We cant afford food... Please help me sort this mess

[Nystagmite]

Have you had a benefits check to see if you're getting everything you should be?

[jadeybags]

Not a prob hunni x and theres nothing to forgive x also any spare gas send my way lol..i can use it to cook hehehe.

Things are on the up here at the mo benifits reduced my payments back to them for the crissis loan and also have had child ben n child tax re calculated as both lads are now in full time education again...one son has a placement on a the Rathbone scheme and is chuffed to monkeys...all down to you guys giving info that lead to this so many many ty's to all x

 

Wait, they still pay tax credits after they leave school & do a placement? What is the Rathbone scheme if you don't mind me asking???

[vinegarvera]

This thread ust hit me in the stomach like a steam train..

 

The Pest, I am so glad things are looking up, I am in the same position with my 17 year old, he is trying desperately to get an apprenticeship or college course to no avail... until August we were heading down the same route, and about to be repossessed , until, in the nick of time, my husband got a job, money is still tight, but things are by no way desperate. Thank God!

 

Our young teenagers are our future and should not be treated with such contempt or tarred with the same brush!

 

I hope things start looking up for you and send my best wishes...

[jadeybags]

This thread ust hit me in the stomach like a steam train..

 

The Pest, I am so glad things are looking up, I am in the same position with my 17 year old, he is trying desperately to get an apprenticeship or college course to no avail... until August we were heading down the same route, and about to be repossessed , until, in the nick of time, my husband got a job, money is still tight, but things are by no way desperate. Thank God!

 

Our young teenagers are our future and should not be treated with such contempt or tarred with the same brush!

 

I hope things start looking up for you and send my best wishes...

 

Sorry for the thread hijack but your pic! Awesome, vinegar t***s lol love it. May have to start watching all the dvd's again..

[the_pest]

Wait, they still pay tax credits after they leave school & do a placement? What is the Rathbone scheme if you don't mind me asking???

now that both are in full time further education eg college yes i can re apply to get the child tax n child benifit re-instated.. it ended when they left full time education..but now there both back in it..(hope that make sence lol)

also Rathbone...look here http://www.rathboneuk.org/ I never knew it exsisted till last week...son is luvin it

[the_pest]

This thread ust hit me in the stomach like a steam train..

 

The Pest, I am so glad things are looking up, I am in the same position with my 17 year old, he is trying desperately to get an apprenticeship or college course to no avail... until August we were heading down the same route, and about to be repossessed , until, in the nick of time, my husband got a job, money is still tight, but things are by no way desperate. Thank God!

 

Our young teenagers are our future and should not be treated with such contempt or tarred with the same brush!

 

I hope things start looking up for you and send my best wishes...

 

hi huni i really feel for you its soul distroying try these for your 17 year old http://www.rathboneuk.org/ My lad went through the under 18's advisor at connections they were totally brill , Rathbones have places all over the uk might help hun x chin up thing do get better..its a long haul x

[jadeybags]

now that both are in full time further education eg college yes i can re apply to get the child tax n child benifit re-instated.. it ended when they left full time education..but now there both back in it..(hope that make sence lol)

also Rathbone...look here http://www.rathboneuk.org/ I never knew it exsisted till last week...son is luvin it

Ouch, as little as 40 pounds per week, full time work? Thanks for the link, I shall keep it in bookmarks x

[the_pest]

Ouch, as little as 40 pounds per week, full time work? Thanks for the link, I shall keep it in bookmarks x

 

£40.00 doesn't sound a lot but it makes a big difference, if the lad/lass hasn't a job and cant claim as they are under 18..The £40.00ish is on top of the child benifit n child tax credits i can claim ..The Rushmere academy where my son has embarked on is classed as full time education..as he is taking a learning foundation course to re take his G.C.S.E's its a stepping stone for youngsters who need a goal/help and otherwise would be unemployed, not in education and no money or real future. £40.00 to me is a fortune, we had next to nothing now with these guys help we have a good future ahead .. SO yes £40.00 sounds very little but in truth its a life line and opportunity for my lad x

