Is this just getting ridiculous! UNIVERSAL CREDIT

But you can get UC if you work f/t and pay tax/NI at the same time

I don’t have understand why these things prove anything.

A full length photo of standing outside front door with the key in the lock
Firstly a lot of keys will go in a lot of locks you just can’t turn them. Plus if you are a single parent with no friends or family how do you take a full length shot of yourself?

A letter from the children's school & nursery saying they attend there.

What if your child doesn’t go to nursery or school. Too young for school and can’t afford childcare till you get a job
Plus this could be anyone who could write the letter stating that they look after your child.

A letter from the children's gp

Surely if you need UC, the very fact you are claiming means you cannot afford this. GPs letters cost money

Passport photos
What if you don’t have a passport. Like the GP letter passports cost money

Child benefit award letter
Surely they have this already. Certainly never kept mine

Birth certificates
So why the need to send them again. Do they need to keep it on file in which case, again like the other stuff they requested, how are you supposed to afford any of these things. I have lived for decades not having to produce my birth certificate.
My original one got burned in a house fire, copies don’t have my name on. My name was altered by deed poll when I was a child and again by statutory declaration. Original SD was sent to my bank when my name was changed and never returned

All of this stuff can be faked and/or costs money.

It’s this type of stuff that makes me seethe with rage. It’s so obviously been thought of as a brilliant idea but just the front door key one shows how little the people who have come up with this understand about basic life.
Cant believe not one person has ever put their key in a lock and tried to turn it and then realised they have mixed up their keys

The majority of the population aren't so UC irrelevant.

Probably not, usually it’s multiple children and a 16 hour a week job in a supermarket at play.

So everyone who pays tax should get UC then?

Do you think people that are claiming UC are paying enough tax to cover their share of public services?

If only they insisted on this much proof for tax cheats. They'd get so much more money than going after people claiming what they're due.

Probably quite a few people claiming UC that pay income tax also.

It’s not “free money”! Show me a person in this country that doesn’t pay tax!

I would do all that the OP is unhappy about for some free money 😀. Sadly, not eligible.

You have a phobia of what exactly, taking photos of yourself?

OP it sounds bizarre and not something I have experience of, but I'm all for it if it means people who are cheating the system are caught out.

Prove it.

How rude. Claiming Universal Credit isn't begging.

All the people in this thread mentioning the benefits battles they've had after losing a job, none of them were contributing via tax & NI? Then there's taxation other than on earnings, perhaps people on UC should be forbidden shoes & biscuits so we can properly distinguish the taxpayers from the non-taxpayers.

I presume you're really annoyed by people who claim UC fraudulently? So why does it concern you as this is a process to stop fraud? As long as your claim is above board you will be fine. You're claiming tax payers money - is it really that annoying to send a few letters when you're getting free money?

If you were renting it out you'd probably have the key though and be able to take a photo without bothering the tenant, or AI as others say.
The GP letter bothers me. When I had to do an insurance claim cancelled holiday due to illness) I needed the GP to sign a form proving I'd not had any relevant pre-existing conditions, and they took 3 months to get it to me and charged me £50, saying that was extra work so charged. If they have to do it quickly and free for benefits claims, fair enough, but it worries me that someone struggling could have to wait ages and pay for it.

I think it’s fair enough tbh. There is so much fraud and people are getting so good at faking being single etc that the checks need to be more stringent than ever. Lots of couples pretending to live apart by giving two addresses to their children’s school. Being very careful on social media not to include family pics. Working cash in hand etc etc They learn how to play the system which just leaves less for those who are disabled.

Pensions are the biggest line, yes but they’re contributory and not what people usually mean by benefit fraud. Talking about fraud elsewhere doesn’t threaten pensions.

What a strange "proof". The people who lived in my house before me had it removed from street view, so it just shows up as a big blur between the neighbours houses. I've tried to get it reversed (delivery drivers have said it's a problem) but apparently once an address has been removed from street view it can never be put back in.

You clearly don’t understand. It’s not about you not being believed, these checks are essential to prevent and reduce fraud which is a huge issue with UC. The verification documents are not stored on the systems, this is against GDPR. When you sign your commitments you are agreeing to providing any verification documents required for reviews or any changes.

This may be due to application of the surplus earnings rule- final and/or redundancy pay can rule you out of claiming for a certain number of months.

Such a sensible system. Quite a few EU countries have a similar set up, but here we can’t even elect a government that will push for ID cards because a few people might mouth off about police states or nanny states , which apparently , strange but true, are exactly the same thing. 🙂Ridiculous when you think of the amount of ID we voluntarily carry around, and the information we happily give to commercial interests through our shopping habits and internet use.

Sounds like the pictures needed for WLI.

I think UC is so super obtuse it's to put people who qualify off. My mate lost her job in 2025 but UC said based on her wage she is entitled to nothing. Dispite the fact she was made redundant last year

Benefit fraud is pretty low and often successfully found.

You may be getting confused with tax fraud, which is much more common and much less regularly found.

Where does one registered disabled?

My kid registers at school, which he’s in because he’s disabled … will that do, or am I meant to take him somewhere else?

Edetid my whole post after reading some of the comments its best i dont share this short story of what happened, to my friend.
As i dont want them to be called a lier or a begger.

Op your not a one.