Pippa's student card

On her blog Pippa has written that she's doing a Master of Arts degree and how she enjoyed using her student discount card.

She works at QVC, has a singing career, is on BBC London radio and runs an online magazine. If she's eligible for student discount (which she must be), then there's something wrong with the system in my opinion.

Hmmmm. Not sure I would have written that if I were you Pippa. Aren't you leaving yourself wide open?

My husband is doing a Business Diploma at evening classes at college and he has a student card. When we went to the local Chinese buffet, they give 10% off for students - so him and both my boys were eligible - I was the only one to pay full price. The waiter thought it was really funny that my 45 year old hubby was a student - he just kept laughing at him!

I say if you are eligible then why not?

Bensmum said:

On her blog Pippa has written that she's doing a Master of Arts degree and how she enjoyed using her student discount card.

She works at QVC, has a singing career, is on BBC London radio and runs an online magazine.

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She pays enough taxes by the sound of it. When my daughter was in senior school and the Education Maintenance Allowance came out, she was not elligible because of her fathers pay and mine (part time at that time) reached the threshold. She had to sit next to other students getting £30 quid a week for turning up to school. We wrote to the Gov. to complain at the unfairness. She has been through Uni since with a disc. card and after working three years for the NHS she is now back at Uni one day a week for a course to further her career and has a card again. She pays a fortune in tax and nat. ins. with her job and she deserves every penny she gets off at Dorothy Perkins or wherever for the fiasco and unfairness of the Ed. Maint. All. she missed out on when other pupils didn't want to go to school but needed encouragement and my daughter was a model pupil and got punished for it.

Sorry but there are so many people abusing our system that Pippa using her student discount when she is entitled to does not upset me in the least. Think of all the very rich people claiming child benefit and also the heating allowance in winter.

The student discount card is what retailers choose to give discounts with. its not exactly coming out of our tax money, so fair play to her.

I am doing an Open University degree and have a student discount card. It really isn't a big deal. You pay a fee for it, and it isn't subsidised at all by the government but by the companies who join the scheme so why whouldn't anyone eleigible apply and use one?
To be honest the discounts I have received haven't even covered the fee, and if it wasn't for my DD buying something from New Look a few weeks ago and me using my card (she is doing a 4 year English and Spanish Law degree, but didn't apply this year as she is at Uni in Spain this year and isn't here much) then my savings would have been neglible.

ETA- Regarding the EMA, I don't think that it should have been universally given-the country couldn't afford that. My DD received it because I was being treated for cancer, was living on Income support and CTC and without it she wouldn't have been able to afford to go to college. It covered her travel expenses and books and stationary and allowed her to attend some of the activities she needed to for her courses. There has to be a cut off point somewhere. It's ironic that this discussion started off with someone complaining that someone who appears to be earning well etc is using a student discount card, when someone else complains that EMA isn't available to a 2 income family who are on or above the threshold set by the government. My daughter never missed a day in college and came out with 4 grade A ,A levels, and getting the EMA was the only way she would have the chance to do that and go on to University-my oldest son is not going to be as lucky as they have stopped it now and to be honest I have no idea what I am going to do, if he wants to go to 6th form, as my health is still fragile and my financial situation hasn't improved either.
To be honest my daughter was pretty embarrassed to be receiving it, because she was in classes with kids with very well off parents who looked down on us for being 'on benefits'. My two younger kids are entitled to free school meals, and the younger one takes them, but my 15 year old is tto embarrassed because of the way in which his school organises it, everyone would know he was getting free school meals and he finds it humiliating.

Loveinamist, how did your daughter get punished for being a model pupil? She didn't get it for financial reasons, and by the way, not all kids with parents on low incomes or on benefits, have no motivation or need to be 'paid' to got to college every day and work! My daughter knew what she wanted to do from the age of 9 and everything she did including her 12 A and A* GSCEs was a sign of her working hard towards that goal. I would love to be in a position to not qualify for government help. I appreciate that it is often people like yourselves who may be just over the threshold who feel harshly treated, I really do, but to slam anyone else getting it as being lazy and not 'model pupils' is pretty unfair.

Something wrong with the system? :biggrin:

If she's a student, she's perfectly entitled to a student discount card. There's no law that says only 18 year old undergraduates can have one.

My son got EMA and also had a part time job while in the sixth form, he was such a sweetie that he set up a standing order and paid me board each month without tellling me! As a single mum whose ex husband left when he was 7 months old and then stopped paying any child support when DS was 3 years old,. EMA was a real help. The thing that really riles me is Council Tax, I can only work part time now due to poor health, my Council Tax is 12.5% of my take home pay and it absolutely breaks me. I do not earn much, in fact only pay £38 income tax a month yet pay more than double this in CT. Agree that student discount is not state subsidised so good luck to Pipa, I am just impressed that she is finding time to study.

