Pointless UC meetings - vexing

[MrsCosmopilite]

We were moved from Child Tax Credits last year to UC. I don't work and I had not been claiming benefits for myself - the CTC money was used to fund things for DC.
As the situation currently stands, once our transfer/transition period ends, we will not qualify for the payments, as we have savings, which is fine.
I use my own money to fund things I want to do. The UC money is being used for DC's benefit, and not mine.

What is making me cross is that I have to attend weekly 'get back to work' meetings. I am not going to go back to work, I don't want to - I do a lot of unpaid things in the community. It seems so absolutely pointless. I have to spend ££ on bus/train fares to get to these meetings (so spending money I wouldn't usually), to tell them over and over again that in 5 or 6 weeks we'll no longer qualify. I'm on an 'intensive return' programme. So I'm taking up time with an advisor that would be better used helping someone who DOES need to get back, that DOES need help with their CV and job applications, etc.
Even if I did need/want help, in a couple of weeks we won't be eligible anyway.

Just cross right now as I had an appointment this morning and they've asked me to go to the next one on Monday.

I didn't qualify for UC after getting tax credits due to savings. Never bothered with the 1 year transitional period thing, where you could continue to claim for a year. I just never applied for UC. We are using the savings. The 1 year protection to me is being rather cheeky.

Good grief you’ve been using benefits to line the pockets of your family while also not working, and acting outraged because they’re asking you to look for work? Are you for real?

if you want the money you have to play by the rules.

Same as a job.

If your claim is a joint claim, can you not make DH the lead claimant?

I still think 16k is very generous, some people both working full time cant even save this amount.

No. CB is paid to the parents on behalf of the children and, whilst now subject to some bizarre means-testing of the higher earner, isn't an income-replacement benefit, meaning you can earn quite a lot and still get it. UC is an income-replacement benefit, meaning that it's taking the place of wages you would get if you were working (or worked longer hours, or had a boss who paid you properly). NI contribution credits are given to people on income-replacement benefits because your employer would pay your NI if you were working (or worked more hours).

It took me a long time to get my mortgage overpayment reserve to £16k.

I do too. I work 32 hours a week and get around that take home a year.

(I also get UC top ups as a parent to a disabled child so that is in no way a dig at those genuinely claiming)

You don't want to work. Fine your choice, But why are you expecting to be subsidised with public money.

If your child is under 12 and you claim child benefit you get NI credits. Just googled it and it says that on the gov website.

It wasn’t automatic. You got a migration letter and had to apply for universal credit when you got that. It didn’t switch automatically. So, you applied for universal credit and had to agree to work commitments when you did so. And now you’re complaining about it.
Why did you apply? When you were notified that your tax credits claim was ending, why didn’t you just let it end? Why apply for universal credit when you don’t want to do the job commitments?

This is ridiculously entitled.

If you are getting Carer's Allowance or Carer's Element of UC you are not usually expected to do the work related requirements. It's always worth putting it in your Journal.

Does this happen when yhe child reaches 18 or am I missing something? If so then in this case you're wanting to claim benefits on behalf of your adult child? Are they not doing anything with their life then?

If this is real, then clearly you contact the DWP to confirm you are ending your claim and then you don't need to spend your time and money travelling to these appointments... I would have thought this was entirely obvious.

She keeps saying that she has never claimed personal benefits and only claims benefits for the children, but that’s not true. She is claiming the same benefits any out of work person with a child claims, based on household income. Previously she claimed child tax credits which anyone with kids and a low enough income would qualify for, and now she claims universal credit which will have her personal allowance as well as the extra for having kids. She just claims they are “benefits for the kids” but they are personal benefits in her name for her because she is out of work, just like anyone else out of work. She just doesn’t want to say that she claims benefits. That’s why she keeps saying she uses her own money for herself and the benefits for her kids, but it’s still all her money and the claim is for her name, not her kids.

If she doesn’t want to look for work then she shouldn’t have applied for universal credit. It’s also total bullshit that she is saying it all just happened and she never wanted it. It doesn’t happen automatically; you get a letter telling you that your tax credits are ending and that you can apply for universal credit if you want to continue receiving money, but that you will need to agree to work commitments. She got that letter, applied for universal credit, agreed to the commitments and is now claiming she never asked for it, doesnt want it and doesnt want to attend these interviews or look for work. There is also an “end claim” button on her journal which she could have used any time. Everything the OP has said isnt true.

“I didn’t ask for benefits for me”. You’re just deliberately missing the point here. The benefits are for you though! The fact you choose/need to spend them on your child or something else is simply academic.

But doing that would have messed my dads benefits up.
I just wanted them to make a note on the system that I was caring so they would stop bothering me.

Isn't the idea that they support you in getting back to work? It's not intended as a lifestyle choice where you choose not to work and they give you money.

Unless you have disabilities that prevent you working it's taking the piss a bit in all honesty.

That's not how it works though. You need to be in receipt of one of the carer benefits for them to 'stop bothering' you. Otherwise everyone could claim to be a carer so that the DWP didn't bother them. 🙄 The rules are there for a reason, not just to inconvenience you.

They don’t check anything anyway. I applied for them and they just accepted it, no proof whether I was caring or not.
They did eventually just put a note on the system as I said it was messing his benefits up and I didn’t even want any extra carers money, as it’s pointless calling me in for meetings when I already have a job and I’m busy caring.

You may ‘already have a job’ but the fact that you are still needing a top up from UC is why they will still interview people with PT work. Not saying this is you but there are a lot of claimants who are quite happy to not push for more hours or find a FT job and just let taxpayers forever subside their lifestyle. So it’s not ‘pointless’ to interview people who are already working as that’s not the full picture.

I know all that. It’s the fact I had fulltime caring responsibilities too. Anyway they did it eventually but they wasted a lot of meetings on me.

Not all people on benefits are scroungers but you OP are quintessentially a benefits scrounger. Why on earth do you think you and your child/ren deserve money doing sweet FA in return?

Well thankyou for making me feel awful.

I am autistic. I did what I was told to do by the people who moved us from one system to another.
On your advise I have now cancelled the payments.