....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

I'm just intrigued as to the ins and outs of the system as some-one who's never used benefits before

Thing is @GingaNinja84 you’re fancifully enquiring after people’s bad experiences. Stories that are actually people’s lives. Bad experiences with UC, by their nature, are going to involve people’s survival. It’s not unusual for people to get stressed out over their finances even when they’re relatively well off so asking people who are in a demographic that are likely budgeting on a shoestring for their horror stories is going to open up a floodgate of emotion isn’t it?

Now I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt that you’re not a GF and are in fact just dense and lacking in empathy so may actually gain some understanding in having it spelt out to you. Don’t ask for people’s bad experiences then act shocked when people don’t fancy sugar coating their response to your question.

If you want to indulge in some misery porn go and superiority and buy a copy of take a break.

Gonna thank you all again for your interesting discussion. It's been very eye opening for me to see this side of things, and I'll say it again - I clearly live in a little bubble. Rude awakening!

From what I can see the old system benefitted one type of worker and this system benefits another. If only there was a system that suited everyone!

@Theholidayarmadillo4 because I couldn't afford any of the nurseries here, and the only childminder with availability only had two days a week with space. Her availability gradually increases towards March, which is when she can take her full time.

That answer your question?

@GingaNinja84 it was just unclear to me why you were being sniffy about a friend's mum being on benefits, when you're making a lifestyle choice to be on them too.

@Nixen see my earlier response to @Theholidayarmadillo4. I'm half convinced you're all expecting me to gush about wanting more time with my little one and using what I'm entitled to blah blah blah. Nope....I'm stuck in a rut, it's a short term solution to a sticky situation. Not the case for a lot of people mentioned in this thread.

@Theholidayarmadillo4 how is my childminder not having availability being a lifestyle choice?! I'd bloody love to go back full time!

This system doesn’t benefit anyone, not the claimant, not the DWP staff, not the welfare staff, not the government nor the tax payer. It is costIng more to implement than the government said they would save.

How can you be so flippant about a system that leaves people to exist in poverty or die?

A big issue is also being paid your rent if you are unemployed. Before you could have it paid directly to your landlord and it seems this has now changed. If you are struggling and have never had to prioritise rent money it can be difficult. Most people I know who work are struggling due to high housing and childcare costs.

I still don’t think that’s really a situation to be claiming benefits in - you should have been better organised for your return to work- it’s not like you didn’t know you’d be needing childcare. But enjoy your benefits 🙄

Why could you not afford the nursery fees when this smashing UC you are claiming pays 85% of the costs?

I was made redundant, and claimed Job Seeker's Allowance, in August. Sadly, this was in the middle of the changeover from JSA to Universal Credit. I finally received the first payment mid November. I am still currently unemployed, and receive £317 a month.

I was offered a job at minimum wage (£8.21) for 12 hours a week. This involved driving 11 miles, so £5 ish a day for petrol, for two days. I am allowed to keep 37p in every £ that I earn (used to 5p!). If I accepted the job, I would lose Housing Benefit and Council Tax support. I worked out that I would lose about £98 a month, for 12 hours a week.

Out of this £317 I still have to pay rent, Council Tax, car tax and insurance, TV licence, and the usual utility bills. Don't forget, Universal Credit is also taxed. I eat healthily, albeit not every day, which in itself is not healthy. I'm accruing debt, which I've never had before, because I can't afford to pay everyone everything. I'm single, so don't have a second income to fall back on. Any savings I had have been used for living expenses while waiting for the initial payment of UC.

I'm actively seeking employment, preferably something that actually pays me! I'm also finding it difficult, because of my age (just 60), and although organisations are not supposed to ageist, I find increasingly that they are. I have no desire to retire, I have no medical issues, and happy to invest in personal and professional development.

Hey ho.

@GingaNinja84 I totally get your predicament as I was the same and ended up putting the baby elsewhere for three months while I went back to work which was not ideal. Enjoy your phased return back to FT

Look up UC deaths on google you’ll see loads of them. BMJ published an article recently claiming circa 120000 deaths due to changes and cuts in benefits... that doesn’t tie in with a rather odd influx of mumsnet users singing its praises. Visit any food bank and you’ll meet people being failed with horror atories beyond their control. Just do a simple google search ffs.
Even our own MPs don’t think it fit for purpose.

