Scrounger..!

[Noob]

Was beginning to feel like a fraud , the last week I felt pretty good and was starting to look for work again, this morning woke up feeling really bad got a really dry mouth and son of a bitch (SOB) what I thought it meant the first time I saw it..! I am now stuck in the house unable to go anywhere luckily I have plenty of food and other supplies but being on my own there is no one that I can call upon that would be able to help, after 20 years of paying tax at the highest rate all I have to live on is the basic ESA of £71 and my rent of £100 is paid £8.50 short, it would seem like I have chosen the wrong time to lose my health, I would really like to go back to work, not just for the money but for the social side, in the last three years I have spent a lot of time off of work and it has got to the stage where I no longer have savings to cover rent payments whilst a claim which takes a minimum of ten days to process goes through. Well that is all sorry if I seem to be self pitying.

[Puffthemagicdragon]

There is a thing called a crisis loan, It may be worth trying. On the link scroll down to " What is a disaster? ". It mentions waiting for benefits and says

" Please remember that these are just examples and a Crisis Loan may not necessarily be appropriate. Similarly, if a situation is not mentioned, it does not mean you would not get help. We will look at the individual circumstances of an application. We will consider if a Crisis Loan is the only means by which serious damage or serious risk to you or your family may be prevented in an emergency or because of a disaster. "

Good luck,

dwp.gov.uk/publications/spe...

[Gordon57]

Scrounger? fraud ? self pitying? Why put yourself down when you're trying to find a solution to your situation. Take a good look at yourself - are you fit for work, or suffering with a lung disease? NOT what an ATOS doctor may say, but what you feel yourself.

You say you've spent most of the last three years off work and you currently get ESA. That tells me you're not fit for work, so what can you do? Take advice, proper stuff, not just me telling you what to do because I'm not here for that. I can only suggest that you get in touch with the CAB in your area and see what they can do in relation to benefits.

There are other organisations, the BLF helpline will advise on benefits, to a point. They can't help you complete the forms, but the CAB might.

I know what it's like to struggle. I lost my job over a year ago. I've already been to court to defend my family against being evicted, we managed to set it back a bit thanks to family help and reclaiming PPI, but now things are getting bad again and it will not be long before I am sent a summons again. I'm not happy about claiming a benefit as I've worked just about all my life but these days I don't even go out of the house.

It was a bitter pill, admitting to myself that I may never work again - nobody would want me in my present state, and it's not likely to improve. When we're forced into it we have to look at it that we are actually entitled to state help if we've paid into 'the system' all these years.

If I had a job and/or money, I wouldn't apply for benefit, even though I may be entitled to it. It's really not worth the hassle if you can get by without. But, needs must.

[andreafm]

It amazes me how many people are struggling without the financial help they should be getting, because the system is against us. We are then left self pitying, feeling like a fraud or a scrounger when we shouldn't.

If all the people who should be entitled were to get their benefits as they should and all those who weren't entitled were recognised and lost their benefits. I think we would have a bigger bill for welfare benefits.

There seems to be so many people who should be entitled, that either don't apply or when they do get roughshod and made to feel worse.

It makes me really angry and feel despondant that people have to fight and push at a time they could really do without it. The forms are so ambiguous that it takes a professional form filler to fill in....how can this be right.

The C.A.B is probably the best place to start...at least they are usually pretty local and can help with filling in the form with the right info to have more success and feel supported.

You could also get some advice sheets from BLF website to help you prepare for the appointment with the C.A B. Just contact them direct or put the word "benefits" in the website search and it brings up all sorts of info.

Also, what helped me was to do a diary of everything for a while [say 1 month] and photocopy it for when you go to see them.

This all helps with taking back some of the control you have lost.

Good luck noob, when you feel strong enough to tackle it again, try an arrange an appointment with the C.A.B

Andrea

[halsa]

Dear Noob,

The best place I have found for assistance on sorting out benefits is your local Social Services Council Benefits Advisor they will advise you what to claim for, fill in the forms for you and if your claim is rejected they will represent you at an appeal. They are experts and often when they fill an appeal form in the D for W and Pensions gives in before any hearing.

For example if you have COPD and are disabled you may be entitled to PIP to assist you, for example sometimes with COPD you cannot stand heat, so may have difficulty in your kitchen cooking because it makes you feel ill! in which case with other moderate difficulties you may be entitled to the lowest rate of help for personal care on PIP which is the replacement for DLA.

Get going and make sure you make an appointment with your Council Social Benefits Advisor

you are entitled to help, dont give up.

Halsa

[hufferpuffer]

I don't think you're a scrounger and anyone that makes you feel like one is a SOB for sure! it's the pits when you get a disease like this after working and paying all that tax and insurance,to end up on a meager amount of money,not even enough to survive on AND stay well ( by keeping warm,fed and the wolves from the door ) I wished for a long time I could have stayed working for longer but I had to stop because I could not do the job properly.

We have to stay positive though and try to think about the things we CAN still do.

I think sometimes prisoners get better looked after than us! they can even earn money from prison on the net....perhaps we could find a way of working from home ( avoiding all those sob germs!) anyways like Halsa says never give up! Carol x

[Hidden]

Hi I am in roughly the same position as you noob. I am currently on Jobseekers Allance. At least you are able to claim ESA. I think that after a certain period of time (6 months or a year) then ESA goes up. My sister been on it for over a year and she now gets 119.00 per week. I recommend you ring up the BLF benefits advisor who should be able to help you.

And if you are a scrounger then we all are lol. But like you i have worked all my life and if anyone has a go at me I just say that its my money I am getting back - money I have paid into the system all my life. Don't take no .... from anyone.

Bev xx

[Noob in reply to Hidden]

Just go to your doctor and get a sick note, I claimed ESA because I was unfit for work and was just being honest with the DWP, the only difference between JSA and ESA at the early stage is that you do not have to sign on every two weeks and pretend to be looking for work, the worksearch diary is a joke, last time I was on JSA I showed them all the jobs that I had looked for that past fortnight and was told that it was too much information..!

[Hidden in reply to Noob]

Im a bit caught in the middle Noob. Im not bad enough to get sick note but I cannot work full time because of my health conditions. In no mans land...

I was on ESA for a while for depression. But ATOS wanted me to make a long and difficult journey to see them and I couldn't get my head round it enough to go. So it seemed easier to sign on for JSA. Lesser of 2 evils - maybe...