Latest newsletter from benefits&Work

nannytone_2

this forum is for questions and help regarding benefit and tax credit claims.

it isn't for discussing benefit policy, which many threads stray into.

you can see the differing opinions cause arguments and as such, do not install confidence in people that need advice/help regarding entitlement.

that is why people suggest that the rights and wrongs of the benefit system need to be discussed in DT and not in here

missbiggles1

ev8 wrote: »

No, I know there are other sub categories of the forum for different things, but for the benefits part, I thought this was it. I still have no idea what the arms is/are.

DT (in the Arms) is the place for general discussions (including about benefits). People have been trying to be helpful by pointing this out.

missbiggles1

JakiT wrote: »

Thanks nannytone. It's actually on the bottom right of mine. But I can't for the life of me see why something about benefits would be moved out of the benefits forum! So anything about benefits I will post in the benefits forum. That seems logical!!

Your initial post might be seen as being simple information but then you started to discuss the pros and cons of the situation which made it inappropriate for this board.

JakiT

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Your initial post might be seen as being simple information but then you started to discuss the pros and cons of the situation which made it inappropriate for this board.

With respect, I think you're being a bit pedantic. I advise a lot of people and there's a lot of misinformation which needs to be dealt with as it arises. It does generate discussion because of the way it effects the lives of disabled people.

sangie595

JakiT wrote: »

It is very often even more difficult for people with long term health problems and disabilities than the average person to navigate these forums exactly for the reasons you said. I'm a member of many forums and I find this one often unfriendly and unappreciative of the difficulties of navigating this forum...

I have a disability and have absolutely no problem navigating this or any other forum.

I think you are flogging this to death. You were very politely asked to observe the rules of the forum, and told how to do so. The person arguing back that the rules shouldn't apply to you is you!

I do appreciate that you perhaps don't like the site, the way it is laid out, and the rules attached to it. You are always at liberty to select posting on a site that suits you better. If you wish to post here, however, it would be nice if you would just respect the site rules.

That way we aren't all sitting here thinking that that link is attempting to lure people to pay for advice which they can obtain for free on MSE - after all, that newsletter does seem to think that two adverts for subscriptions to their own website is "news". Not my definition of news, admittedly, but there you go - you see, different sites have different ideas about things and you have to respect that!

NYM

:T Well put sangie.

sangie595

NYM wrote: »

:T Well put sangie.

Thanks. I have really good memory for things, and it isn't too long ago that a poster calling themselves Philanthropist was posting on this board that he was a lawyer and had won a case from 0 to full points, but would only disclose his secrets to people paying for a subscription to this same site. There are myriads of sources of free advice on benefits, and not just on the internet. Both public sector bodies and charities fund lots of advice centres and services. And that includes on line resources. I therefore had to wonder about a site that keeps popping up here to add nothing except a lure.

If people are entitled to benefits then there is plenty of free help and advice. But it seems odd to me to be charging the poorest people in society for help. Especially since (a) you have no guarantee of the quality of the advice once you have paid, or in fact whether you are entitled, and (b) everything that could possibly be on the site is in the public domain anyway.

But I was giving the poster the benefit of the doubt - because advertising is definitely also against MSE rules, and I felt it was advertising.

JakiT

sangie595 wrote: »

I have a disability and have absolutely no problem navigating this or any other forum.

I think you are flogging this to death. You were very politely asked to observe the rules of the forum, and told how to do so. The person arguing back that the rules shouldn't apply to you is you!

I do appreciate that you perhaps don't like the site, the way it is laid out, and the rules attached to it. You are always at liberty to select posting on a site that suits you better. If you wish to post here, however, it would be nice if you would just respect the site rules.

That way we aren't all sitting here thinking that that link is attempting to lure people to pay for advice which they can obtain for free on MSE - after all, that newsletter does seem to think that two adverts for subscriptions to their own website is "news". Not my definition of news, admittedly, but there you go - you see, different sites have different ideas about things and you have to respect that!

Bully for you! But I have chronic fatigue on top of mental health problems and not everyone is the same as you. If you are in any chronic fatigue forums you would understand

I am being unfairly attacked for trying to help people. I only justified it because somebody said did I have a question around my post . If this is the thanks I get for trying to get information to people who need it than fine. I shan't bother because it is easier for me not to help than expending my energy trying to help..sadly some people will lose out for not having the information but that will be thanks to you. I didn't break any rules. I posted a link to a free newsletter in a benefits forum and so there's no rule breaking, just pedantic people, splitting hairs when people are struggling because of the benefits system...

JakiT

sangie595 wrote: »

Thanks. I have really good memory for things, and it isn't too long ago that a poster calling themselves Philanthropist was posting on this board that he was a lawyer and had won a case from 0 to full points, but would only disclose his secrets to people paying for a subscription to this same site. There are myriads of sources of free advice on benefits, and not just on the internet. Both public sector bodies and charities fund lots of advice centres and services. And that includes on line resources. I therefore had to wonder about a site that keeps popping up here to add nothing except a lure.

If people are entitled to benefits then there is plenty of free help and advice. But it seems odd to me to be charging the poorest people in society for help. Especially since (a) you have no guarantee of the quality of the advice once you have paid, or in fact whether you are entitled, and (b) everything that could possibly be on the site is in the public domain anyway.

But I was giving the poster the benefit of the doubt - because advertising is definitely also against MSE rules, and I felt it was advertising.

Oh and I resent the fact that you're implying I have ulterior motives...I was trying to help, that is all. It is your suspicious mind that's at fault. Benefits&Work newsletters are free and they are posted all around Facebook too. It is true that members pay a small amount but that is for the cost of their in-depth manuals which nobody is obliged to pay for. And many of us who are members give these manuals to others for free, myself included, because those manuals have helped people get their entitlements including myself.

FYI, I'm also an admin in a Facebook group which gives benefits advice for free with help of Benefits&Work and other resources so don't make assumptions about people's motives that you know nothing about

Jim_Cooke

I love the light moderation and freedom of speech we get on here. The problem with it is if you are looking for benefits advice you have to wade through lots of stuff that is at best irrelevant, and at worst misleading and wrong. Because Benefits and Work has a presumably paid well informed Moderator and Barrister, irrelevant or incorrect replies are generally weeded out.
Its a bit like reconditioning a car engine. All the information you need is probably available free on the internet. But you have to wade through stuff thats spam, irrelelevant or wrong to find it. Its easier and safer to buy a workshop manual, than totally rely on free forums.