To ask if universal credit should take into account what your living expenses are?

[Cheeseandlobster]

I have a family member who had a baby dd this year. She lives with her mum and dad in a granny annexe and pays no bills, rent or food. She sends me screenshots every time she gets a payment saying she is amazed at how much she is being paid (around £750 every 4 weeks). She also sends me screenshots of what she is buying and it's often urban decay makeup, Michael Kors designer clothing, etc. She has openly said she has no intention of ever leaving home or working as she has never been so well off and had such nice things.

She is a great mum to her dd and her dd has everything she needs but this isn't what benefits are for and she is now making a lifestyle choice of staying on uc for as long as she can. I have explained that once her dd is older she will have to find a job and tried to encourage her to think about what she would like to do when that time comes but she is adamant she won't be working again.

This isn't her fault in a way as the system has allowed her to do this and her mum and dad are choosing not to charge housekeep. I also know people on the other end of the spectrum on uc who have large bills and are really struggling to make ends meet

So should uc take into account what your outgoings are too? I don't know how much it would cost to administer but the differences in living styles between those living at home and those living independently seem huge and it doesn't seem fair to me

@Babyroobs Thanks, I will definitely be in touch with them tomorrow. Wonder how it was missed though as I went through everything a gazillion times, and again when I queried the amount?

I don't think OP's relative is in a privileged position at all. She is a grown woman still living with her parents, in an annexe with a young child. She gets a whopping £750 a month and spends at least part of her time taking pictures of make-up and bags to send to the OP which is actually quite sad. She doesn't work and has no intention of working when her child starts school which means she has a lifetime of relative poverty to look forward to along with zero pension. This puts her in a vulnerable position and she could easily end up in a relationship with any man she thinks will "look after" her. That rarely ends well. I don't know why anyone would be remotely envious or resentful of this lifestyle. It all sounds fairly unappealing to me.

More to the point, if OPs relative didn't receive this money it wouldn't change anyone else's situation - it's not as if it would be redistributed to the more "deserving" poor - so why does anyone care whether she gets it or not?

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs Thanks, I will definitely be in touch with them tomorrow. Wonder how it was missed though as I went through everything a gazillion times, and again when I queried the amount?[/quote]
How long have you been on UC ? You need to ask if it can be backdated also.

@Babyroobs

If your friend starts working she can earn a whopping £512 a month without her Uc even reducing at all, she really will be quids in then op.

Wow, that would be a crazy amount of disposable income!

All posters saying what UC give isn’t enough, how much would you say is enough for a mother of one young child- to include food, bills, transport, WiFi and clothes??

@Babyroobs I made my claim on 1st May, I received my first payment of £943 on 8th July, that's all the money I have had since 1st May, they said they pay a month in arrears, by my working outs, I'm still short a months worth as I never received anything in June for May but they insist not.

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs I made my claim on 1st May, I received my first payment of £943 on 8th July, that's all the money I have had since 1st May, they said they pay a month in arrears, by my working outs, I'm still short a months worth as I never received anything in June for May but they insist not. [/quote]
Had you recently finished work just before you made the claim? Maybe you had some wages which fell in the first assessment period or were reported late. Your first assessment period would have been from 1st May to 30th June.

@WitchesGlove

All posters saying what UC give isn’t enough, how much would you say is enough for a mother of one young child- to include food, bills, transport, WiFi and clothes??

It's hard to say isn't it? However, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that approx £950 a month (which includes housing allowance)) is not enough to live on when the average rent where I am is £600 pcm if not more. That leaves £350 a month for the basics, like gas, electric, water and food. As well as "luxuries" such as clothes, haircuts and internet/phones

Sorry I meant to say first assessment period would be may 1st to 30th may so it seems like wages must have cancelled out the first months UC although if child element had been applied you may have got something as you would also have got a work allowance?

@Owleyes16

UC are notoriously uncaring, your friend got lucky. They will force her to look for work once her child is in school, else they will stop her benefits. The vast majority of people on UC are really struggling to get by, and they DO already take income and outgoings into account. My rent is only £395 a month and they don't even cover the full amount of that. But, in a messed up way, I'm also lucky because I have the disability element and PIP (which are both also notoriously difficult to get) to top up my bills. I'll be paying a hell of a lot more rent soon because I need to move, UC don't care. I'll be lucky if I even get paid on time when I move because any tiny change of circumstance (ie. Change of address) will fuck up the terrible beurocratic system they have.

Your friend will face these difficulties soon enough, unfortunately. That being said, people on benefits are allowed to spend their money on whatever they like, and it really isn't anyone else's business. Be happy that they haven't fucked her over yet.

