Universal credit.

[OriginallyfromLA]

I don't claim benefits but I'm trying to understand why UC is such a bad thing. Is it because it puts the onus on the claimant to manage their money? Or because it's late making people struggle until they get into a routine of when their payments will come?

Ivy you are SPECTACULARLY missing the point! People shouldn't be UNABLE to pay BASIC bills due to callous, unworkable and economically unsound policies!

How the hell are these policies helping the economy (which is one of the claimed reasons) when it means people can't pay their bills ESPECIALLY one of the most crucial ones to running the country?!

"But when a system has tried to work with people over 3/4 years before getting to pre communal notices what would you propose the council do"

And yet UC began FIVE YEARS ago and the backs of prescriptions still have not been changed to show this. So why the hypocrisy.

People on UC are being fined even when they have ticked the box they have been told to tick . I remember it being said that the NHS were going to use up the old forms first. Well thats taking a suspiciously long time isnt it?! Anyone would think their administrative arm is using this as a cash cow.

They have obviously just continued printing the "old forms"

My comment about hypocrisy was meant ............in general.

If you put yourself on the council list to downsize you can also claim DHP to assist with extra bedroom rate

I'm.not arguing every point, just these ones.
Most councils don't have lists these days. Most councils have passed off housing to housing associations which mostly work on banding schemes and through websites.
My local Housing Association gave me a medium priority when I wanted to downsize to a 2 bed. In the several months I was on the website there were 3 that came up, all went to people in higher bandings. I ended up having to move where noone wants to move, 30 minutes from daughter's school and friends, she had to change schools etc etc.

And you don't 'Claim' DHP, no one claims DHP. The clue is in the title, Discretionary.
You have to apply for it and present evidence as to why you need it most. There is a limited budget for it. It only runs for a set period and there's no guarantee you'll get it or that it will cover your actual rent.

When yungoogle.for your info, have an actual read of the websites that come up.
You may then see that 'DHP' isn't the cover all you think, that it's left to local councils to administer and they have a very limited budget sonoften can only help those in most need.

Council tax isn’t a bill it’s a tax and what do you suggest as punishment for non payment of tax?

You can shout I’m missing the point, the point is there is tax relief and only the poor are able to get the relief on this particular tax. If you stop punishing for none payment of tax then why would anyone bother paying?

Rather than tackle a tax system, tackle zero hours contracts where someone one month can work 160 hours and the next 6 hours

Tackle the landlords that refuse to rent to tenants not earning over £20k per year or refuse single parents a tenancy

Tackle employers paying below a living wage and expecting government benefits to top up their wages to satisfy their share holders

As for DHP what is it then if it’s not putting in a claim? It’s the wording regularly used in benefits offices, call it what you like but it’s a pot of money that can be accessible for people to have a share. If you’re putting in for dhp and are trying to downsize both those factors will act favourable to the claim for dhp

klutzs don’t keep making assumptions that I google stuff. DHP payments are very slow and can take 3 months at times to be processed, not everyone will get a payments from it. It is though a pot of money worth trying to access and will continue to be paid out by district councils for people on UC

"Council tax isn’t a bill it’s a tax" oh puhlease! You knew what I meant and you're STILL ignoring the salient point - that if the govt were doing what it SHOULD to ensure people have enough money to live on (and I agree inflated housing costs, limited housing availability [which pushes up costs], low wages, impractical employment contracts are ALL contributing factors - AND they're ALL something the govt could change if they had the will. They could lift the nmw to an actual living wage and refuse to keep subsidising billionaire turnover companies, they could cap rents, they could build affordable housing, they could ban contracts that treat employees like shit... But they don't because they benefit directly & indirectly from the status quo - just look at how many mps are landlords or have shares in construction companies or housing companies, how many have shares in companies that pay low wages and operate zero hours contracts - this should be banned because it's a conflict of interests. If someone is an MP that's ALL they should be for the period of their service. They damn well get paid enough, the current cabinet mostly come from money anyway and don't even need the salary - so consider the real reason they want the position?) then whether you call it a bill, a tax or a fucking unicorn it'd be getting paid!

You're looking at the situation further down the road from when the person unable to pay is getting their income - from whatever source - when we need to go back to what people's income is and getting the govt to ensure people have sufficient income to live on. Not even just for that persons sake, but for the whole countries economy.

Even your argument re people downsizing in housing - overall it costs more to downsize a family -

Rent coverage, moving costs, change of school for kids possibly including arranging support for kids with disabilities, disrupting the families support network possibly even removing it altogether leading to stress, moving people further away from where they work...

