council claim we are lving together when we are not

pandas66

jellyhead wrote:

i don't want to be argumentative here but they have only been together for 6 months!! that's far too soon for people to expect them to jump into living together, pooling their finances etc. especially where there are children involved who also need time to get used to the idea of mummy having a boyfriend.

Only been together for 6 months then you really ought to be getting to know each other and not already have 3 nights here and so on set in stone, or as it seems .

if the father has equity in the house then perhaps there's an issue there, but really i think 6 months isn't enough to be able to move in together permanently. i'm sorry you feel your husband's ex is misleading you but she might also be playing it safe for a while, getting to know her new boyfriend well enough before making the permanent jump to living together/marrying. keeping up a residence elsewhere isn't cheap, i doubt it would be worth doing if he really was living properly with her, also some people have to keep their old place if they've signed a lease for say a year. if that's the case then they can't afford to move in with a new partner and fully support them and their children in addition to paying the rent and bills on the flat they're leasing.

She's in a council house, as OP stated, so receiving full housing benefit but no mention of work. He has his own property so maybe he's releuctant to be caught incase she gets her teeth into the equity in his property.
Perhaps you should both take a step back and not live so rigid to the 'rules' as you see them and live at weekends at yours, then there will be no worries for us or critisism from us.

Phonix

Between one quarter and a third are not claiming the Pension Credit, formerly Minimum Income Guarantee
One in ten are underclaiming Housing Benefit
One in three are not claiming Council Tax Benefit.

So please don't give the impression that the figures quoted apply to *all* pensioners.

If he were he would have manipulated the figures to read "ten in ten" etc.

Abit of anecdotal evidence doesn't change things, although it's good to see that you're ok but the council clearly has nothing to do with your welfare.

Ted_Hutchinson

margaretclare wrote:

I completely agree that anyone who falls into the categories which are eligible to claim for the benefits you list, should claim them without delay, and to the maximum possible

............snip.........

So please don't give the impression that the figures quoted apply to *all* pensioners.Margaret Clare

As Phonix has pointed out the statistics I quoted make it quite clear that it is up to a third of eligible pensioners who are not claiming their entitlements. I do not think I exaggerated the statistics or implied otherwise. It is possible these people will short of money and thus be less healthy and so more accident prone and the consequences more likely to require hospitalisation resulting in Cardiff hospital's admission statistics. However, the point I was making was that the Benefit forum is primarily for legal, accurate and correct replies for information in response to specific benefit enquiries. If people want to debate issues arising from matters arising in this forum surely you can see the discussion forum is a more suitable venue. The consequences of underclaiming are far more serious and expensive to the nation than those of overclaiming and therefore the kind of responses here which discourage legitimate questions, particularly those concerning the grey areas of borderline claims should not be discouraged by critical and aggressive replies.

The ethos of the forum is "Be nice to other posters" If people want to Vent there anger at what they consider unethical antics of others then either the Vent or Discussion forums are the place to take their concerns.

If you cannot say anything helpful, positive or constructive or relevant to the original poster then I think you should stay quiet or raise a new thread in either the Vent or Discussion forums.

Edit: Further information about the extent of Pensioner Poverty can be found at Help the Aged it should also be noted that Pensioners are paying too much tax

margaretclare

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

Last year over 50% of surgical admissions to Cardiff hospital were suffering from malnutrition while pensioners are underclaiming at the following rates.

• Between one quarter and a third are not claiming the Pension Credit, formerly Minimum Income Guarantee
• One in ten are underclaiming Housing Benefit
• One in three are not claiming Council Tax Benefit.

Your list does not include the word *eligible* as in 'one-third of eligible pensioners'. As worded it gives the erroneous impression that you are taling about *all* pensioners, not specifically those eligible.

Margaret Clare

jellyhead

but still there are people, pensioners perhaps more than others, who don't claim what they're entitled to because some members of society are so nasty to people on benefits ....

Tabbykatt

jellyhead wrote:

but still there are people, pensioners perhaps more than others, who don't claim what they're entitled to because some members of society are so nasty to people on benefits ....

