anyone else think the benefits system is all wrong?

I was hit by a car 4 years ago this month and my back was quite badly injured I then got pregnant in the octobert and lost the baby in the december and got pregnant again in feb. I managed to work until I was 5 months pregnant with my little girl but since then have been classed as unfit to work, being made redundant november 07 when my daughter was 1. I had worked from being 15 around school then college saturday and part time jobs but on being made redundant was told that i had not paid enough in tax to claim incapacity benefits until my 21st birthday so had almost 3 months with no money , a mortgage to pay and a baby over christmas too. I have just this week had my tax credits cut by half bcause my incapacity benefit is now taxable, even though my partners wages had dropped by £50 a week as his company are stuggling and have had to cut hours. I know people age 22 who have 4 children and won't work because they would loose money in benefits if they did... is anyone else experiencing the same thing? Need to vent my anger, my tax credits cut has really topped my week off!!
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chloe71106
Reply chloe71106 6 months ago
Hiya I'm so glad someone has had a vent on the forum about this issue as I totally agree - it really does seem all the wrong way around!!!! I'm so sorry to hear about your accident and the problems it's caused with your health and now your financial situation. It makes me so mad when people who are obviously willing and want to work are not supported sufficantly in times of need yet those who seem to be out to sponge the system just seem to get the cash rolling in. I've worked since I was 15 through uni to get to a position where myself and my OH can afford to live in our house, just as a lot of us have. It's been blood sweat and tears on the career path. When your working this hard and paying taxes this kind of thing really makes my blood boil. Don't get me wrong, I think the fact that our taxes help support the NHS and benefits are one of the things that make this country great, but when we've seemingly lost the balance and people like yourself are not supported that makes me mad!! There is a family who live on our estate in a £300,000 house who have never worked and have been consistently moved around the area as a problem family as the husband is violent. He's already attacked a pensioner neighbour of ours who has just sold up as a result. I'm sorry but why do people like that deserve to live in a premium property when people who do need genuine support seem to get shafted?? GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
How can they call it income support when the only people who seem to be able to get it are the people who don't have an earnt income coming in in the 1st place and why the hell do the people who work have to pay council tax when they aren't the ones that use the council (in general).. people living in council houses, on benefits from the council, who are in trouble with the police almost every other day moved around from house to house because they have been evicted don't have to pay anything towards it because they don't work. I just get so mad. my single mum friend, works full time she's on minumum wage but on her own with no bills to pay gets more a week that myself and my partner get with a mortgage, i wouldnt begrudge her that money at all because she works for it but she is classed as on a low income as she is on her own but we aren't when with her benefits she comes out with more than us... i thought my rant was over but reading these stories has just got me going again arghhhh!!! hormones x
StacyandLiam
Reply StacyandLiam 6 months ago
they do know how to p people off! espically pregnant women!
StacyandLiam
Reply StacyandLiam 6 months ago
they do know how to p people off! espically pregnant women!
