Help needed working out new UC claim timing

[BenefitsTimingHelp]

Any experienced UC claimants or welfare advisors about to help me?

I’m on old benefits at the moment I have a change of circumstances coming up and this will mean I’ll get moved to UC.

I would like advice and guidance/tips on how best to manage this for as smooth a transition as possible - as in at least making sure that I’ve Done everything I have to do correctly.

I have no actual experience of being on UC yet this will all be new to me so I need as much help and advice as I can possibly get please.

Some of the info is way too identifying to post here so I would like to discuss by pm if posters are happy to do this. I’ve also nc.

Very nervous about this given the reputation of UC I’ve avoided it for as long as a I possibly can but that’s no longer an option.

Can anyone help?

I switched to uc a year ago from tax credits and was dreading it. It’s not been bad for us. In actual fact, dh earns more now but we get more uc than we did on tax credits. (My ds has disabilities so we get more generous premiums with universal credit)

The 5 week wait for money is a bit of a ball ache, but other than that, I haven’t had any bad experiences. Dh has changed jobs twice during this time and we’ve just reported it online and that’s that. Hmrc update every bit of his wages etc.

If dh does overtime we get less the next month, when he was off with COVID for 10 days he lost pay so we got more the next month etc, it adjusts real time to your situation. So less chances of overpayments.

I’d heard horror stories hence why I was dreading it. One thing I’ll say is it’s nice not having to do a tax credit annual review!

@babyroobs I hope you don’t mind me tagging you, can you help? You’re very knowledgeable on UC.

Was the 5ww genuinely only 5 weeks? May I ask whereabouts in uk you are? Just roughly

Relieved to hear it was relatively smooth for you the horror stories scare me too!

How did it work in terms of when you got last tax credits payment and 1st UC payment? I’m not on tax credits I’m on something else

Thanks for tagging someone potentially able to help too.

I advise on benefits (mostly UC) among other things. Feel free to PM. I'd need to know what benefits you're on atm and what your change of circumstances will be. x

Alternatively you could contact Citizens Advice Help to Claim via phone or webchat
www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/claiming/helptoclaim/

It was 5 weeks and 2 days for our first payment (I just checked) I applied for the uc and the tax credit payment went in the bank the day after we claimed (it would of been too late to stop it) we had to pay that payment back out of our uc as an overpayment a few months later. We are in Lincolnshire x

@AnotherEmma thank you I will pm you in just a moment I have been trying to get cab or anyone all week!

@danni0509 thank you for being kind enough to share that info. You’re in a slightly different part of uk to me. But I think this stuff is mostly same across uk?