Tragic face of Benefits dependent Britain

[papko]

I was wondering if anyone had any insight into this conundrum in our town A Local man 71 year old , vulnerable person , history of mental illness , living in the community now for the last 30 years . He gets about £400 a week from the social what with pension credits disability and rent and council tax paid

Well he's the kind of chap who can't say "no " to anything , and the bigger the waster that asks ? the more he tries to beg or borrow , to get them funds . This is all well known to the local alcoholics , who usually arrive with a sob story , and they end up getting some cider , well the last few years the heroin addicts have got wind of him , and they badger him constantly , with the end result , that he gives them everything he has , and leaves himself with out food , heating or tobacco , its then that he goes round the neighbours doors asking for money . Most have got well sick of him by now , and just ignore it . I sometimes help him , he does manage to pay you back sometime , and he usually lends a hand when I need it , so it levels out . Well now the druggies realise that I am financially solvent , and are leaning on him harder to get me to lend him money , which I wont off course . he is miles in debt with everybody as it is must owe over 20k , plus 2k overdraft , he spends £100 a week on mobile phone calls , and also gets contracts for other people in his name , the druggies promptly sell the phone and get him to pay the monthly bill , hes barred from most of the phone companies as a result , and his credit rating is zero . because he is complicit in all this , and the druggies know how to press the right buttons so to speak , there is nothing really you can do , or is there ?

[papko]

Surely its not lost on everyome that the "vulnerable person " is very willing and complict in all this , he says himself he likes "being ripped off " and "helping them thta no one will " , and he does this similar emotional blackamil on the other freind he has who is also "vulnerable " .

 Police and scoial services ? what cna they do ? surely wherever they put him , he will phone his tormentors up , and the whole rigmarole will start again ?

afterall , if he was spending his whole weekly allowance on , Heroin , prostitutes , one armed bandits etc , there would be no crime comitted would there ?

 he chooses to do what he does , and being a smoker , always manages to budget for pipe tobacco ,

So there is a modicum of responsibilty there .

 I would of thought instead od spening tens of thousands on a new house and new identity so to speak

 Just cut his benfits to £150 a week say , so that he could not squander any more ?

 surely an adult can live in Britain , with rent and council tax paid , on £150 a week ?

 I would imagine a great many who work , will not retire so handsomely

[bankhaunter]

surely an adult can live in Britain , with rent and council tax paid , on £150 a week ?

I think pension credit to boost his pension would make a total of about £135 a week, anything else would be disability living allowance, which would normally mean he needed some help from another person.

[ronnybabes]

This is a guy who needs help , and maybe should have all his bills paid by the Benefits System up front.

eg., Gas. Electric, Water, TV Licence, etc., and then be given the remainder for personal use. (Tobacco, food, alcohol, clothing etc., though not necessarily in that order)

[kiss*my*pixel]

This is a guy who needs help , and maybe should have all his bills paid by the Benefits System up front.

eg., Gas. Electric, Water, TV Licence, etc., and then be given the remainder for personal use. (Tobacco, food, alcohol, clothing etc., though not necessarily in that order)

That is a very sensible idea. Many, many years ago I used to work for the DHSS (as it was then known) and I'm sure we used to do that for vulnerable claimants unable to manage their funds. Utility bills, etc, paid directly to the relevant companies.