Universal Credits for working couple

[Warmer]

Hi, I work part time and my husband works full time both on minimum wage and have 2 children. I have applied for universal credits and done the long 6 week wait to be told that we are entitled to £0! Not even any childcare help. I've spoke to them and they said this is correct. Is anyone else in the same situation? Where is the incentive for working families? We earn around £25,000 a year and have had help from tax credits for childcare costs in the past but just wanting to relate with other families in this situation.

We're in exact same position OP and we were told by CAB that we weren't entitled to anything. Once you're considered over a certain threshhold even if it is just above the breadline then you're left to it.

CAB give notoriously bad advice. If your circumstances are identical, then you are entitled to UC. Do you earn the same net pay, same rent cost, same lha amount, same childcare costs, same childrens ages?

Isn't there free school clubs where you are?

Howling laughing at this. Just, really. PMSL. Free school clubs. You honestly think such a thing exists? If you do, I'm actually a Nigerian princess and if you allow my access to your bank account, I'll pay you back with 1m% interest.

I calculate it around the £350 mark per month without childcare. Has your tenancy been verified? I think you have to take it into a job centre.

Do you have savings at all? If you have above £6k in savings then UC will be reduced and savings above £16k mean you don’t get anything from UC.

@ThisMustBeMyDream are you always this rude!
I am making suggestions to help the op.

Rude? You were rude asking why she rents a 3 bed. She didn't ask for suggestions. Or money saving ideas.

Your question was incredibly patronising actually...

Look you clearly haven’t read the thread properly. Another poster said that often private rents were higher than lha.
I was asking the op if it was just that it was a private rent or was it that the property was a bedroom more than the lha.
Until today the op was not aware that UC rent help was limited to £437 the two bed lha amount.

And I didn’t ask why she rents a two bed at all. Like I said maybe read what was actually said!

It really isn't relevent or useful to point out to the OP that she is paying an extra £190 a month on rent above the LHA amount. What help is that to OP? She can read. She can see that already.

Most private rents are over the LHA amount. Given it is set so low....

Oh god now im worried CAB will give me bad advice! I thought they'd be able to get it sorted. I uploaded my rent details and photos of the agreement etc and when i spoke to the guy at UC yesterday i questioned if it had been included and he said I would need to take my documents to the job centre but he said he doubts id get any help from what im earning so wouldn't make much difference according to him. So as some of you have worked out what i should be entitled to (thankyou for your help btw) I don't know how to 'convince' them this is what I should be owed, if they're saying it's all correct??

Tell me about it my rent is so expensive!! It was £645 but its just gone up to £665, I would happily move to somewhere cheaper but with that you have to find a months rent (sometimes a month and a half) and a deposit etc upfront and if it's through an agency then add on all their fees on top. So it's pricey upfront but yeah forking out £665 to buy someone else's home is painful haha (sob sob)

Thanks again for all your help!!

Asking if there is a reason why her rent is so high does not help this OP in any way. So why ask?

@ThisMustBeMyDream you are like a dog with a bone- give it a rest.
@Warmer yes i know moving is not a simple option. Was just thinking if there was a long term solution if you struggle with the shortfall in your rent.
Some CAB are decent some aren’t but they are used to UC issues so hopefully they will be useful. They can ring on your behalf with consent also.

No defo I understand. Ah yeah hopefully CAB will help otherwise I don't know how else to battle it apart from saying well actually according to the mums on mumsnet i should be getting this so can you please sort this out!! Haha x

You won't have to convince them OP, once they've got all details sorted the calculations will work out. I also find your online journal is a much easier way of contacting them and they tend to be more helpful as well. Ignore the div on the phone, some of the advisors are genuine dickheads. Some of them are lovely, but you can never tell who you'll get through to, and they all give conflicting advice!

But yes, you will have to take your latest rent statement in for them to include your rent. Look at it this way, you might have a decent bit of back pay to come hopefully!

Ok thanks alot! Can't believe how much you've all tried to help. Had I not come on here then I would have just accepted their decision! I'm surprised they don't point out anything that may affect it otherwise I wouldn't have known!!

Also the work allowance has increased to £287. I am going to have a look at this for you see if I can come to a figure.

Gooner I factored in the new higher WA in my calculations, I just couldn't quite work out childcare on top!

I have done a rough calculation and I am getting you should roughly receive £460. Calculation as follows: Standard Allowance £498.89+Child Element £508.72+Housing Element £473.72+Childcare (85% of £130) £110.50. Total UC due £1591.83. If earnings are 25k net (UC uses gross minus tax, NI and pension conts) earnings to be taken into account are roughly £2083.33 minus work allowance £287 = £1796.33, 63p per pound is then deducted this gives a deduction of £1131.69. Total UC is £1591.83 - £1131.69=£460.14. This figure is just a rough calculation, you may have other deductions to be taken off such as advances or other benefit oveepayments. Hope this helps, quite enjoyed doing that!

Overpayments even!

Ahh ok thankyou for doing that for me too! Glad you enjoyed it haha! I've been at work all day so not had chance to ring them or add to the journal but I'm going to get an appointment at the job centre to take all my rent paperwork in and fingers crossed it all adds up etc because I don't know what else I can do to make them correct it, so I hope they see it is wrong! X

Good luck hope you get it sorted! Sometimes sending a journal message is better, it will go straight to your case manager. Over/underpayments are common and easily fixed.

Ok I will add that on tonight!

Update: So after job centre visits, lots of phonecalls and uploading my childcare costs numerous times!!-we are in fact entitled to something! Had I not come on here and posted for the first time I would have never have known we should be getting some UC and just accepted their decision of £0 even for the childcare costs! It's worrying how many families this may happen to because I rang them so many times to challenge their decision and none of them said oh this is why it looks like its been calculated wrong because your rent needs to be verified etc! And it was you lot that told me!! So thankyou so much for all your help! Xxx