to be worried about Universal Credit

[idiuntno57]

I am in the lucky position of not needing to claim this but I am so worried about its implementation.

Its coming in in the Autumn and is going to be an online only, monthly, postdated payment. It will be paid to one adult in the family unit.

All well and did if you are god at managing your money, internet literate and in a stable relationship. But in the real world....

How are the most vulnerable in society going to have a chance with this?

Already the council tax changes are coming in and as far as I understand people are confused and shell shocked by it. UC is much bigger and no one is prepared.

God knows - they have it to me on the basis of THEIR OWN medical officer's assessment. Then they took it away based on the 'evidence' of a GP who re-prescribed (after a 2yr break where I was off meds as seizures went away while I was pg & bf) epilepsy meds in Feb 2012, then didn't see me again till Mar 2013. But the letter he sent to DLA was dated 16/01/13 - before he saw me, 11 months after he had last seen me.

Hasn't seen any other GPs there either. Long story, surgery was negligent, only just coming to light, I just carried putting in my repeat prescriptions until recently...

I'm waiting on a witness statement from my Gynae consultant who witnessed me having 10 seizures in a 1hr period (he has agreed to do this). It's the ONLY evidence I will get in time to give in for the DLA appeal.

If it works, I get my DLA, any backpay owed, plus any backpay of severe disablement top up on IS owed plus I'll be exempt from the cap.

If it doesn't, I'm lumbered with a very heavy debt to repay 5 months worth of DLA plus 5 months of severe disablement top up on IS to repay (it took them 4 months to make their decision in the first place, how the fuck can they get it so wrong they make an about face 4 weeks later?!). This is around £2,000. PLUS then, I wouldn't be protected from the cap.

I have to send in all new evidence I wish to be considered by 17th April. Like I can get a Neuro appointment by then. .

Then DLA get 11 weeks to 'consider' the new evidence they give me just 28 days to collect.

Because we all know the NHS works that fast, don't we. Especially when my last Neuro appointment was 5 years ago, out of PCT area, because my PCT didn't have a Neuro at all back then...

There's nothing I can do except hope that a witness statement from the top Gynae consultant in my PCT will hold some weight.

He, btw, is disgusted...

Couthy he isnt the only one.

I'm currently on IS as a Lone Parent with a DC under 5yo. JSA NOT an option for me - I've been signed off sick 'for the foreseeable future' by the SAME GP that told DLA that I only have 'mild to moderate' symptoms.

The same GP also signed a form for my bus pass last month stating that the DVLA would refuse me a driving license due to 'fits, blackouts or seizures'.

See what I mean about negligent...

NHS, DWP, Education (troubles with DC's and schools). All as crap as each other.

Browbeaten tbh. I'll go down fighting, anything else just wouldn't be me, but I've got the feeling that the boat I'm on is called the Titanic, and I'm slowly sinking with it now...

I'm sure I'll find a way to fight tomorrow, it's another day after all.

Over and out on UC now. Too close to home, I think.

So are you now getting ESA?

Regarding DLA evidence you know on the normal application form you send statement from person who knows the claimant, would it be worth sending other non professional witness statements from anyone you can get them off. People like health visitors, family etc

HV not witnessed any, wasn't dxd till adult...Lone Parent with SN DC - who the hell WRITES the witness statement?!
I've had to get my 10yo to write one!!!

Don't get ESA as IS is the 'better fit'. Plus on ESA I can be sent on workfare on an INDEFINITE placement even though I'm not well enough to work.

Whereas on IS, at least for the next 3 years, until DS3 is 5yo, they CAN'T do that.

By then, I might have got DLA for him because of his hyperactivity 'with a high probability of ADHD', the Autism he's being assessed for in May, and his allergies. Dairy, Tree Nuts, Pineapple, Kiwi, Papaya, Peanuts he's anaphylactic to. He's also allergic to soy, chickpeas, lentils, green beans, kidney beans, black eye beans...

Apparently DLA is being replaced by another allowance called Personal Independence Payment. But this is only for people of working age that is between 16-65. Sorry if you already knew that.

What happens to the people under 25 who currently receive DLA?

From what I read everyone between the ages of 16-65 on DLA is to be re-assessed and transfer to the PIP and will get letters. This will take to 2015 to transfer everyone. People under 16 and over 65 will continue to get the DLA.

Couthy you don't have to repay the dla that was paid for the five months or the sda unless they are accusing you of fraud which doesn't appear to be the case

I think you are right PearlyWhites. Unless fraud is involved which is obviously not the case here, then the money shouldn't have to be repaid.

I really hope not. I didn't commit any fraud - they've just decided that they wrongly awarded me the DLA and SD top up on my IS. I'm more worried about the SD top up on my IS, tbh, as I've been overpaid through THEIR mistake before, (over a different issue, but similar circumstances), and they still made me pay it back at almost HALF of my IS each week - I was left with just £34 a week IS, and even on a hardship appeal, they refused to lower the repayments as "we have to recover the money within 12 months".

The community legal team were meant to ring me at 5pm yesterday and didn't. I am about to ring them again, haven't been able to do far as DS1 school refused this morning, took me until gone 10 to get him to school, and then I had shopping I had to do.

Couthy, if the error is not yours is not caused by any omission on your part and you could not reasonably be expected to know they had made it the law says they cannot force you to pay it back.

Its the most basic principle of the over payment appeal process.

