AIBU about people moaning about UC!

[Lemoncurdkid]

NC for this and sure I’ll get the backlash. I’m also aware there have been other threads. I’m hoping that people will help me see the other POV.

I’m not a stranger to claiming benefits but have never claimed UC.

I seem to see so many articles on how UC have ruined my life. This article annoyed me...

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/money/8014429/universal-credit-campaign-poverty-nicola-mclean-mum/amp/

This lady was claiming over £1600 a month in UC. That’s how much I earn monthly on a full time wage and I earn £26k a year. I don’t pay a pension either otherwise it would be £100 less.

I’m comparing my life to others on UC and there doesn’t seem to be reason to complain. Maybe that’s my issue, not to compare!

Along with UC there are many other benefits you can claim for which most don’t speak about. For example, free childcare, free travel, free dentist etc.
I know a lot of people who work 16 hours or who are unemployed, they may struggle but they are not in debt and they seem to live a much happier life than mine. Once again I’m comparing, but I’m struggling, living off credit cards after our bills are paid.

I guess my complaint isn’t that they are entitled to UC, but why complain about it? Shouldn’t we be grateful that we have this option in the UK. Rather than declaring poverty. A person on UC (depending on their circumstances) can actually ‘earn’ more money than a person working full time?

Scours thread for another Mistress name who talked about maintenance loans??

I do still have to pay for my education. 9k a year tuition loans which I will have to pay back
Like all other students. UC are not saying you are entitled to nothing but that they rightly deduct what you should get in loans. You are still entitled to CB, help with childcare and of course child maintenance for your child in addition to some UC.

UC might be great if it worked. My earliest experiences weren't too bad. Then I suddenly get a letter saying I have been overpaid over £1000, then another saying that in paying back that £1000 I have now been underpaid £800, then another saying I have been underpaid £200, then one saying my tax credits for the previous year were overpaid, and another saying my ESA for the previous year was overpaid.

They haven't got a clue what they are doing, and I have no idea how much of the money I have been given (relatively simple claim - I am disabled so there are no earnings to take into account) will still be "mine" by the end of the month.

A lot of families have to now claim uc just to get the tax credits they were previously entitled to. The process is now more complicated and many mistakes are made. If you query anything then your payments are stopped in full until its resolved. This causes rent arrears and other financial issues. Op with all due respect you have no idea what your talking about. In theory the uc system works, in reality its shocking and people are suicidal, starving and helpless because of it.

@lemoncurdkid There are plenty of sources out there and an abundance of fact based evidence on the hardship that UC causes. Should you really want to 'get it'

This lady was claiming over £1600 a month in UC

UC incorporates what used to be Housing Benefit - so she might pay > half of that in housing costs.

Benefits are capped for people who are not working but not capped for particular groups or those who are working (T&C apply).

The headline sums of what some people receive can sound substantial but there can be all sorts of reasons why it isn't all that it seems to be.

@mistess sorry I meant @whenwillitstop

It sounds like you've had some hard times and bad luck, Lemoncurdkid. I agree that contacting stepchange or similar may help you and your family.

Just as you're free to complain about the issues in your circumstances, so are people who are having issues with UC or other benefits. Claiming or otherwise getting financial help doesn't mean anyone should just accept with a grateful smile anything that they get. One can be thankful that things aren't worse and still see that there are major issues that are causing suffering.

Yabvvvu uc is a total nightmare, my sister is really struggling on it. Im terrified of going on it

ooh, a benefits bashing thread!

If you think the amount is too high, lobby the government, stand for parliament, campaign against it. Don't bash those who claim what they are entitled to.

When you have a delay in money coming in, you have to find ways of covering. Maybe she has debt now because she had to borrow money to get through it. And now she has to repay that debt on an already tight budget. It's not rocket science.

Incidentally, a few years back, those on disability allowances were facing a 6 month wait for payment. Nobody else gave a shit, they were too busy whining that they missed their holiday due to the passport debacle.

I do still have to pay for my education. 9k a year tuition loans which I will have to pay back. 80% of students will never repay the full amount.

Surely those that work and who don't get benefits have to pay rent also out of their wages, isn't that housing costs.

Actually they still haven't decided if I'm entitled to nothing or not. The help with child care is through student finance in the form of a childcare grant. Not anything to do with universal credit. And child maintenance would come from his dad so again nothing to do with them. But yeah I can't be arsed to keep arguing. Think some people live in a bubble 😂 I'll just leave it as I have my experiences which I base my views on and you have yours.

