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?

I get UC I have no kids and am now back living with my parents because of UC all I get is £395 a month and that is to cover everything. When I first started getting UC I got £111 and was expected to pay £375 rent out of that I had to spend 3 months living off next to nothing and feeding myself out of the food bank before I was sent for an assment and started getting my full money but what I get now would never of covered my rent, food and bills. I think I have a right to moan when I had to give up my home and move back in with my parents.

The give up work and live on benefits stuff does annoy me. If you do not have kids and are single or are on sick you are entitled to £73.10 a week, some of the cost of your rent and council tax.
People can be rightly struggling on their wages, but be better off than on benefits. I don't think many people with kids seem to understand how poor many working people without kids are. No wonder some single young women still think having kids is the way to a better life.

And I think UC is a disaster.

Wrongkindofface Yes they do restart your claim.

I have read the full thread, perhaps got you slightly mixed up with others. I volunteer for CAB and so see the catastrophe UC directly causes on a weekly basis. I also work and claim UC myself and have rarely had a correct payment.

Firstly, no one on UC gets 'free childcare', they get UP TO 85% back and only after they have paid upfront themselves. And all sorts of things can reduce that childcare payment drastically. And 'free travel' hahaha!!

You ARE saying that people on UC shouldn't complain about it'.

I don't think that is correct, no.

Did you read where I stated that THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN FIGURES show 15% of claims are not paid in full or on time?? And I can promise you the real figure is much higher than that.

But we 'shouldn't complain' ..

shootfirst Yes £395 for a single person on benefits sounds right. Of course that is almost impossible. The people I know who do it and living in a room in a shared dump of a house.

I haven’t read through the thread. I will say as someone severely ill and on ESA (pip too) when I transfer to UC the payment will go down about £40 a week as the severe disability premium for those who live alone and are severely disabled has been abolished under UC. The severe disability premium is about £65 a week, but with other changes the cut will work out about £40. There will be transitional cover. Universal Credit has slashed the lower rate child disability payment by half. 100,000 families with disabled children who are on low incomes will lose £1750 a year.

People can value the safety net, complain about the issues with it, and push for its improvement. It's not a 'one option only' situation, we can do all of the above. There is no need to have the deserving, grateful poor over everyone else who has the nerve to say a bad word about it.

Plenty of disabled people moan and protest about benefits. I run a group for disabled people and it is a well-known topic for a good group gripe, next to what has the council done now and breaking mobility devices. My late MIL's favourite talking point was 'what have the carers that is annoying this time' both when she got help to pay for them and when she didn't after FIL died.

Disabilities didn't turn me or anyone else I know into someone who nodded along with whatever happens. I find the idea that disabled and very ill people just smile because we're not ungrateful like others really out of step with reality where disabled people have had to fight for pretty much any accommodation in society and continue doing so as we see how easy is for them to pulled out from under us if we don't.

DF is going to lose 156 pound a month on UC so is already struggling will now suffer even more due to UC not to include 5 weeks without payment!

@themachinestops I did say earlier that I moan about the zero support given to me for childcare so I was contradicting myself. Everybody moans. I do think we live in a society with a sense of entitlement, including myself.

TheBigBangRocks

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

Wow. How do you know disabled people don't tend to 'moan'?? Many disabled people are worse off under UC. This includes -
The families caring for disabled Children, most of whom lose money under UC.
The disabled people so far who have taken the dwp to high court over policy and discrimination and won their cases.
The disabled claimants who were wrongly underpaid by 340m.

And you go on to mention 'choices' .. but that still does not explain how someone can live on minimum wage, even if it is full time?? Minimum wage for me is about £250 a week take home, full time. My rent is £130 a week for believe me a modest area (in the 10% most deprived areas), I pay £30 a week for travel passes for me and Children (so they can get to childcare whilst I work), then there is £25 a week council tax, £25 a week gas and electric, then food, internet (you need internet to manage your UC claim), Clothes for Kids, tv licence.. and that's before hundreds in childcare so I can actually work.. You do the maths!! People can't just 'work full time' - it's still no where near enough to survive.
(and many low paid jobs are part time, zero hours, so difficult to take up 2 part time as they clash)

Exactly Boffin>>

Look at what's going on in this thread. The easiest way for the hyper-rich to maintain their super-privileged status is to get all the little people (us) arguing about the crumbs so we don't notice what they are up to. It's certainly working on the UC front, isn't it?