I do have to wonder whether people get paid to say how wonderful it is on threads like this because all I ever see in real life is misery - and I’ve never had to claim UC so I’m looking on from a place of privilege but not of ignorance.

This system doesn’t benefit anyone, not the claimant, not the DWP staff, not the welfare staff, not the government nor the tax payer. It is costIng more to implement than the government said they would save

It benefits those who get the contracts to implement it or to run assessments... to the tune of millions or billions of pounds. Just need to look closer at the relationships between those
Who award contracts and those involved in companies going for them... always a handy dose
Of nepotism going on

I stand to lose around £2.5K annually when finally pushed over. Probably more because one of my children recently received a diagnosis which will entitled him to DLA and there are additional tax credits that go with that but that premium will be removed on UC (if I understand correctly). I am on my knees as it is. Not sure what else I can do.

@Nanna50 cutting a very long story very short.

Had baby....looked at childcare in the area. Decided we couldn't afford nursery, looked for
Childminders. None had space, except for this one on the limited availability. Great - booked in. Did KIT days at work, told boss childcare situation. Boss told me to go on UC. Was told at UC Credit meeting they'd pay childcare. Yay I thought! I can use a nursery!

Nurseries all full. Bugger. Back to using limited availability childminder.

Any more judgey comments regarding why I'm on UC?

I was clearly naive in thinking this thread would just be discussion and story telling.

Average reading age from National Literacy Trust

literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/adult-literacy/what-do-adult-literacy-levels-mean/

Yes @StinkyWizleteets you are correct there.

I’m on a UC fb page and A lot of people on there say how great it is and how much they prefer it! I think it’s better for people who are working..

I know that some of the vulnerable people I used to work with will not be able to cope on UC. They didn't have the ability to budget and were just about able to cope with weekly benefits payments. Getting their payments monthly is really going to be a struggle for them.

In my view this ends up being more expensive for the taxpayer because those vulnerable people will end up needing more help not less. It's not been thought through and the system needs to be looked at as a whole.

I suppose I must live in a little lucky bubble sometimes....

Yes, I suppose you must. Tee Hee...

My experience of UC is if you get paid on say the 15th and it's a Sunday, your wages go in on the Friday.

UC then say you've been paid twice in your assessment period so you don't get anything that month. For me that's £650 less that month.

It's happened to me three times now. I'm a lone parent with no spare money to plan ahead and save. They will not listen that I've not received two lots of wages, I was just paid two days early as it fell on the weekend. 😠

I also had to wait 6 weeks with nothing when I was first assessed. Luckily my parents helped me, but some people have no one.

Clearly it is dependant on a claimants circumstances and pay days.

The other big problem with UC is that when it goes wrong it impacts everything

My current tenant has transferred over to it and is having a nightmare because when HB messed up she could juggle around her Tax Credits, her income support and her son's DLA. When Tax Credits messed up she could juggle around other amounts. It meant that when there was a mess up she could juggle, get a little behind on a few things and could make sure she didn't end up screwed with things like bank charges, or her electricity getting cut off

Now when UC messes up - which has been three times in six months for her - it's everything that gets messed up.

I work in welfare too and UC is horrendous for sick and vulnerable people. They say in their reports that no one is going to be worse off on UC ( total lie because most of the premiums you get on jobseekers and on ESA have been removed on UC ) as previous posters have said, yes this works for people in work but for those who are on ESA this benefit is shocking when they are dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in society.

I also noticed in one of the articles that even Neil Couling ( the senior civil servant that’s in charge with implementing UC ) he even admits it’s not working hence the delay to 2024 and it’s going to cost at least a further £500 million on top of the £11 billion it’s already cost but they can’t back track!

I really am glad that this is working for you so far and hope it continues to do so but every person’s experience is different depending on your personal circumstances.