As A Country Are We Mad !!!!!

[VHG]

Just caught a bit of "Saints and Scroungers" on BBC1 (I try not to watch it as I get angry at the number of immigrants and asylum seekers who are here fiddling the system). But it happened to be on when I came in the room today.

The section I saw was about a man who claimed he was from Iraq (or Afghanistan cant remember exactly) who came here claiming asylum, saying his father had been shot by the Taliban.

He also claimed to have a severe disability (so he could claim more benefits) and the local council spent thousands putting in hoists and other facilities to help someone who is severely disabled.

Eventually he was caught out by the authorities (but not until he had cost this country thousands in benefits and other costs like converting his flat).

They found a cupboard stuffed with unused "disabled" equipment, that would help him walk and help with other mobility movements, all sitting in a cupboard unused.

Turns out he was not from Iraq (or wherever) but was from Morocco.

It also turns out that both his parents were from Morocco, were both alive, and living in London, AND BOTH LIVING ON BENEFITS.

I sometimes think this country is seen as some sort of "holiday camp" by immigrants and asylum seekers. And we let them get away with it.

How on earth can people come here from Morocco and spend their life living on benefits!

I am retired now, but why on earth did I go to work for more than 40 years, paying high taxes, to help pay benefits for people from Morocco.

It annoys me that we are reducing benefits for disabled people with a spare bedroom, and then paying out benefits to people from morocco and paying to convert a flat for an asylum seeker when a simple check would have shown he was not disabled (though I am pleased someone is doing something about the cost of housing benefits at last).

We really do need to get MUCH tougher on benefit abuse, even more so for people who just turn up on our doorstep and tell lies about their situation back home.

This country is billions in debt, we have millions on the dole, we have people who are having to take pay cuts, or being made redundant.

Yet we still seem, happy to pay out benefits to people from Morocco, who have probably never contributed a penny to this country.

Madness.

p.s. I know someone will say this man was eventually caught. That is good, but why were no checks done on his disability before doing all the work.

And how many more are there who have NOT been caught and are still fiddling the system.

[Baldric]

To be fair, the best part of 20 yrs as a RM helped, the wage wasn't great,
but the living costs were not that high either.

[arwyn]

The program on t.v the other night "Why don't you speak English?" is well worth watching.

[Hypognosis]

I worked in a place where the caseload got so bad that the bosses came up with the idea of a "one in ten" check. My attempt to explain that the odds of successfully catching any errors with this technique, if the error rate was (say) one in a hundred just fell on deaf ears.

If I'd had my wits about me, I could have demonstrated this with a deck of cards. :-/

[naomi24]

Canary, It sounds like it's "Camoron's Compassionate Conservatism" that's caught him out. Good.

[emmie]

also had to jump through many many hoop on DLA, it' a tough one to get, or so it seems to me, how do some get these benefits then, what do they do to persuade the authorities to help them.

[Brenden]

Em, there are many walk in offices that will tell immigrants every penny they can claim (and they are advised what to write or say) - all in their native language.