SuziQ said:

but to slam anyone else getting it as being lazy and not 'model pupils' is pretty unfair.

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You missed the point. The EMA was a farce and the pupils my daughter shared a class with were there under sufferance and admitted it and only attended to get the fee. You presume we are a well off family. We have had some lean times and to presume that because my daughter was not eligible was because we could afford it is wrong, and how did it contribute to whole class pupil harmony to have some paid and others not because of a seemingly fair threshold. Those pupils that were entitled did not perform any better for getting it, they were just biding their time.

There should have been a fairer system that would have entitled your situation to some privacy and not one that penalised the model student for turning up to school every day eager to learn. It should never have been introduced in such an unfair way.

SuziQ said:

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Lazy was your word, not mine. There were many reasons why they didn't want to go to school, it is a very underprivileged area. My argument was unfairness of a system, not finger pointing at other pupils motives.

loveheart said:

Sorry but there are so many people abusing our system that Pippa using her student discount when she is entitled to does not upset me in the least. Think of all the very rich people claiming child benefit and also the heating allowance in winter.

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And all those people who think tax avoidance is fine but are the first to condemn people on benefits.

I can't see why Pipa shouldn't have a student card - and why shouldn't she use it?! Can't say I sit here here begrudging her something shes entitled to............when so many people are ripping off the systems and collecting benefits that they are not entitled to?

Sad world we live in when we begrudge someone something that they are entitled to.

Well Done Pipa for wanting to further yourself :emo:

I have one too <a href="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253Fpartner%253DZSzeb008%255FZNxpt484YYGB%2526i%253D7%252F7%255F1%255F102v%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_1_102v.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252Fnocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egif%253Fi%253D7%252F7_1_102v%2526uiv%253D3.0/image.gif"></a>.

As has already been said and, as far as I can recall, it relates only to retailers with the exception of the Leisure Centre (which as a disabled pensioner, I get a concession anyway) and is purely voluntary. No-one is obliged to accept it and the public purse is only minutely and locally dipped into. I do object to universal state benefits but this is not one of them. I have no objection to modern means-testing as I am old enough to remember when this meant someone coming into your home to see what "assets" you had such furniture, electrical goods, jewellery and (most shocking) clothing. This was in addition to the usual finance investigations.

It was also a time when people were very proud and would not claim anything unless desperate. Although times are tough now compared to more recently, just appreciate what we do still have in this country, whilst it's still available, and let's not begrudge people what we ourselves don't/can't have unless it's illegal or they truly don't deserve it. Better concentrate our energies on saving our public services. xxxxxxxxxxxx

rainbowdottie said:

I can't see why Pipa shouldn't have a student card - and why shouldn't she use it?! Can't say I sit here here begrudging her something shes entitled to............when so many people are ripping off the systems and collecting benefits that they are not entitled to?Sad world we live in when we begrudge someone something that they are entitled to.

Well Done Pipa for wanting to further yourself :emo:

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The losses to the Treasury of people fiddling their taxes far exceeds the losses from benefit fraud.

ive got one too, keep forgetting to use it though!

I'm impressed at Pipa studying for a degree when she already has a career that many would envy. Good for her! As for the discount card, why shouldn't she have it? I am at a loss to know why the OP feels she is leaving herself "wide open". I'm sure Pipa is well aware of all the criticism the presenters are subject to and feels that she shouldn't have to apologise for having something she is entitled to and is not means tested.

Artemis said:

I'm impressed at Pipa studying for a degree when she already has a career that many would envy. Good for her! As for the discount card, why shouldn't she have it? I am at a loss to know why the OP feels she is leaving herself "wide open". I'm sure Pipa is well aware of all the criticism the presenters are subject to and feels that she shouldn't have to apologise for having something she is entitled to and is not means tested.

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Totally agree with you, I think it's kind of sad that Pipa who is probably excited at being a student and so discuss's her student discount card on her blog can be turned into something she should be apologising for.

Ooops. I seem to have opened up a can of worms!

As wife and mother of a family who, being self employed, has never claimed anything in our entire working lives, I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with the system. In our world you don't get a penny that you've not grafted for. No sick pay, no holiday pay, no free this and that. In fact if you're not physically working, there's no money coming in. Simple as that.

If my opening post offended anyone then I apologise.

Although not self employed,but in the same position as you,my family too,have never received a penny that we've not worked for.Personally you didn't offend me - I just don't begrudge Pipa 10% off in New Look :sun:

rainbowdottie said:

Although not self employed,but in the same position as you,my family too,have never received a penny that we've not worked for.Personally you didn't offend me - I just don't begrudge Pipa 10% off in New Look :sun:

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She'll find some far better outfits there than that horrible clown thing she was wearing the other day on the Print Fusion show!!