[jadeybags]

£40.00 doesn't sound a lot but it makes a big difference, if the lad/lass hasn't a job and cant claim as they are under 18..The £40.00ish is on top of the child benifit n child tax credits i can claim ..The Rushmere academy where my son has embarked on is classed as full time education..as he is taking a learning foundation course to re take his G.C.S.E's its a stepping stone for youngsters who need a goal/help and otherwise would be unemployed, not in education and no money or real future. £40.00 to me is a fortune, we had next to nothing now with these guys help we have a good future ahead .. SO yes £40.00 sounds very little but in truth its a life line and opportunity for my lad x

 

He doesn't have to pay travel fare? We don't live near anything so travelling is inevitable. I don't know if 40 would even cover that.

[the_pest]

He doesn't have to pay travel fare? We don't live near anything so travelling is inevitable. I don't know if 40 would even cover that.

 

All travel expensise are also re imbursed once they know what the travel will cost its added to the weekly amount he/she gets so yr never out of pocket, also my lad was told if he ever had a problem getting in to ring and they would arrange to pick him up n drop him home again. Also the meals are also all provided to..All trips are paid for by them. My son has been there just 2 weeks and already been on a Army assult team building course, a Canal/ narrow boat day out/ and a sports day in a local leisure center.

 

We live in a small village so travel is a nightmare to it would have been £25.00 per week if we had to get the fare

Why dont you have a word with connection under 18 adviser and mention you have read about this scheme on the net ask what they might be able to do for you or give them a ring..you never know till ya try x

Edited October 4, 2012 by the_pest

[Lillibelle]

So glad to read you are getting sorted hun,,had me worried there for a while,,and £40 is a HUGE amount when you are on the bones of your bum.It's a weeks shopping if you stretch it and buy wisely..

[jadeybags]

So glad to read you are getting sorted hun,,had me worried there for a while,,and £40 is a HUGE amount when you are on the bones of your bum.It's a weeks shopping if you stretch it and buy wisely..

 

I would NEVER take my sons earnings, especially not when he only got 40 pounds per week.

I would use any small amount I had to feed him & live on beans on toast myself before I did that.

The_pest, that's good to know that they reimberse travel costs. Yes he has just recently started speaking to Connexions at school. He is still at school until about next May. So it's not urgent at the moment. But good to get some info now.

[Lillibelle]

I wasn't saying 'take her sons earnings' I was intimating how much £40 can help.....lost in translation from my brain to the keyboard..I too would't take my sons wage.

[the_pest]

Soooo angry today checked my account n the DHSS have taken again the 23.00 per week crisis loan payments after agreeing to reduce them to 10.00 a week...rang them only to be told that the signed agreement to the reduced amount Didnt reach them in time for the deduction to be reduced on this jsa payment...I returned the form with 10 mins of getting it sent back 3 days b4 i signed on yet they didnt get it in time...She said on the phone I agreed at the time of taking the crisis loan to the repayments of 23.00 per week...i cant remember agreeing to that at all...anyhow yet again i have only half my JSA to live off DHSS said on the bright side i only owe 7.00 now...well woopee dooo so they can happily screw people over and make light of it...i am steaming..they wont give me any of the payment back as their not aloud to..but i can always take a crissis loan out...like hell.. sorry for the rant.. i seemed to be on the up then get kicked straight down again

[Lillibelle]

Why not take another crisis loan to be repaid at a tenner a week,,might give you a head start hun,,just a thought?

[the_pest]

Why not take another crisis loan to be repaid at a tenner a week,,might give you a head start hun,,just a thought?