Than it does to leave them be and instead look at building the housing we need so people are less likely to be either overcrowded or under occupied in the first place.

Building housing is a bit of a soap box of mine I'll admit - because it would help in so many areas - homelessness, reducing housing costs, providing jobs even training, stimulating the economy...

I firmly believe the reason current govt won't do this is that they are profiting very nicely from the current housing crisis.

klutzs don’t keep making assumptions that I google stuff

Why not? You obviously are.

Or let me guess, youre actually welfare advisor right now working with families blah blah.. or better yet, you're a single mum to a 5 year old living on UC..

Im not buying either option, youre not in the situation, you're trying to post as though you have some all knowing status, you don't. I have real and actual experience of the current benefit and housing system as I'm currently embroiled within it.
UC claiming, single parenting, housing association living, dole dossing scum.

My council has a severely limited pot of DHP now. Why? Because they used such strict criteria that very few succeed in getting it a couple of years ago and a huge amount needed to be repaid back to the government as it wasn't spent (knowing my council I expect they hoped to keep it and use it for other things) and now it's even harder to get and they won't cover the first £7 per week. No one recieving DLA/PIP qualifies for example as that money is classed as available for rent - the same council expects people to hand over the same money to pay for care and services, leaving people in conflict. I actually have a letter somewhere that says it's unfair to give DHP to people who get DLA/PIP over others with less money coming in. They've totally missed the point of DLA/PIP. There was a court case and with other councils as far as I know it's not been resolved.

You can have it for four periods of six months only. No exceptions allowed to that rule.

Our housing department offered me somewhere which was over double housing benefit, plus I needed to rent white goods weekly, and told me I'd definitely get DHP as long as I wanted it for. When I contacted them I was told no I've had my four lots. The housing department refused to accept that. No they wouldn't speak to each other - I was told to move first and get rejected before they'd accept it by which time I'd be evicted for not paying my rent.

Our DHP application form when assessing outgoings doesn't include many things, things like food... It must go under miscellaneous which is automatically ignored.

Ffs - just seen on FB

BABY BANKS

That's right in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a country where there is more than enough to go around families with babies are needing to use baby banks for BASIC baby necessities, nappies, clothes!

It's fucking obscene!

It's fucking obscene!

Especially when you consider how much pointless people are paid for pointless things.

How much more respect would John Esis have gotten if their as this year was a black card, with white writing, saying:
"Instead of spending £20million to make an as with an aging celebrity this year, we decided to donate it to Shelter to give the homeless some hope this season"

Aaand to illustrate the point i made on page 3

www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/10/uk-high-streets-face-quietest-christmas-since-credit-crunch?CMP=twt_gu&__twitter_impression=true

5 week wait for claimants which is putting them into debt and prostitution believe it or not, single mothers and women are so desperate to buy essentials for themselves and children they are out on the streets earning money for as little as £5.
5 week months are not taken into consideration so whilst you may get 2 paychecks in 1 month if you work, you will not get 2 UC payments which means you will fall behind on essentials for the following month if you rely on the UC topup for rent or bills.
UC agents are not always thorougher with their paperwork. For instance when I first claimed UC they had not accounted for my 2 children and had stated I lived in shared housing which I did not and I'd never said I did!! They under paid me by almost £700 because of a human error.
For every £1 you earn over your entitlement they take something like 64p off.
UC agents are denying extremely ill, disabled and dying claimants their benefits and stating they are fit to work instead of going by Dr recommendations!
The list goes on..

I work but on a low income so get UC. I'm around £300 worse off a month now.
I also got the £1500 loan out as I couldn't be without money for 5 weeks so was already plunged into debt from the start, they just gave me the loan without even thinking about if I could afford it (which I couldn't)...

This month I get paid twice so on my next payment I'll get a lot less than usual which doesn't help with budgeting.

Basically it's a large pain in the ass!

I was sectioned in hospital and universal credit closed my account for not attending an appointment. That's just the surface of UC hell.

Also being paid twice in a month means my council tax bill will be full wack too 😭

I was encouraged to switch over when I discussed difficulties in paying my council tax as I might get some help with this so contacted universal credit

I was told the first 12 months they would not take equity of my property into account - apparently this isn’t true even thought when I applied and took in paper work to my local job centre this is what I was told

I now don’t get any working tax credits I am down by £190 a month - I would not get this if I didn’t need it and my full time NHS wage was higher

They took nearly 4 months to come to this decision It was so stressful

I am making a complaint and challenging their decision

I also got a loan to cover the waiting period that the interest rate is ridiculously high

Has really impacted my mental health want to cry typing this