I am scared to make a Universal Credit claim.

[lolylangtree]

I have just been made redundant. Obviously I am looking for work, but jobs are a bit thin on the ground at the moment. Currently I get WTC and CTC. I know I to do something, I have filled in an entitled to form (twice) but I am still not sure if I should be claiming JSA or Universal Credit. Also, I have heard such bad experiences of UC I am terrified to change my claim. Can anyone reassure me please.

OP, don’t be scared. I have just put in a claim for UC after a change in my circumstances and they could not have been nicer or more helpful. The online forms are easy and straightforward, if you need to call them they answer straight away. They are not judgey or rude, just nice and helpful.

My experience with UC was excellent. Just call them and see what you’re entitled to.

I was on UC and had to change. I got more money but there was pressure to get a full time job constantly. I have young teenage children, my daughter is mh issues and the school is too far to walk so I drive them. They didn’t care and wanted me out at work long hours.

Anyway I got a suitable job that’s a blend of wfh and being at work full time. Tax credits was so much better.
That also base the money on the previous months income ao it can change and I didn’t get any money during the change over for 6 weeks.

Did you get redundancy pay? From. what I've heard, savings impact on UC more than they do on tax credits. Also there are two several types of JSA, including one which isn't income related, just have to have paid NI for a certain length of time. I couldn't work it all out either and went three months without claiming but JSA was very quick and easy. Can do online in a couple of mins. I believe you can also still get tax credits with JSA too.

No, no redundancy. I have been paid til the end of January then I am on my own. I think it takes 5 weeks for money to come through, so that will be end of February. Will I still get tax credits in the meantime?

@MarieFromStTropez how long before money comes through? Have you had any pressure to find a job?

As soon as you start a UC claim your tax credits claim will be cancelled, so no. However you could wait until the day after your next payment to claim if you can afford to. You can also get an advance on a lump sum to get you by and pay a bit back every month once you're claiming.

It always used to be a five week wait before money was paid but I think they might have reduced this (or scrapped it altogether) because of Covid and the huge increase in claims. Not 100% sure though.

I lost my job at the start of lockdown last year and the job coaches have been amazing. I am looking for work but they totally understand that there's not a huge amount around. You keep an online record of your job seeking and that's about all, no going in to the job centre or anything.

Universal Credit gets a really bad press - justifiably, some of the bad situations were horrendous - but I've found it's not that bad once you're up and running. If you get an advance just make sure you can definitely pay it back, it'll come out of the payment each month.

@lolylangtree it took a month and was then paid a month in arrears. I want to work, so not too worried about being pressured to get a job.

Do you have a partner who works? If not then UC is likely to be better for you as it's not for only 6 months like JSA and there's currently the additional £20 being paid to claimants.

Once you make a claim for UC. Your WTC/CTC will END!!.

So make sure you plan properly. You will be waiting 6weeks for your claim to be progressed this is standard.

Once you have got the ball rolling it’s not bad. You update and speak to an advisor through your journal if you have any queries. You need to check often for any messages.

Hi Op, I know many people have had bad experiences with universal credit, so wanted to share this.

My DS recently made a claim for the first time. I thought it was going to be really difficult but he said was incredibly straightforward. It took him about 29 minutes to complete the online application. He was immediately offered an advance payment (equivalent of one months benefit) which was in his bank account three days later.

He was given an online appointment with a job coach about a week after making the claim, who he says was really friendly and helpful.

Claim contribution based job seekers allowance if you paid enough NI during 2018 - 2020. However if you don’t already get housing benefit and need help with rent you will need to claim UC.

Your tax credits stop immediately and the 5 weeks has not been stopped but you can get an advance which you have to repay.

I might have misunderstood, but could you not keep your CTC and wait for your WTC to resume once you have a new job, as they are better than UC?

I feel sorry for the people who applied for UC in the first lockdown who didn’t realise they would lose their tax credits in the process.

Hi OP, I don't know about WTC and CTC so please get other advice on this.

However I would say that there is nothing to be scared about in applying for UC at the moment. I was scared too because I'd heard so many horror stories, but it is not like that now. Currently all the UC advisors are very understanding and very sympathetic, and just want to help you. They know we are in the middle of a pandemic and the number 1 object seems to be to get money to people, not punish them.

In my opinion the government are also being very careful about benefit headlines - they don't want to see even one bad story about a vulnerable person falling through the net. And if you think about it there hasn't been any stories like this. Frankly, UC money is being thrown at those who qualify.

So I wouldn't be scared from that point of view. If anything, this is the best time to claim as there is more money available (the additional £20 a week could disappear or not be given to new claimants) and all the advisors have only one aim right now which is to help. So provided you wouldn't lose out financially from applying now I'd say do it immediately.

I think you will get a four week run on of WTC after employment ends. You could continue to claim child tax credits and claim new style ( contributions based ) JSA with tax credits if you have paid enough NI contributions in tax years 2019-20 and 2018-19. Or you could claim UC but wait until you have been paid your last full pay from work otherwise it would probably wipe out any Uc entitlement for the first monthly assessment period. Do you have rent to pay ? If so then I think it would be more likely that you would be better off on Uc as long as you don't have savings over 16k. Otherwise get a benefit check done through CAB. How confident are you of getting another job quickly ? Ignore the horror stories of UC, it isn't great for people not working but otherwise I think it is fine and lots of people are better off on it.