From what I understand it’s veru poorly administered. Even so. If you haven’t made any provisions for your life in the event that you are out of work I don’t think you have any right to complain when other people are giving you money. It’s the very definition of entitled. It doesn’t mean that I don’t think it should be administered better but I don’t think I could ever muster the cheek to complain when someone else was giving me money.

I think it's sad to see yet another example of people on the lower rungs of society's ladder begrudging each other their respective pittance. Ironic that today is Fat Cat Friday - the day of the year by which the average FTSE100 CEO will have earned more than the average annual wage.

Benefits are a good thing that in pricipal we should all support and embrace. They ensure some distribution of our collective wealth and production to the lower levels of the population. What else can we do as we continue to improve our efficiency and productivity through ongoing technological advances? Execute those who are unable to work or just surplus to requirements? Of course not. We should accept that there will inevitably be a growing section of our population that are not required to work and ensure that they have a reasonable standard of living.

sure, it's not fair that some people are working a full-time job and end up no better off than some people on benefits. However, I think the reality of that happening is grossly exagerated and is missing the point anyway. We should be narrowing the gap between those at the top of the ladder and those at the bottom, not encouraging those at the bottom to fight amongst themselves for the scraps that are thrown down to them.

All I know is that my sister lost her pip and esa payments when she went onto uc. She is appealing but that takes ages and won't be backdated. Even though her doctor says she is too sick to work her 'consultant' says their opinion doesn't count next to their assessors and she still has to spend hours looking for work she won't get or she will be sanctioned. She has now been diagnosed with stress angina and is going through emergency scans and on more meds but if she tells her consultant this her claim will be restarted with another 5 weeks of no money.

In the meantime I am topping up her money by £300 each month so she has petrol to get to hospital appointments, can afford school photos etc. I don't know how much longer we can keep going like this.

BeyondShattered Oh yes, the mysterious 'tax credit overpayments' as well.. Almost everyone on UC seems to be hit with large 'overpayments' from years ago that have 'suddenly' appeared.

Now I do have other debts which UC take £127 a month off me at source. I work 30 hours a week, but needed this money as minimum wage is so low.

However.. I too was hit with letters for huge overpayments of tax credits. I knew immediately I was not overpaid, because I knew I always told tax credits of changes correctly and on time. So I sent a SAR request to tax credits to find out exactly where these apparent debts were coming from (from 2007, 2010, 2014 apparently). And low and behold.. they then sent a letter saying basically that they had made a 'mistake', and I didn't owe anything after all. Strange that.. almost like they are trying to take debts people don't even owe..

Have since spoken to lots of people this has happened to. When challenged.. suddenly the debts disappear..

Beyond Shattered if you don't think you owe these amounts, do the SAR request. xx

It doesn't matter if it comes from UC or another source. The point is that in between everything you can claim, you are getting quite a bit for you and your child to get by. Yet you seem to belie e that for some reason, you should be entitled to a free education in addition despite the same prospect of earning after you graduate then those who don't yet have children. I'm not sure who is living in a bubble but it does come a Ross that you do indeed have developed a sense of entitlement which is the reason why so many people have an issue with benefits and why UC had to be introduced despite its obvious failures.

I agree with swing. Why don't you take out a loan?

Surely those that work and who don't get benefits have to pay rent also out of their wages, isn't that housing costs.

Many of those who are entitled to benefits (putting aside retired people) are in work, iirc, because this includes what used to be tax credits, housing benefit etc.

Honestly OP, if you begrudge low earning and disabled people their pittance, PLEASE, why don't you just give up work and then live the good life on UC, since it's all so fine and dandy and what are people complaining about??

Seriously, why not just give up your job and go on UC??

I work 30 hours a week at minimum wage. Could you live on that amount, paying private rent, council tax, gas elec, food, everything Children need, travel to work, Childcare etc on that without a UC top up?? Don't you see that this isn't just 'free money' , it's money people need to survive because wages are so low and living costs so high??

@themachinestops I never once said I begrudge people on UC.

This is the part where I should moan about people reading the whole thread, unfortunately I’d be a hypocrite if I did that.

I also have not mentioned one thing about disability benefits.

@ Lemon

it isn't free money, it's money people need to survive because wages are so low and living costs so high

For some yes re survival as they can't work as are very ill or disabled. They don't tend to moan though as value the safety net.

However there are many claiming because of poor choices they made, i.e. Living in areas they can't afford, having children, deciding to study rather than earn, working part time or not at all. They want it all but don't want to pay for it themselves.

She has now been diagnosed with stress angina and is going through emergency scans and on more meds but if she tells her consultant this her claim will be restarted with another 5 weeks of no money.

That doesn’t sound right. I’m sure they can’t just restart your UC your claim because your circumstances change? Has she taken advice from CAB?