Is this just getting ridiculous! UNIVERSAL CREDIT

One of the most sensible and clear headed responses on this thread.

That would make sense so of course it doesn't exist in UK. In Nordic countries everything is connected via your ID number. Police, taxman, social benefits services, GP, you name it - any government dept can double check what you are claiming for and if what you say is true or not. Their IT systems are fully linked, making cross referencing super easy and fast, making scamming the system almost impossible. But British like to be old-fashioned and impractical 😑😑😑

Given your illness you could probably have grounds for a formal complaint. What reason could they have for insisting you attend in person for something that can be easily uploaded online?

I’ve found in the U.S. and some European countries they pay far higher amounts in unemployment benefits, but cap it at a certain length like 6 months.

I feel that would be much better if they had that here. So people genuinely looking for work would get enough money to cover their outgoings while out of work.

I feel here benefits are paltry if you don’t have kids, but they can get paid for much longer. I would rather a higher amount for a shorter period of time. And perhaps that might incentivise more people into work.

Obviously I’m talking about people who are well enough to work btw, not those who are too unwell to work.

No. I have ME/CFS. They know that, it’s like being a mobile phone that only charges up to 10% when left on charge all night. I find normal everyday activities like having a shower exhausting.

Benefits have changed a great deal over the years- far more people are eligible now because you can earn up to £50,000 a year and still claim it- when I last claimed you could get nothing if you had any income or savings of £500. This means the exposure to fraud,and claimants who don't qualify because of savings exponentially greater- so the proof they request have become far more reaching-it's only logical, without this the country would be even more bankrupt than it is already.

What about the billions that's lost in unpaid tax by the rich.
Or the billions that people are entitled to that goes unclaimed every year? Are you fine about that?

Maybe be thankful you earn enough to support your family. OP is a full time carer for her mother, and we don’t know her other circumstances. Maybe he DH is on minimum wage. Do you begrudge the State supporting those in need? How would you feel if others had your attitude if you needed to make a claim in the future?

I was just thinking the same, I'd happily upload a few pics securely, send a couple of letters, for a couple of hundred quid (or probably quite a bit more!!) free money each month! 🤣

Alas, I qualify for absolutely bugger all 🙄

It's not low, plenty of people get pregnant year after year to a secret daddy yet claim single parent benefits, plenty of people cheat the disability system, my good friend has lived next door to a guy for many years who claims a bad back yet humps paving slabs around his garden.

My partner got a letter a few years back telling him he'd had a benefit overpayment and owed the DWP - as a NHS worker that has never claimed anything this came as a shock. It turned out someone was using his name, address and even NI number to claim benefits and just to make matters worse this sponger with spasmodic work history had overwritten my partner's tax record! He had to have a new NI number and his previous tax record reinstated to it to ensure his pensions weren't harmed! They didn't even seem surprised or worried! I find it frightening that no checks were done to allow someone to do that!

A huge amount goes on PIP, the anxiety and depression claims need cleaning down on as working will do them far more good than sitting festering on benefits. Also these single mothers sat having 6,7,8 kids plus whilst daddy hides in the shadows needs stopping. These women become u employable due to the large families they have that no job will realistically pay enough money to support. Funny how they always have these large families whilst workers often have just one or two kids or none at all due to cost.

It's a daft assumption to suggest that those tired of the system being overused would be the first to claim when we aren't! That's the whole point! Many of us that get annoyed don't have children to use to get money and even when made redundant it's not worth the extreme aggravation to try and get a pittance. I've no interest in being in the benefit system I assure you! Some respect and appreciation from those of you who are funded by our tax money would be nice though!

We get tired of being told just how big the benefit bill is getting and just how big a percentage of the population is claiming - can you honestly not see what a bleak future it is for the UK! All the parents I see online claiming that all their kids are disabled for being ND/ADHD etc, we are heading for a future where too much of the population wants a paid for life and there won't be enough working tax payers to fund it!

I've known benefit piss takers in the past, laughingly showing me their unused boxes of anti depressants they don't even need but raising their kids on benefits, even the wife was allowed to sit and slob on benefits. Look at all the single mothers that have families several times bigger than working families to a secret daddy thay doesn't fund his kids. Any normal person of decency would get pissed off at the abuse of the system.

Can you understand how suspect it sounds when you claim that you can't go to job centres because they make you ill. Is it just establishments that might take your benefits and make you work that makes you ill?

To add...
Please seek help and support from DLA if you're unwell. Once you can claim pip you won't have the pressure of the usual rigmarole.