mommynel
Reply mommynel 6 months ago
Well I was gonna go off on a big 2000 word essay style rant but you ladies have said it all really! This country is just an absolute joke and rewards the lazy, layabout scroungers for sitting about watching flaming Jeremy Kyle all day when the majority of them are perfectly capable of working but seem to have figured out that are better off not doing so. Maybe we're the stupid ones for A) going to work and paying our bills morally and B) letting these scrubbers get away with it. Glad I got that off my very sore chest lol xx
RachaelK
Reply RachaelK 6 months ago
Oof I hate it lol. Our WTC have been cut by £50 a week, I understand why but it still sucks, just when we thought we could afford to move out, now we might not be able to =[ I have issues with the tax credits office anyway. When I first had my son me and my partner were living seperately, so I started claiming income support and CTC (in the May), in the November a guy came to check that we werent commiting fraud (just a routine check) and it turns out that our living arrangements meant that we had to claim TC as a couple, but he said that since I clearly didn't realise this that if I did it straight away he wouldn't report it. So I rang up and got a form, but when it came it asked for our addresses, and because we live together but with 2 sets of parents we didn't know which to put so we rang up and they said put both, so we did. After about 6 weeks we'd had no money (they'd stopped my IS and CTC until our new claim had gone through) so we rang up and they said they were still dealing with it. We rang up every week until it got to three months and still no money (right over christmas). OH's dad said he'd had a call on his mobile, which obv we'd never given them the number to cos why would we, asking where OH was living. We told my dad (who knows a lot about the law etc cos of his job) and he said it sounded like they were doing a fraud investigation on us, but by ringing a mobile number we hadn't given them it was illegal. OH rang straight away and said well what you're doing it illegaly and they put the money backdated over 3 months in our bank by the end of the week! It annoyed me SO much cos tho they didn't even tell us why it was taking so long! And yet my boyfriends brother is living with his gf (their baby is 6 months old) but hasn't declared it (even though the only time he's ever at his parents house is when they've fallen out or he's working double shifts) because she's worried her benifits will go down! Really annoys me! Sorry, took over slightly there =p
edgewood
Reply edgewood 6 months ago
Yep, I have to agree with you there, we would be better off if we didn't work also - it is all back to front. The system seems to reward couples where neither of them work and claim every benefit under the sun and then us who pay into the system as we work get nothing back!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! and as for all these MPs who have claimed taxpayers money for 2nd homes etc etc - think they all should be done for fraud like we would if we made false claims!!! (sorry, rant over, I am a tad hormonal this morning, lol!!)
that's fine hun it makes u feel like that don't it my husband said the same the other day about the mp's being done for fraud, it's one rule for them and one rule for everyone else though aint it! my OH has even considered giving his job up to be honest cause it sometimes seems the only way to make ends meet but he'd hate to not be earning which i admire him for not sure i'd be as keen to do what he does everyday only to have nothing left at the end of the month for myself. Well that's my rant over for the day now aswell lol !
bbnewmum
Reply bbnewmum 6 months ago
Hiya I'm so glad someone has had a vent on the forum about this issue as I totally agree - it really does seem all the wrong way around!!!! I'm so sorry to hear about your accident and the problems it's caused with your health and now your financial situation. It makes me so mad when people who are obviously willing and want to work are not supported sufficantly in times of need yet those who seem to be out to sponge the system just seem to get the cash rolling in. I've worked since I was 15 through uni to get to a position where myself and my OH can afford to live in our house, just as a lot of us have. It's been blood sweat and tears on the career path. When your working this hard and paying taxes this kind of thing really makes my blood boil. Don't get me wrong, I think the fact that our taxes help support the NHS and benefits are one of the things that make this country great, but when we've seemingly lost the balance and people like yourself are not supported that makes me mad!! There is a family who live on our estate in a £300,000 house who have never worked and have been consistently moved around the area as a problem family as the husband is violent. He's already attacked a pensioner neighbour of ours who has just sold up as a result. I'm sorry but why do people like that deserve to live in a premium property when people who do need genuine support seem to get shafted?? GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!
kirstyd1975
Reply kirstyd1975 6 months ago
hiya hun what a situation to be in, it does make you think the country is all backwards, i don't work myself have the kids to look after and preg wiv twins but my husband has worked full time since he was 15 yrs old he's 43 now and we know couples who are living on income support and are better of financially, if my husband didn't work we would get our rent and council tax paid and would have more disposable income than we do now which aint hard, don't get me wrong i've got nothing against people who claim benefits but it would be nice if the government actually made it easier for people who do work hard to try to pay their own way.
Yep, I have to agree with you there, we would be better off if we didn't work also - it is all back to front. The system seems to reward couples where neither of them work and claim every benefit under the sun and then us who pay into the system as we work get nothing back!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! and as for all these MPs who have claimed taxpayers money for 2nd homes etc etc - think they all should be done for fraud like we would if we made false claims!!! (sorry, rant over, I am a tad hormonal this morning, lol!!)
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