 

Serriously??? NO way on gods earth would i take another crisis loan out, EVER...it was there fault in the 1st place i had to take it out..i changed benifits and was told There wont be any money break as its a straight swap over benifit change ..ha ha ha..nope it wasnt , it was a new claim and as such had to wait nearly 4 weeks to be processed as such had no money coming in and HAD to take the 100.00 crisis loan to be able to live..I took 100.00 as it was the smallest amount we could manage on, I didnt want a big loan to repay.. Just had a call from their loan manager who said Quote: They should have told me it would be processed b4 my next JSA payment and so really the paperwork was a waiste of time but they have to follow the protcol..wtf why not be honest and say it wouldnt have been dealt with in time...so angry at them. Sorry Lillibelle not angry at your comment as much as it sound here..just fuming at the DHSS

[Lillibelle]

Oh I didn't know all that hun..They really are going out of their way to p on your parade aren't they?? I had one crisis loan of 30 quid (big of them) and they virtually made me beg for it.When they finally sorted out my IS,,I got £7.70 a fortnight,,then when that stopped,,,noone bothered to tell me so my HB and CTB got stopped,,only a snotty phone call from the council alerted me to the problem !! By that time it was getting serious so I had to travel 30 odd miles to my council offices,,sit around for hours to get everything re instated !! Please don't think I was in any way trying to be sarcastic earlier,I think you have been treated terribly and admire your gumption in getting sorted x

[tinka]

Serriously??? NO way on gods earth would i take another crisis loan out, EVER...it was there fault in the 1st place i had to take it out..i changed benifits and was told There wont be any money break as its a straight swap over benifit change ..ha ha ha..nope it wasnt , it was a new claim and as such had to wait nearly 4 weeks to be processed as such had no money coming in and HAD to take the 100.00 crisis loan to be able to live..I took 100.00 as it was the smallest amount we could manage on, I didnt want a big loan to repay.. Just had a call from their loan manager who said Quote: They should have told me it would be processed b4 my next JSA payment and so really the paperwork was a waiste of time but they have to follow the protcol..wtf why not be honest and say it wouldnt have been dealt with in time...so angry at them. Sorry Lillibelle not angry at your comment as much as it sound here..just fuming at the DHSS

 

I am sorry to hijack here, but feel you are missing the point when you start to slag off the very system that is keeping you alive! I live abroad for 12 years in a society that does not have a social system of welfare and believe me, you have no idea of that kind of hardship. The system may be flawed, but that is in part due to the [problematic] who defraud it week in week out...often the money that should go to the needy gets diverted to those who make a lifestyle choice to live on benefits.

 

My nephew is disabled and we have to fight hard for any support - mainly because the system has been abused! Be angry at your situation, perhaps it will inspire you to take action to get out of what must be a really horrid situation for you right now, but please just look back at your first post and then reflect on how that system that you are fuming at has already helped you and your sons in a very short period of time.

 

Tinks

[osdset]

I live abroad for 12 years in a society that does not have a social system of welfare and believe me, you have no idea of that kind of hardship.

Irrelevant and unhelpful, there are plenty of countries that have no support system in place for their citizens, but that is no mitigation for hardship in the UK.

The system may be flawed, but that is in part due to the [problem]mers who defraud it week in week out.

Get your facts right, benefit fraud is a tiny percentage of the welfare budget, and is a drop in the ocean compared with the millions that our government waste week in week out, not to mention the tax evasion 'opportunities' that Cameron's chums take advantage of. Edited October 6, 2012 by osdset

[Nystagmite]

Isn't the error rate (by claimant or department) higher than the fraud rate?

[tinka]

Irrelevant and unhelpful, there are plenty of countries that have no support system in place for their citizens, but that is no mitigation for hardship in the UK.

 

Sorry but it is relevant to the 'entitlement' attitude that is all too prevalent - it is not an entitlement, it'is as the word implies, a benefit. What isn't helpful is to keep saying 'there, there. it all the fault of the horrid system' because it removes personal responsibility...I am so glad that the OP has found support -within that system- and she is getting some help for herself and her sons, as she is clearly in need of it. But the support shouldn't be seen as a life long option, as some unfortunately do. When it is in this lgiht, it stops people from taking steps to get themselves out of it.

