General Forum - Win £10.2 million on the lottery, and still claiming benefits! - Page 1

'we're entitled to it'      

RIP Julie & Maisie

That was on the news this morning, maddening...

That is absolutely ridiculous.

Surely anyone with an ounce of decency would cancel their claim, as the oney is there to help pay for things needed to help with their disability which they can now afford without help?

I think the "were entitled to it" just about sums it all up

iv'e had the misfortune to have to claim benefits for a short while and its no walk in the park to get it - nowhere near £500 a month!  

My brain hurts too much to work out the interest they would be getting on that lot - plus £10.2 mil when they won it would be worth a heck of a lot more now.

Maybe when that amount of money is involved it should be means tested.   

 
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They weren't running a bank by an chance?


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Apparently he told the DLA about the win but they told him it didn't matter because it wasn't means tested. If you believe in certain universal benefits, you have to accept that some people will get it who don't really need it. The problem is that people are using the case to demonise benefits claimants as scroungers when they are entitled to the money they are receiving.

If this kind of case is used to bring in means-testing for lifetime benefits like DLA or Attendance Allowance and things like that, the next thing will be to introduce it for the state pension (if that is allowed to continue). Then the Civil Service will come under pressure to "persuade" claimants off these benefits, as is currently happening with the incapacity benefits. You'll have to jump through hoops and let some DWP officer trawl through your financial affairs before they'll let you have so much as a fiver, constantly under the threat of prosecution if there's so much as a penny out of place.

J Mark Oates
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sprockethole.myreviewer.com

Quote:
Apparently he told the DLA about the win but they told him it didn't matter because it wasn't means tested
One of the questions i was asked to get £86.00 a week was "do you or your wife have joint savings in excess of £16000 - if so it can effect the amopunt of benefit you receive" so apparently it is means tested if your struggling to get by on a day to day basis because your unfortunate enough to lose your job to ill health - but have £10million in your bank acct it isnt.... something isnt quite right their dont you think? 

Whilst taking on board your comments with regards to demonising claimants, and governments using any thin wedge under the door tactics (and of course how many lottery winners can we name that are doing the above - i'm sure the proponents of slashing benefits loved the story) its more a question of where the hell are his social morales? benefits are their to help the temporary needy, those that fall through the social net etc - not pay £500 a month to someone that earns more than that interest a week.

Just venting a bit due to having spent the whole of friday playing the "you need to call this number" game with the DWP to find out why it took them 14 days to let me know that the benefit i am due this monday wont be coming - (decision made on the 13th jan - letter dated the 27th jan...) - no apologies - nada - just some helpful advice of getting a "crisis" loan that takes appx 10days to arrange (and thats only 60% of what you would have got) - i'm sure the dwp will be happy to pay the bank charges for the two minor direct debits that are due next week that are unlikely to get paid due to their monumental lack of communication skills. (i think not!)

Thats me done lol  
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If Quizzes are Quizzical what are tests...

Grumpy Old Gits Valentines Survival Guide
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Oh I completely agree the ethical and moral thing to do would be to say "there are others in greater need" and withdraw from the benefit. £10m in a bog standard online savings account would accrue quarter of a million per annum in interest (assuming a 2.5%APR). That's £687 a day which just goes to show you that money does make money.

FWIW, I have to take the dreaded Income Support to make my Carer's Allowance up, which means I can't have savings of more than £3000 (the last time I checked) before I get penalised by the DWP. I preferred it when they were called the DHSS, because at least with the SS bit you knew where you were.

J Mark Oates
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The Home Of Lively Debate
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sprockethole.myreviewer.com

Quote:
That's £687 a day See i'm way off the mark Mark...

In case anyone might be wondering, i'm currently looking for a job and was merely doing as i was instructed by the DWP to do - "wait for a letter which will let you know what to do next"

I had been on the new "ESA" (the old Disibility Living Allowance) - Medicals are now required at regular intervals run by a company called ATOS on behalf of the DWP the "pass" critera (where you are considered unfit to work has been tweaked and tweaked to within an inch of its life) - i knew i was going to fail it due to i feel so much better and was totally honest regarding what was going on - the next move would have been get onto Job Seekers Allowance - which i thought would have been automatic considering they have every single detail about me on file,

I could have put things in motion to re apply for new benefit claim on the 15th of jan not the 27th when they could be bothered to write to me!

As More Than Freemans says "thank you for listening"  

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If Quizzes are Quizzical what are tests...

Grumpy Old Gits Valentines Survival Guide
http://www.jinglejolly.co.uk