Tbh due to several convos we have had over a long time I am appalled by how you have been treated and I'm really concerned about the lack of decent support in RL you have to resolve the errors.

Community legal advice are very good and will sort it for you but it is essential even if it takes you an entire day that you get through to them TOMORROW as at the very least get approval for legal aid. Next week legal aid rules are changing to prohibit awards to challenge benefit decisions( unless the info I was given is incorrect but I doubt it) so unless you have approval before you will not get any help hence why you need it tomorrow.

I have heard from community legal support today.

Apparently the letter I received was generated by a computer sweep on a given day. Which happened to be the very DAY my DLA was stopped by reconsideration, but before my IS SDP top up was stopped.

A delay in the departments sharing information, apparently, and extreme bad luck that the computer sweep was done on that particular day.

The computer saw that I was getting paid £130 a week IS (which includes the disability top ups), also saw that I was no longer receiving DLA, and that therefore made me over the cap.

They have told me to ignore it, as by the time it comes in in my LA at some point between 15th July & the end of September, I will EITHER be getting the SDP top up on my IS, but ALSO getting DLA and therefore exempt from the cap, OR I will no longer be getting DLA, but as that would mean no more SDP top up on my IS, I would still be UNDER the cap IYSWIM.

So basically a combination of computers doing work alone that SHOUKD be checked by a human (in an ideal world...) and sheer unmitigated bad luck that they didn't choose to do this 'sweep' a fucking single day earlier!!

I WILL be over the cap when I move, they have told me that, so if my DLA appeal fails (stranger things have happened where ATOS are concerned...), AND DS3's DLA application isn't successful, then I will be OK for now but have to pay a top up when I move.

And I HAVE to move, as DS3 NEEDS his own room in order for be to create a 'safe' environment for him as he shares a room with me AND the tumble dryer right now. (House is VERY too small for us...)

They are getting back to me about the possible arrears - though they DID say that as I have an award letter stating that I had been awarded DLA from 09/10/12 - 08/10/14, I will be in a VERY strong position to appeal any decisions to ask me to repay the money that DLA paid to me.

The IS top up is a greyer area...

Because whilst the DWP automatically applied the disability premium, I was only able to apply for the severe disability premium AFTER I had my award letter. So either I committed fraud in filling in the form for the SDP or I was acting in good faith when I filled it in.

You know which it is, I know which it is, but it will be some faceless bid in Basildon Recovery Centre who has to decide whether I was acting fraudulently or whether I was acting in good faith on the information I had at the time...

And it could be anything from 2 weeks to 11 months before they even get involved.

So yonks worth of even MORE stress...

The trials have been susoended for another month in all but one area due to issues, what a shock!

Wow gobbledgook. What does this mean for the whole roll out for UC I wonder?

Couthy you tell them you acted in good faith

There are certainly a sizeable minority of parents who really dont know how to budget, my DM still volunteers at her old school having a retired a number of years ago. She ALWAYS brings a loaf and bread and jam when she goes into the feed the little reception school children who have not had breakfast.

How does she know they havent had anything. They tell her... They also tell her Mum was too pixxed to get out of bed so they have come to school on their own. She often has to help them to get a wash at school because that isnt bothered with either. She has been verbally abused by parents when they think the 'school is picking on their Tracy!' even though they have never attended parents evenings.

Perhaps they do know how to budget, money goes on themselves first and then what ever is left their children can have. Problem is that there rarely isnt anything left.

As a mother I really really cannot understand this mentality.

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/mar/29/asda-welfare-scheme-birmingham?CMP=twt_gu

I wonder if they would ever cancel UC if they end up not being able to iron out the problems. I feel so sorry for the people in this one area who are being guinea pigs for this.

Iain Duncan Smith in an article in the DM says that 'thousands' are taking jobs due to the cuts about to take place. He says the benefits reforms are changing behaviour.

I'm not linking because I will not promote a rag that supports this ^ bollocks.

I am appalled that it appears to be only the Guardian that is keeping up with the sanctions/tables/targets/etc. Is it because all the other rags are just biding their time, knowing that this is all going to fall like a ton of bricks, and hopefully crush IDS forever ?

I am hoping, that with the roll out of the trials of UC being restricted to just one area, that it will fail, and spectacularly.

I and my family are in a pretty crap situation at the moment, but I appreciate that while mine isn't ideal, there are thousands who are worse off than we are. I am disgusted at the assault on certain members of our society who have been relentlessly attacked by parts of the media, who now because of certain stories coming out, are having to stop the attacks and actually think before they speak.

I have purposely avoided coming on here for a while, because I just cannot deal with the complete lack of empathy, compassion and understanding that some posters show on threads such as these. I know that we all strive for better, to better ourselves and our lives and those in our lives, but I hope that I never get so high (unlikely) that I forget what basic human decency towards others is.

It's unlikely they will not introduce it at some stage no matter what the problems with it are because to much has been invested in it and bigged up about it to do an about turn because before they even started attempting to make it happen they were told over and over about the most likely issues and its the same ones that are causing the delays along with several others that will happen when it is up and running.

Whoever inherits this at the next election will probably find it far to costly to be able to dismantle.

This is it.....the Tories are getting as much in as possible do that whoever wins in 2015 will take at least a term or more to dismantle and implement new systems.
As well as deal with the horrific human cost that will build up.

From what I heard the trials are suspended in all but one area which is Ashton under Lyne in the North West. The other areas planned for April will be delayed till July. Not sure whether the whole thing will still start in October.