
What could be worse than that ?
To fund the works to his new house , a joke in itself , he drew down his works pension early , said he needed it to cover the mortgage. As a result , all help he can get costs him.
That ain't fair.
Try this one. 7 months ago , new Brat on the Block announced package of measures to help people like Bill. You might remember the headline " Respite Care ".
Yeah , didn't understand it at the time , surely he need a pay rise ?
That's what he said. Anyway , he applied for some of this respite care. 5 months he had to wait to get some. 4 hours last Tuesday.
Hey ? 4 hours , he cares 24 \ 7, what use was that to him ?
Needed to go to the dentist. Took him 2 months to find a NHS dentist , and even he was 25 miles away. Got back an hour late , his wife was panicking because the care sitter had already clocked off , had to call the doctor in , not hers, some medic from NHS Direct. 31 minutes on the phone just to speak to a doctor !
Disgusting !
That ain't the worst ? Cost him over £ 250 just to take 2 buses , have a filling , and the care sitter.
Isn't respite care free ?
For some , yes , trouble is the works pension , needed it to pay the mortgage but , the System doesn't take that into account. Cost him £ 60 + £ 11 traveling expenses for those 4 hours. Guy opposite to me rents his house , gets full range of benefits , including housing benefit. Told me he was better off than Bill even though his income was lower.
How come ?
It's the freebies thrown in , for some , they need an income of £ 250 per week to match them , otherwise , they are worse off.
Crazy !
Can't he get direct payments ?
Nope , same problem again , means testing , and that pension of his.
Yeah , I hope we don't have to become carers , it's frightening.
Replies
- By SocialHeretic
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sat 14 Jul 2007 11:31Poor old Bill. Next week , his wife , still only to move her neck a fraction , the rest of her body still paralysed has to attend an interview at the local ( no ) Job Centre ... mention was made that she could loose her benefits if she didn't attend. Bill faces a 4 mile walk , some without a pavement , or a £ 40 ambulance taxi fare ..... and yet another final demand received in his post today.
- By Pysie
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sat 14 Jul 2007 19:05Ooohhh - it could be me - having been wongly accused of Benefit fruad recently and subsequently written to my MP!
Thanks, Social. I'll be back posting shortly. And no bully will stop me!!!!!
Love,
Pysie xxxx
- By SocialHeretic
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sat 14 Jul 2007 20:27Hi Pysie ..... nothing whatsoever to do with benefit fraud !!!
- By booglebum
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sat 14 Jul 2007 22:24i have to say the whole means testing and wot we can earn or wot we have stinks, i know many peope on benefits that do dodge /con the system have nice cars nice garden cabins etc and it riles me, we struggle finacially and my parents are in huge debt but thankfully are getting brill support from CAB and paying their creditors £1 a month each. its so wrong.
- By booglebum
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sat 14 Jul 2007 22:25yet if you try and report people for benefit fraud the people on the phone make you sound guilty for reporting them, sorry i know this subject is not abouy benefit fraud but this upsets me. ouch.....
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By Greebo
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sun 15 Jul 2007 08:19booigebum, have you ever had a visit form the banefit fraud people?
My husband and I did, 3 years running, and we were doing nothing wrong, not leading an expensive lifestyle, we've got no car (flashy or otherwise) or satellite TV.
It's degrading, and worst of all, there's no way of knowing why the person who rang up about you did it (they might just have a grudge against you), or what they think you did wrong.
- By booglebum
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sun 15 Jul 2007 17:30yes i have greebo, it was two people that had come over to my house and they even looked through my house as i also was claimed to have had lots of people living with me when at that time it was just me and my kids(i was going through divorce then). i felt like i a crimianl even though i did nothing wrong, i found out it was because i was using my ex's car and ceryain people assumed i was loaded. i personally thought it was an ex mate who got the grump with me. will never know...
- By Pysie
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sun 15 Jul 2007 19:54I know this thread is nothing to do with benefit fraud (well, at least it wasn't). However, if poor old Bill claimed his pension in a lump sum then, when this money is all gone, he may well have to claim Income Support. Then he may be accused of benefit fraud if he has used this money to live off!! You see, the powers that be expect us to live on C£48 per week and don't seem to understand that we can't.
I sold a house - my pension!!! -several years ago because I couldn't afford the mortgage. The bulk of the proceeds was spent on renovating Mum's bungalow and building an extension for her needs. I have been living off the rest ever since, supplemented by my £48.65 per week 'wages'.
When my savings dropped below £16,000 earlier this year, I claimed Income Support. This was granted without question and without my being asked to supply evidence of my finances.
Then, out of the blue, I received a threatening letter telling me I was suspected of of benefit fraud - a criminal offence. I was interviewed 'under caution' and was told I might be taken to court.
The reason for all this? The DWP had checked my inome tax records for 2004 and had deduced that, AT THAT TIME, I had savings of around £30,000. I had explained in a letter covering my application exactly what had happened to these savings, but it seems the letter had not been read. This letter had been filed away and the fraud investigator had never seen it!!!!
I wouldn't have minded, except I used to advise on benefit entitlement and I knew the DWP was breaking its own rules in not asking for evidence of savings at the time my claim was made. I have written to my MP to complain about my treatment.
I am just one carer who has been wrongly accused of fraud because of the DWP's incompetence. I would be interested in hearing from other carers who have suffered the same indignity.
Love to you all,
Pysie
- By SocialHeretic
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Re: A Converstion In A Pub
Sun 15 Jul 2007 22:56Bill has a private pension of , say £ 250 per month .... is mortgage is , say , £ 240 per month.
Income support ? His income is way above the threshold .
Savings ? Assume all used up.
Bill has played everything with a straight bat ...... now he is a " victim " of means testing.
Note ...... detracts from the message in the Spoof.
Respite Care \ Direct payments ....... don't work for everyone , Bill has a lot more income than those on a full range of benefits , but looses out because of the mortgage.
By the end of this week , carers like Bill will still be a day or so away from everything he has ever worked for being lost ....... for many carers in a similar postion , only an increase in Carers Pittance ( coupled with the remove of the abhorrent overlapping benefit rule ) would be of any benefit.
That is the message contained in the Spoof ( plus the supplement ). And , what is the message being put out by both major parties ? How did they arrive at this conclusion ?
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