Having reread your post I'm sorry for my reaction. I do get it but tend to feel defensive because I have my own crazy problems but still work. It's a struggle, would stop and claim benefits if I could but because of circumstances I can't.

Long story, just wanted to say sorry I do understand but at the end of the day you just have do these things. Xxx

I do understand what you're saying and the UC procedures can seem to be intrusive but to continue to get benefits this is what everyone has to do.

As always, it's the minority who spoil it for everyone else.

It is actually easier now with online correspondence and providing evidence rather than going for weekly sign ons as in the 'olden days'.

If you get PIP or have a young child then you don't need to be actively looking for work. Reviews are part of the course so, sorry, I still don't see the issue?

When receiving UC everyone has to validate the reason for it. So, yes, I stand by filling in forms and taking a photo really isn't too much to ask.

It will only become a bombardment when concerns have been raised and more information needed. So just supply the documents?

It is that simple, to get entitled money from UC you've got to follow the rules, which takes a bit of time out of your normal schedule. Xxx

I’ve known several people this happened to and were unaware it was the case - thing is OP it’s horrible but it happens, I can’t blame the gvt if you are in receipt of money related to housing - it’s a known fraud

@BringBackCatsEyes Similar position here. I am married, but husband is not a high earner. I work weekdays and some evenings/Sundays to pay the rent and treat our little girl as much as I am able. I also worked when I became a single parent and my children were both very young to cover costs.

Agree. I am a professional. My new role is a significant pay cut from the role I was made redundant from. I thankfully also have some freelance work which makes up for the short fall. It does mean I work 7 days a week though.
Lone parent with a 16 yo at home.
I don't have huge outgoings, but do want to live comfortably.

It is not a tiny inconvenience and your kisses at the end don't make your dismissive comments any less nasty. It's often not a one-off but an endless round of hoop-jumping that never really stops, just reduces for a while now and then. Especially for those who are unwell, who's time is mostly taken up with doing whatever is necessary for taking care of their health in many cases. Whether someone is unwell, a carer or employed, this is not "free time" they have available for constantly doing whatever the latest hair-brained-pointless-thing-that-proves-nothing-much the DWP have demanded they do. Even those who are healthy but unemployed are busy looking for a job. Nobody is sat around doing nothing at all, for the 9-ish hours a day that people typically work, with all this free time on their hands to jump through DWP hoops.

It's not a simple case of do-it-and-get-paid like you seem to think either. The DWP staff mess up, or things aren't processed in time, or they decide they want more and more and more. Every time one of these demands comes in, the claimant knows their money can be stopped, often for no real reason other than someone else's delay or fuck up or pointless box ticking exercise. The constant stress and worry about whether they'll be able to pay their bills, the debts people sometimes have to get into due to this if they can't pay their bills - it isn't nothing, it isn't a minor inconvenience. It's a toxic emotional rollercoaster of extreme stress that claimants can't escape, unless they're lucky enough that their life circumstances change such that they no longer need to claim benefits. The stress damages people's health, mentally and physically. "Depression and anxiety" might not be the reason for someone needing to claim benefits in the first place, but spending a while in the system almost certainly increases a person's likelihood of suffering from both.

Yes, sorry I know. I added the bit on about OP after as she did say why she was not working.

What I meant is that poster Trishyb claims to work 24/7 in order to fund 'lazy' people like the OP.

The reality is that it really isn't possible to live comfortably now on one full-time wage unless it's a high one. Both parents (unless ill) really ought to be working, even if one is just working part-time.
OP - are you in work at all?

I imagine most people claiming this 'free money' have paid taxes at some point.
Not that it should matter. We live in a country that supports those in need.
Of course people make fraudulent claims, but (as with many things) it's the few bad eggs that make it so much harder for the majority.

During my (thankfully) short period of unemployment, I was made to feel like I was money-grabbing, lazy scum. I was only wanting to claim £94 JSA a week to help my redundancy money go a bit further so that I could run my modest home and support myself and my son. Feeling like the default position is that you are trying to cheat the system made an already very stressful situation even worse and I was sinking into depression. Most people are honest and decent and want to earn a living.

Oh and of course you need to apply for jobs, which in the current climate is dehumanising and brutal, yet you have to be positive and confident etc.

OP is clearly honest and is frustrated at how complicated it all is and I think it's reasonable for her to feel that way.

This does seem like overreach but would think this is all about ensuring no fraudulent claims are made.
Given the amount of benefit fraud that's happened in recent years I would expect tighter controls.

Total hyperbole. OP has said she is a full time carer for her mum.