Universal credit...£0 award....this can't be right surely

[UCconfused01]

NC for this.

We recently made the switch from tax credits to universal credit. We did the switch online and double checked all the details before submitting. We also did an online calculator which said we should be getting between £600-800 a month when we moved over to UC (our tax credits were around £500)

But our statement shows our award is £0!

We are panicking now as we obviously have not been paid. We got an advance which we used on the 5 week wait but now we are due to get out first UC this week and it's saying £0.

We have left a message on our journal but they haven't replied.

DH works full time and his take home pay after tax/ni/pension is £2800 a month and it's the same every month.

We have a mortgaged house

I'm a sahm/carer to our severely disabled child.

We have 4 children all under 16 but one is born after 2017 so not counted in UC calculation I believe?

We get DLA for 1 disabled DC of higher care and low mobility.

We also get child benefit for 4 children and I get carers allowance of £300 ish a month

So we were expecting a UC award of £600-800 (different calculation for before new tax year and after new tax year)

What are we meant to do? if we don't get UC we are down by at least £500 a month.

Any advice? Is there any other advance we could get or something? Really don't want to have to take out a loan just for living costs

I think people are just surprised the op keeps saying what are they supposed to do for money this month when they clearly have a few thousand to live off

Obviously we don't know the outgoings here but its not a trivial amount the op has already

I don't know a lot but dh and I prob earn less than that combined and stopped being eligible for tc some time ago.

It is this. When I hear what are we going to do for money this month is when there's nothing coming in or just child benefit due to a benefits cock up. People will wonder how you can't manage on over 3 grand especially when they don't get that themselves.

It'll get sorted anyways. Hopefully soon as there's nothing worse than stressing over rmoney.

Yes but do you have children and disabled ones at that?

Yep. No wonder this country is broke.

This. Op is entitled to a lot on top of the earnings because of the disabled children. No other reason. The extra money is there to help with the extra costs of disability and accounting that one parent perhaps cannot work because of caring responsibilities.

The OP is getting more then most because she has a disabled child. If it was possible, I'm sure she'd happily swap every penny for them to be healthy.

Disabilities are expensive, limited food, transport, adapted clothes, adapted housing, therapy or activities, op's lost income from being a carer (plus hundreds of other costs that add up)

Making a disabled child more able to live a fuller life should be more then enough reason not to begrudge a few hundred £, but for the clinical scrugges out there. The therapy, activities and opportunities that the op pays for now, could have a massive impact on her child's development, including how independent they might one day become, reducing the life-long care costs. The government aren't giving her money out of kindness, they do so because its cost effective for them.

Op there is a huge back log from child benefit verifying the children to universal credit so thousands don’t have their child elements listed so have £0 award. Leave a message on your journal but it will be updated as soon as they catch up and you will be paid. They are very behind and not enough staff to cope with the back log. There’s no more evidence you need to do- just a message on your journal will suffice but it’ll most probably all be updated before they message an acknowledgement.

Thanks everyone for the lovely helpful replies.

I shouldn't have to defend the amount we receive in benefits. I would give it all back to have a healthy child but that's life.

The costs of a disabled child are huge. Not just me not working but things like a wheelchair that we are not eligible on the NHS for, therapy that Costs £100 an hour as the NHS waiting list was 18 months and private was a week. Even simple things like pull-ups are £8 each as the NHS says we can have 3 a year. Not 3 a day, 3 a year. So we had to buy extra.

So yeah, expensive.

Reading this again has opened my eyes and I apologise for my earlier comment.

OP make sure you apply for the disabled child element if they get DLA, but you won't get the carers element as you already receive carers allowance.

Thank you @Janjk

This is not true. Op can get carers element and claim carers allowance. the carers allowance is paid separately to UC but deducted in full from the UC.

@Miley1967 exactly, it's deducted so you don't actually receive both amounts.

Just checked my UC statement and the carers element is £185, and they deducted £332 for carers allowance.

Thanks all we will do another journal message

Hi, just checking if they sorted for you? I got a message today saying that they had recalculated and updated mine, so I was hoping it would be the same for you

Thanks for asking @Sprogonthetyne yes it got sorted, phew! Hope yours did too!

I’ve just found this post and I’ve been given a zero award too after switching from CTC! Woke up panicking seeing the first award statement- and like you it says no kids and 2 spare rooms!! Did they sort it out quickly for you? This is my next panic!

@judesmummyx sorry to hear you are going through the same. We left a message in our journal and they got back to us a few days later and it's all worked out correctly now. Apparently there's thousands of people affected

I noticed mine on a Friday afternoon & messaged then, but probably to later for them to see it that day. They sorted it out for me the following Monday. Unfortunately with the bank holiday will probably means yours won't be look at until Tuesday, but it should be pretty quick once they do.

This...

I'm glad to hear they fixed it quick! Im hoping they sort it quick for me too, we’ve not had anything that we usually get for the last nearly 5 weeks. I’ve put a note on my journal but I’m going to phone up as soon as I’m able to on Tuesday, I’m working that day so makes it a little more tricky! I’m so disappointed with the whole change from CTC! It’s been a nightmare start to finish, this is just the icing on the cake!

I assume you haven't read the OPs post about the costs they have because her child is disabled?