 

Get your facts right, benefit fraud is a tiny percentage of the welfare budget, and is a drop in the ocean compared with the millions that our government waste week in week out, not to mention the tax evasion 'opportunities' that Cameron's chums take advantage of.

 

You have an ideological standpoint that is, I am afraid, irrelevant - you are politicising the issue, where I am talking about people and the effect being 'entitled' has...fraud in notoriously difficult to prove when people have no ethical or moral standpoint are happy to lie for friends and therefore the true extent of fraud is unknown.

 

But I, like so many others, do have personal anecdotal evidence of a number of people who fraud, in a minor way, as they see it that they are 'entitled' if they can get away with it. You are being disingenuous to suggest otherwise. The system may be flawed but thank goodness it is there for the individuals who are in genuine need of short, or long term support.

 

As for the OP, I am delighted that her sons in particular have been helped to see that they do have furute options that are not benefit dependant...I hope the new enviroment they find themselves in spurs them on to achieve everything they are capable of. Isn't that what we should all want for our children?

 

Tinks

[Nystagmite]

But I, like so many others, do have personal anecdotal evidence of a number of people who fraud, in a minor way, as they see it that they are 'entitled' if they can get away with it.

 

Have you reported them? And do you actually have proof they're committing fraud?

[estellyn]

You have an ideological standpoint that is, I am afraid, irrelevant - you are politicising the issue, where I am talking about people and the effect being 'entitled' has...fraud in notoriously difficult to prove when people have no ethical or moral standpoint are happy to lie for friends and therefore the true extent of fraud is unknown.

 

But I, like so many others, do have personal anecdotal evidence of a number of people who fraud, in a minor way, as they see it that they are 'entitled' if they can get away with it. You are being disingenuous to suggest otherwise. The system may be flawed but thank goodness it is there for the individuals who are in genuine need of short, or long term support.

 

As for the OP, I am delighted that her sons in particular have been helped to see that they do have furute options that are not benefit dependant...I hope the new enviroment they find themselves in spurs them on to achieve everything they are capable of. Isn't that what we should all want for our children?

 

Tinks

 

sounds like you've read far to many Daily Mail type stories and bought into government propaganda blaming all of a struggling individual's ills on the 'lazy, scrounger, benefit culture'. Maybe do some research on the true figures of fraud, yourself, before spouting this type of nonsense here.

 

Whether or not you know any fraudsters personally (if they are really fraudulant or you just think they are) they are not representative of the majority.

[osdset]

You have an ideological standpoint that is, I am afraid, irrelevant - you are politicising the issue, where I am talking about people and the effect being 'entitled' has...fraud in notoriously difficult to prove when people have no ethical or moral standpoint are happy to lie for friends and therefore the true extent of fraud is unknown.

 

But I, like so many others, do have personal anecdotal evidence of a number of people who fraud, in a minor way, as they see it that they are 'entitled' if they can get away with it. You are being disingenuous to suggest otherwise. The system may be flawed but thank goodness it is there for the individuals who are in genuine need of short, or long term support.

 

As for the OP, I am delighted that her sons in particular have been helped to see that they do have furute options that are not benefit dependant...I hope the new enviroment they find themselves in spurs them on to achieve everything they are capable of. Isn't that what we should all want for our children?

 

Tinks

 

Disingenuous? That's a big word from someone that obviously struggles to compose a post that isn't grammatically challenged.

I'm actually quite surprised given all the anecdotal evidence you have, that you can tear yourself away from the benefit fraud hotline for long enough to post on here.

Edited October 7, 2012 by osdset

[tinka]

Have you reported them? And do you actually have proof they're committing fraud?

 

The information I recieve on this is gained via a confidential setting, that has nothing to do with benefits - it creates an ethical problem that I have to resolve on my own conscience.

 

What not addres the issue I raised about the negative effect 'entitled' mentality has on individuals? Hmmm...maybe not so odd you don't address it.

 

Tinks