Should We Feel Sorry For Him?

[Islay]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5663567/daniel-millar-lottery-winner-poverty-disabled-benefits/

He spent 80 grand and in less than 2 months and expects the taxpayer to go back to keeping him?
Am I being to hard on him?

[andy-hughes]

Personally, I do feel sorry for him.

This is someone who lacks the experience of finances to understand the consequences of his actions in terms of his benefits reduction.

He thought he was able to spend the money freely, and did not consider that an increase in capital would affect his benefits.

So yes, I do feel sorry for him, because he has acted foolishly rather than deliberately tried to work the system.

[bhg481]

Certainly not.

[andy-hughes]

OK - both sides of the potential view there - anyone else?

[Zacs-Master]

£80k on a cruise and two holidays to Benidorm! Takes some doing.

[kvalidir]

It's a very daft thing to have done, but money goes nowhere especially if you have 'friends' and neighbours with their hands open and you are good hearted. I don feel sorry for him, I assume he viewed it as a stroke of good luck and didn't think ahead. I think this only applies for 26 weeks though, I may be wrong about that, but they'll have a tough time of it regardless.

[andy-hughes]

Zacs - it depends how many family you take with you, and the level of accommodation on your cruise.

You can spend £8,000 per passenger for a Caribbean cruise with P & 0, and that's just for a balcony cabin - if you have a suite, it's more. Take half a dozen family with you, and the same for Benidorm, with spending money for all, and yes, that's the money gone.

[Jackdaw33]

My heart bleeds for him, Not!

[gness]

The cynic in me thinks this looks like somebody getting rid of "savings" as quickly as possible in order to protect benefits....x

[Zacs-Master]

Quite, Gness.

[Postdog]

No, not sorry for him. The age he is alone (assuming he has been claiming) should tell anyone that he should have knowledge of how the benefit system works. No excuses.

[Islay]

He is an adult of some considerable age and one would imagine intelligence.
How could he think he would get away with spending 80K and still get 'free' money from the state?

[Cloverjo]

He's been an eejit. Did he really expect £80,000 to last forever? He's back where he started but at least he had a nice holiday.

[Islay]

Backfired then Gness!
£80K in 2 months is some going!

[Zacs-Master]

Your second sentence kind of negates the assumption in the first, Islay.

[gness]

It's the speed with which he did it that makes me question his motive, Islay.....and what he did with the money...x

[Islay]

OK Zacs

[andy-hughes]

Islay - I think your assumption that with age comes wisdom is invalid - you only have to spend some time on here to know that there are posters of considerable age who have managed to learn nothing useful whatsoever about the world and how it works!

[albaqwerty]

I thought the lottery people gave folk financial advice.
If they did and he chose to ignore it, then it's his fault.

Deliberate deprivation of capital I think is what it's called.

[dannyk13]

As I understand it any big lottery winners are given financial advice by the lottery. If he chose to ignore this advice then he is not deserving off any sympathy.IMO.

[ummmm]

You can get financial advice from the bank. I banked a large sum and was asked straight away to make an appointment .