....to think people are over exaggerating how bad Universal Credit really is?

[GingaNinja84]

Hear me out!

I've recently come off maternity leave and have just signed up to UC to supplement my wages for the next few months, while I ease my way up to full time hours. I'm not entitled to a lot, but what I do get will be enough to live on and pay my bills until March when I go full time again.

All very easy. Apply online, meeting at job centre, first payment next week. Smashing.

Can the people who've experienced the horror stories please share? I'm intrigued as to how and why it's badly affected some people, and how much worse off people are on UC now, than they were on old style benefits. All I've ever heard from everyone I know is that UC is terrible and I shouldn't go on it (just go back full time straight away instead....)....without backing it up with any real stories or details.

I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a benefits bashing thread. I'm just really interested in how other people use the new system, and it's benefits and drawbacks

Thanks, yes I know pip is separate to uc, as we claim it, and get the higher rate. I just wasnt aware there was something else you could claim if you are disabled. Although I doubt we could get anything else because my earnings are high.

It's not something you claim. It's an automatic premium paid when someone qualifies

It's for people who live alone, or households where both people in a couple qualify for ESA and PIP

It was/is a recognition that those people have the extra costs associated with long-term disability and no other money coming into the house

Under universal credit the premiums were scrapped, which would leave some of the most vulnerable in society down a large amount each week

I've never met anyone, even someone with low literacy levels and living in poverty, who don't have Internet access. In so many cases a cheap 2nd hand smartphone is cheaper than a smaller or basic mobile

Well, believe me, there are plenty of them. My client group is entirely people with MH issues, and I've had many clients who don't have reliable internet access, especially those who live in the rural areas where mobile coverage is poor. There are no libraries where people can go online and even in the towns, the libraries' opening hours are massively reduced (all closed on a Wednesday) and consequently computers are massively in demand.

And many of my clients are quite chaotic and lose or break their phones with monotonous regularity. And many have never learned any IT skills, especially the older ones.

There are lots of them.

And as a percentage of overall claimants they are......?

Her local housing allowance is ridiculously low. It's based on social housing rates

Social housing rents have no impact on the LHA rates. The LHA is set at the 30th percentile for private sector rental properties across a "broad rental market area" in each size category.

The LHA can impact on social housing rents though. The LHA is often used by HAs to set the rent of "affordable" as opposed to "low cost") housing.

HB and UC do not apply the LHA to social housing rents.

Minty in my area. I would say those that struggle for the reasons mentioned are around 80% of my workload that's why I have a full time job.

Over all for the whole country then I am afraid I cannot produce those figures

Funny isnt it. You say you are not that type of person yet you have made thinly veiled racist comments and despite the posts stating how hard life is on UC from not only those of us who support claimants but from claimants themselves...its still not enough for you

I stand by my first measure of you. You ARE that type of person. Shame on you.

Also the staff on the end of the tax credits phone line were usually bloody lovely. Really human and helpful.

I agree.

I used to have clients who had a very volatile relationship and were always splitting up then getting back together. We'd do things by the book, close down the joint TC and start a single one, then reverse the process when they got back together, usually within a month or so.

One day, we phoned HMRC and the bloke must have looked at the call history. There was a pause and then he said "Janet, we can't keep closing claims and starting new ones every time you and John have another row. Call us back in 3 or 4 weeks if your're still not back together".

Long before I did benefits work, a call handler told me exactly what to put in a letter to get recovery of an overpayment stopped (client had just come out of a psych unit after being sectioned for several months and, understandably, had omitted to stop her WTC claim before she was admitted).

Tax credits were my favourite benefit: totally logical and clear, no room for doubt in the regulations.

*not their real names

OP Another knock on effect is the rise of the state pension age so more older people having to stay in work so less jobs are available for younger groups. This piece of critical thinking seems to completely passed by the 62 year old making disaparaging comments on fb underneath the article and saying how easy it is to get a job as she has one

I said this on another thread last night and will say it again. The amount of people incapable of critical thinking is frightening.

Helen dont get me started on mixed aged couples!!! It's an absolute shit show if you have 1 pensioner and 1 of working age even if there is only a 18 month age difference

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/internet-use-uk-national-how-many-people-a8806806.html

5 million people have never used the internet according to the Office of National Statistics of these 23.3 % are disabled. The remainder are mainly elderly. So basically the vulnerable do not have access to the internet.

@PityParty4one Yep I started this thread last year.

Its VERY illuminating.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters/3479693-Changes-to-Pension-Credit

Helen just read the thread. I am so sorry.

It's a bloody disgrace.

@MyDcAreMarvel, @PeapodBurgundy is right (also a benefit adviser).

Adding a child to an existing tax credit claim is just a change of circumstances and doesn't trigger a switch to UC. Starting work is also a change of circs when there is already a TC claim running.

If you were told otherwise by DWP or HMRC, you'd be well advised to put in a formal complaint, especially if you've lost out financially.

I think that eventually mixed age couples who arent new claimants will be migrated over.

I hate uc, I work part time and get paid 4 weekly, which I know that’s bad when receiving uc, But what is worst my partner work full time and gets paid weekly. So we are worst off now, as some months we don’t receive anything. I am near enough on the phone every month telling them that I don’t want the uc to get closed.

“if it is a council property then UC have to pay the rent that the council state it is. UC contact the council via an electronic portal and confirm the person is a tenant and what the weekly rent charge is. They can't refuse to pay less than what the council are charging.” Where have you got that from?! It’s nonsense!

No, not rubbbish. Social housing rents aren't subject to the local housing allowance and are met in full by means tested benefits. The only things that aren't paid by UC are "ineligible charges", eg service charges, support charges and the "bedroom tax".

HAs are the same. I work for an HA and my colleague gets requests for verification via the portal for new claimants. Then the rent starts rolling in.

Thank you Laki
I see these request from UC day in day out and I know how it works but apparently I am talking nonsense.

Graphista

“How can a couple get away with working 20hrs between them, when as a single parent working 37.5 I'm being told I have to find more work” has op mentioned how many hours partner/husband does? Is there a partner/husband?

The first part of this post that you posted was mine. It wasnt aimed at the OP, but at another poster who said her and her husband value family time over money and therefore she doesn't work and he only works 20 hrs as UC pays a "full time wage". That's unfair.

Should have said I thought I'd tagged the PP but may have forgotten as I was extremely tired and haven't slept for 2 days.

@Graphista

I am Not talking nonsense. That's how UC works across the country for every HA/local authority property.
What UC pays for private rentals is based on the City Council rates. Thats why Londond pays more for rent than Manchester.

I remember a while ago somebody put a link up which listed all the reasons you would be switched from Tax Credits to Universal Credit. That may be helpful to people if anyone has that information?

I’m a single working parent and claim tax credits, I’ve done the online calculator and I’ll be £30 a week worse off on universal credit.

I'm on tax Credits at the moment. Is it worth me applying to switch to UC? I'm a lone working parent with two dc.

One of the big scandals of UC is that the people who are wrongly migrated over cannot go back. Which of course they could, the systems are still there for the people still on them. They won't, which is not at all the same.

Vint use one of the calculators. Entitled to is pretty accurate.

It's a disaster for single parents generally, most of whom will be worse off. Add in the 5 week wait, problems with paying for childcare and sanctions and it's just crap. Most single parents and disabled people will be worse off straight away when they switch. As with all of the tory party austerity cuts and welfare changes, it's the worse off that will suffer the most.