I think that Jellyhead has summed up what the problem may be, and its not just posters in Forums or members of the general public that are to blame.
If there is any pride within your personality what-so-ever then going into any DWP or Benefit office is a VERY distressing experience and to be honest the majority of the senior population that I have ever come across have pride high on their list of positive personality traits.

If you mention Income Support to anyone it feels like you have 'scum' imprinted on your forehead, all self dignity is taken from you and you feel like a liar and a cheat from the outset. Your whole life becomes public property, with no privacy not only to your financial situation but also to your personal one. I really can understand why people would rather starve or freeze, rather than claim what they are entitled too.

Believe me, I know what its like and if I did not have my 2 young children to worry about I certainly would not have had the guts to go through it. In Feb I had to try and find a new house for myself and my children, I had Letting Agents laugh in my face when I mentioned Housing Benefit, and the houses I were shown were so disgusting I would not have let my dog live there.

So maybe if people who consider that claiming benefits is an easy way out and that we all sit there having the life of Riley, while all you poor tax payers support our addiction to drugs, cigerettes and daytime TV, could possibly entertain that this stereotype is wrong? Maybe then the attitude towards benefit recipients would change and that those who need and deserve what is rightfully theres, will have the confidence to claim at last.

pandas66

I think you have mixed up the very worst case with reality indeed. The OP has given no indication they are living at just bearable levels, in fact has pointed out a very nice lifestyle that neither want to jeopadise through 'misadventure'. Infact their are some very nice private properties to be let, the company I work for also let flats and a few are inhabited by DSS claimants, these have recently been refurbished and are a very standard now. Not all dwellings aren't fit for human habitation either.

Tabbykatt

pandas66 wrote:

I think you have mixed up the very worst case with reality indeed. The OP has given no indication they are living at just bearable levels, in fact has pointed out a very nice lifestyle that neither want to jeopadise through 'misadventure'. Infact their are some very nice private properties to be let, the company I work for also let flats and a few are inhabited by DSS claimants, these have recently been refurbished and are a very standard now. Not all dwellings aren't fit for human habitation either.

Then 'very worst case' would be my experience, but I do doubt that, as I have heard alot worse and I have never had to live in a B&B for the grace of God!
Well done for the company that you work for, if only there were more of them, esp in the South of England where I live and rental properties are at a premium. The joke of the matter is that the ones that would accept my circumstances wanted at leat £1500 deposit! Yeah I will just nip over to my Swiss Bank Account where I place my weekly £126 Income Support then shall I?

This is digressing from the original OP, and my post was aimed at explaining why many pensioners are not claiming what it rightfully theres as expressed in previous posts.

mrsdee

camper wrote:

they've already admitted living together, so why should the tax payer support her on benefits? Why can't she get a job!? With tax credits, payable to everyone, they wouldn't have this 'problem'. Tax credits are increased for more children and ignore maintainance.
And why on earth do they think that "in this day and age, sleeping together is normal"?
Councils DO speak to each other, AND to the Benefits Agency, so these people robbing the system should not be so complacent.

Totally agree with you, camper. There's a contradiction here - people saying "they've only been seeing eachother six months, it's too early" but apparently it's not too early to be sleeping together four nights a week (and for some time) and when there are children around. So kids wake up and find another adult in mum/dad's bed and think they have a new parent-figure..... But neither adult party is decided on whether it's going to last or not. It's wrong to put children through this.

They should arrange for children to have sleepovers at someone else's or be with their other parent whilst they spend time with new partner and decide whether or not it is going somewhere, BEFORE they get the children involved and get them acquainted with new partner.

And yes why not get a job, so those of us paying £1000 a month in tax dont have to fund such lifestyles!!

Ted_Hutchinson

mrsdee wrote:

Totally agree with you, camper.

Irrespective of your views based on the little evidence available, it is not conducive to the effective running of this forum if you continue to express these views here. Surely you can see that attacks on the ethical integrity of posters isn't consistent with Martins "be nice to other posters" ethos.

If you want to debate or discuss further the ethics of living together, whilst claiming benefit, kindly do so in the Discussion or Vent forums. Creating or continuing a climate of hostility here will deter future posters from asking for help and make it harder for them to know exactly what the rules are and how they are generally applied.