Sky TV when claiming benefit?

Can I also say that in my job I see both sides of the coin. I see people in very obvious desperate need and I go way out of my way to get them sorted however I can now spot the scammer a mile away. I've actually been asked "What are the symptoms of fibromyalgia" I've been told its an easy one to put on the pip form to get that benefit. It's shirkers like that that give genuine claimants the bad name. I was divorced aged 27 with 2 small children. I know what it's like to struggle and live out of the mark down section in the supermarket. I have only remarried 6 years ago and my children are now married with children off their own. It makes me so mad to see anyone who claims benefits labeled as a sponger. I don't want anyone to think my original post on Sky TV was in any way judgmental. It's just the way the companies that are owed money see it. They also see haircuts and buying clothes as a luxury too incidentally.

This whole thread seems to arise because of a confusion between a benefits claim form and a debt repayment form.

Or it could be that some people like to think that people on benefits are living the life of Reilly, so they needn't feel any compassion or sympathy for them.

I work as a benefits adviser. If I was working with someone who was in debt I go through a list of all their essentials that must be paid to keep a roof over their heads such as rent, mortgage, council tax, gas and electricity and insurances. Any other contracts such as mobile phone or sky are not classed as essential and so go into the general debt pot along with all other people you owe money to. Once all the essentials are accounted for the surplus if any is arrived at and this is carved up percentage wise to go to your debtors. A loan company is not going to think its ok that you pay Sky £50 per month while it's only getting 33% of its agreed payment. Maybe the forms are different in Northern Ireland but I've never seen Sky mentioned on benefit forms as essential expenditure.

And if someone who is dealing with you is 'snotty' then politely ask if you can see someone else instead; as a poster up-thread said, the staff who dealt with her were helpful and pleasant. There is no need for anything less.

Cassie Please don't think you're the only one on GN with nothing and a grim future. I've bored people often enough with my own problems, so I won't repeat them.

I would seriously advise you to go to CAB and get a benefit check-up. They might also be able to advise you about moving somewhere cheaper.

Don't be put off by people looking down their snotty noses at you. Just remember that you'e just as good as they are.

You're do righteous in your indignation. Do you think your the only one who has suffered poverty? Or feels offended that those who truly need help can't get it? You seem to think that you have sole access to what living on benefits is like. You really don't. My periods of being a benefit claimant were some of the lowest points in my life and I'm deeply grateful that they were there when I had nothing else. I had no expectation of sky tv or cigarettes or any luxury at all being paid for, not then or now. I'm now off benefits and able to afford some small luxuries and my view hasn't changed. And since you ask, yes I have seen I Daniel Blake. Have you?

By the way, Jack Monroe's story was part of I, Daniel Blake. I don't suppose you've watched that, either. Only 20 people had in the audience.

My little video? 15 minutes of Jack Munroe telling women what it's like to have nothing?
Why are you so dismissive?

' Disability campaigners have called on the Government to end “humiliating” benefit assessments after a disabled woman was forced to “crawl” up stairs to attend an appointment.

Maria Quinn, who is partially sighted and walks with the aid of a wheeled frame, described how she was left feeling “mortified and panicked” after finding there was no step-free access for her consultation at a disability benefits centre.

With her solicitor carrying her mobility aid and her sister holding her breathing equipment, Ms Quinn, 32, managed to enter the building on Glasgow’s Cadogan Street by “crawling up the two split-level stairs”.

She said she was refused the portable ramp which can be used to cover the entrance stairs as it was intended for wheelchairs only, and if she had returned to her flat to collect her chair she would have been late and missed the appointment.

“There is no ramp or flat entrance to the disability assessment building…that’s right folks! You read it correctly,” Ms Quinn wrote on Facebook.'

I am sure you will dismiss this as well.

Not trying to teach you to do anything.
I just hope by putting things like this on that those who haven't encountered these problems show some compassion.

I don't need to watch your little video, I have personal experience of being in receipt of benefits. And I know that it's bloody hard to make that money last the fortnight. I also know that I could never have afforded satellite tv. You're trying to teach your granny to suck eggs.

The advances in technology in the last 20 years means today's young adults have never lived with just terrestrial TV. Even Freeview offers various subscription services.

I wouldn't class Sky as a luxury unless you have the whole kit kaboodle, but it would be something I would have to think hard about keeping. We have cable from Virgin Media, but when we were in financial difficulties we reduced it to the absolute minimum. Now we're on an ancient obsolete basic package and don't bother with the TV, BUT it is excellent for broadband and the phone, so worth keeping. Someone who has Sky might use its broadband and have their phone through them. Everybody has to budget for their circumstances.