@abacucat it’s shocking what UC does to people and we are all just expected to be happy with what we get because it’s “free” money. I’m lucky that I had my parents to fall back on but some people don’t have that luxury and instead are left to struggle and what really rubs salt in the wounds is when you look at the breakdown of your payment and they tell you at the bottom what you could’ve had but your not getting that because they have taken x y and z off you. This is why so many people are committing suicide because they can’t afford to live and UC don’t care.

Yes they do restart your claim.

Why though? I can’t see anything that suggests that if you declare a medical condition your claim starts from scratch?

Yes it is shocking. I maintain that single poor or ill people are some of the poorest in the country and I understand why some become homeless. But few seem to care as it does not tug the heartstrings like kids do.

Well said TooTrue>>

'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.'

@shootfirstaskquestionslater Are you ill or disabled?

Personally I think those who are on their high horse should try living on UC before passing judgement. Not knowing whether you're actually going to get paid that month even after that initial 5 week wait is anxiety inducing. If your job paid like that you'd be quick to complain.

I hope I never have to claim it, I count myself lucky.

Wrong kind
Its because you have to have another medical assessment where they can say blood pressure of 200 doesn't affect your ability to work!!! Because that is part of your uc 'identity' you have to have the whole thing start again.

Oh right, so the assessment to see if you are fit for work starts again if you declare a medical condition. That makes sense. Not a new claim and doesn’t affect your payments though.

Wow. How do you know disabled people don't tend to 'moan'??

It's part of the stereotyping, isn't it? Disabled people are perceived as either fakers milking it for the money or saintly types deserving of pity who never, ever complain about anything because there's always someone worse off and they're oh so grateful for every penny. You can't win.

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.

Actually, it was the other way round: she had to go on UC because she lost her ESA. Damned unlucky to lose her PIP at the same time, although I wouldn't be at all surprised if the DWP started to review PIP when someone is deemed fit for work for ESA purposes, just to make sure they're well and truly shafted instead of just a bit in the shit.

You're not very up to date if you think the over 60's are entitled to anything, I'm 64 next month, on UC, working part time, not eligible for free bus pass or any of the other things you mention, not until I reach the age of 66.

You're pissed off about your state in life so you point your anger at the poorest in society. And you can't see how stupid that it? That the real problem is low wages, employee right erosion and wealth hoarding by the extreme few, not people on benefits.

People who fall ill with a terminal condition and can no longer work have to wait 5 weeks for their UC. That's wrong.

UC is shit storm and it's amazing how many people still think claiming benefits is what's brought society to where it is.

Talk about wagging the dog!

YABVU and goady.

whenwillitstop1

I'm a single parent and was claiming income support until I moved to a universal credit area. Since November I have had nothing at all. I'm in a massive amount of arrears with the council because my housing benefit has stopped. I've now been told that the reason it is taking so long to process my claim is because I am doing a degree and would be eligible for a maintenance loan, which I have not applied for because I don't want to be in more debt. Even though I have not applied for it because I would be eligible universal credit people have said they will still need to count this as an income. Which is ludicrous. They will likely reject my claim and to avoid my council taking me to court over unpaid rent I will need to take the maintenance loan. Which will not last very long after paying rent and child care costs. Then I will be back to square one but with added debt.

Sorry to quote such a huge chunk, but are you saying you feel entitled to UC to help you through your degree rather than taking out a student loan like everyone else? Why would you think it’s the government’s responsibility to pay you money to get by when the student finance system is set up to do exactly that? Do you think it’s unfair for you to have to pay that money back?

The delays are ridiculous, surely you can imagine if your employer suddenly decided to withhold your wages for at least another 2 weeks plus you would be in serious trouble? Most people, who don't have savings would.

Add to the mix the cuts to local services the safety net is shrinking. Food banks are all well and good but they won't pay your back rent or bills. There shouldn't even be a need for them in this country.

As for paying to their bank account rather than to the landlords, this is a covert plan to make vulnerable people homeless and free up more council properties. There are many people on benefits who arent able to manage their finances due to poor mental health and developmental conditions. My dad had a progressive neurological disease and lost his insight pretty quickly, bills would rack up because he simply didn't have the insight to deal with them. Had UC been rolled out to him when he was still living in social housing he would have ended up evicted and homeless.

Add into all this the oncoming shit storm that is Brexit.

And on today, Fat Cat Friday, the day when the highest paid in the country have already earned £29,000 in 3 days, the average yearly salary for someone living in the U.K. It's been very quiet on the roads this week, do you think any of those high earners have actually been into work yet this year? Maybe these are the people you should feel jealous of OP? You might not feel the need to change your name and not own your opinions then.