I think the younger generation see Sky as a ' must have' where a lot of us from an older generation tend to accept that there are some things in life that you may not be able to afford & so we go without, without feeling hard done by. We have noticed that in our area if a young family moves in to a allocated property the very first thing that goes up is a sky dish, so yes in reply to OP Sky does seem to be regarded as a necessity along with many other items that previous generations viewed as luxuries. I'm not sure if all the gadgets available to us these days , makes us more or less content.I certainly feel that too much of everything can make us less capable. I am not meaning that in regard to people who through no fault of their own are impoverished & for them having sky tv perhaps goes some way to make life more bearable & enjoyable

Very simple.
Please watch the TED talk on the link I have put up. It tells you just how simple.

If someone is on benefits, hard choices have to be made. No one on this thread has said that benefit claimants have loads of spare cash to flash around but as has been pointed out, we ALL have to cut our coats according to our cloth. Simple.

skwawkbox.org/2017/07/01/video-dont-watch-if-you-afraid-of-having-your-life-changed-so-pls-do-watchshare/

No, it is probably a luxury, one that we decided that we could do without after retirement, but getting out of the contract is not that easy as I well know!!

And I think that people who are on a very tight budget would have to think very carefully about whether or not they want to continue with the contract, is it worth it to make life a bit less miserable or would it be better to cancel and, for instance, buy better food.

Believe me, I know what it is like to budget but SKY wasn't available then, it was a choice between a colour or black and white tv on rental.

Black and white it was until DH managed to get another job.

Wilma I started in the DSS then the DHSS then the BA as well. I then joined the other side.

Did you miss the OP, Jalima, saying that Sky should be regarded as a luxury?

oh, there was one person but everyone is entitled to an opinion and it is fairly reasonable to think that everyone, whether on benefits or not, should 'cut their coat according to their cloth' as I used to hear frequently when I was a child.

However, if you are feeling down and life is pretty miserable then watching tv could be the sole entertainment.

Not one person has criticised anyone having SKY, only wondering if it is a luxury rather than an essential.

We decided it was a luxury not an essential and cancelled it. However, we did purchase a Freeview box instead which suits us as we are not really telly addicts.

Cassie I echo what others have said. There's plenty of people on here who know what hard times mean and if someone comes over as judgemental about stuff like this, they're soon given alternative opinions based on their experience.

In fact, one of the things I like about GN is that if someone starts a thread saying they're affronted/disgusted/whatever the word is by what they've read/heard, posters soon appear to to tell them the true facts, often backed up with a link too. It's a great place to learn what is really going on from people experiencing it, rather than what the media are churning out.

I also worked in the public service for almost 30 years, most of that in Social Security (DHSS, DSS, and the BA benefits Agency), the others in housing. I tried to remember the claimants/customers/clients had no where else to turn to. Now I am on the other side of the counter and I know how much times have changed.

PS I can't get over the sheet nerve of Ian Duncan Smith. Sheesh!

Sorry to go on, but I hope you get what I mean and stay around.

I worked for 40 years for DWP, mostly in payment of benefits. I saw many changes but could always see both sides of the coin. There but for the grace of God..........
Benefit rates are subsistence level and I have never known specifics to be asked about, or paid for. People have to make choices. However, under stress a smoker needs to smoke, probably more. A lot of time needs to be filled. TV can fill the time. Most of us need a computer and WiFi for everyday life such as booking doctors appointments, looking/applying for work. The children need to have a stable life as far as possible. Most people in receipt of benefits hope that it will be temporary.

People are welcome to their benefits. I would not change places with them.

It may be on the form but expenditure (other than registered childcare) has no bearing on whether you get benefits or how much you might be entitled to. How the money is budgeted and what it's spent on is totally a matter for the recipient. Everyone needs some pleasures in life!

Cassie, since you mentioned your son's need for frequent hospital visits, I am wondering if he has a disability which would qualify him for PIP. But I'm sure you have thought of that.

Cassie Please consider applying for housing benefit,do you have a One Stop Shop close by to you in maybe a library or Council Office,not all the staff are judgemental at all,my DD had similar thoughts when she was left struggling after her OH left her without telling her they where on the verge of loosing their house she was treated with great care and help from the staff who took her through the procudure and got housing benefit up and running for her,she has since gone from strength to strength and now has full time employment and is back on track,Cassie applying for housing benefit will open up other avenues for you so take the time to enquire.With regard to subscriptions to TV Channels my DS1 has a friend who pays over £50+ per month and he has not worked for years as far as I know I don't know how people can justify this cost we have Freeview now and it would take me forever to view all the channels.

PS I don't have Sky TV - largely because I hate to think of putting cash in the Murdochs' pockets! But as I no longer have to pay for a TV licence, I do subscribe to Netflix.