I get exactly the same elements as you and recently moved. Don't panic, it was actually seamless! It was all done via the journal and the recalculation was done during assessment period. No gap in payments. You don't have to let them know you've moved or give your new address until you've actually moved house already, either.

Tean - It's not enough because your claim is wrong and you should be getting at least £281 a month more because your child element is missing.

@Babyroobs

Had you recently finished work just before you made the claim? Maybe you had some wages which fell in the first assessment period or were reported late. Your first assessment period would have been from 1st May to 30th June.
I made the claim on the 4th May, not 1st (my apologies, I got mixed up in the date, my last working day was 1st May) I'm paid weekly, so was fully paid up until Friday 1st May

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs

Had you recently finished work just before you made the claim? Maybe you had some wages which fell in the first assessment period or were reported late. Your first assessment period would have been from 1st May to 30th June.
I made the claim on the 4th May, not 1st (my apologies, I got mixed up in the date, my last working day was 1st May) I'm paid weekly, so was fully paid up until Friday 1st May [/quote]
Did you receive any last wages/ holiday pay after 4th May?

@Babyroobs I had received £99 holiday pay a week or so later, that was it.

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs

Had you recently finished work just before you made the claim? Maybe you had some wages which fell in the first assessment period or were reported late. Your first assessment period would have been from 1st May to 30th June.
I made the claim on the 4th May, not 1st (my apologies, I got mixed up in the date, my last working day was 1st May) I'm paid weekly, so was fully paid up until Friday 1st May [/quote]
It could be that your employer reported your last wages late that would affect your Uc entitlement for the first month but if it was only a weeks wages I doubt it would wipe out your Uc altogether. Can you look back on your journal at your first statement to see if there has been any deduction made for wages and to see what elements are there for the first month? It will tell you how they have come to a zero award.

@JessStu

Why ridiculous? I don't understand how someone who has no outgoings has £750 every 4 weeks while someone else who has to pay gas, electricity, water rates, broadband and food ( they get housing benefit and council tax support) gets the same. I already said I don't know if it would be feasible to administer or monitor but the disparity is huge

I agree with you OP. A single, childless person would only get £300 per month and they'd have to pay all their utilities out of that.

I think our benefits system means well, the benefits are there to provide for the children but the consequence is that we have ended up with an army of single mothers on benefits who aren't thinking about what they are going to do when the benefits stop.

@JessStu

An army of single mothers on benefits

How bloody dare you??? It's not just single mothers you know! Also, some of us "single mothers" are so out of NO choice of their own.

My husband died, leaving me a 'single mother' and I receive benefits for my Parkinsons. So of course, now I'm just part of the army of "Single mothers on benefits" as you so hurtfully put it.

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs I had received £99 holiday pay a week or so later, that was it. [/quote]
Very odd then unless your employer reported your final wage late plus the holiday pay and because the child element was missing and therefore you didn't get the work allowance ( the first £292 of any wages should have been disregarded if the child element had been on your statement), this is why you got nothing. Are you sure your rent element was there on your first statement. I would look back at your first statement and see.

It may well be none of op's business but it always amazes me how open some people are about their finances. It's not her fault her family member has been showing her how much she's getting.
Perhaps one day she'll learn the valuable lesson to keep her cards close to her chest.

@JessStu

Perhaps instead of making out that single mothers are a feckless army mindlessly claiming benefits with no thought of what happens when their children are grown you should ask yourself why minimum wage is not a living wage and why more isn't done to make the fathers of those children take responsibility both financially and via shared care.

Lol. I don't really care. They've made their beds, so they can lie in them.

How have single mothers whose partners left them "made their beds?!?!?!?!?!"

Wow

TeanAndChocolateBiscuits - feel free to pm me if you want me to try and see what has gone wrong with your claim .

@Babyroobs Thanks for your advice, I will check everything over tomorrow. I hope you're right, it's been horrendous trying to get through

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs Thanks for your advice, I will check everything over tomorrow. I hope you're right, it's been horrendous trying to get through [/quote]
It sounds like it's been wrong from the start but when it gets put right they will recalculate your statements, and pay any money owed so try not to worry.

[quote TeanAndChocolateBiscuits]@Babyroobs Thanks for your advice, I will check everything over tomorrow. I hope you're right, it's been horrendous trying to get through [/quote]
Can you look at your statement on your journal to see what elements were there for the first month ?

@LazyFace

As far as I know when you apply for UC, they ask how much your rent is, childcare costs etc and decide how much you get on that. Of all the people I know who claimed UC none have been asked to provide a rental contract even. The system is ridiculous. One of these people is buying a new car while working cash in hand jobs, the other is claiming they're divorced. Not a single check....

I had to provide my tenancy agreement. It was photocopied in front of me

Alwaysinpain. It has been difficult during lock down as job centres have been closed and people haven't been able to take documents in. This has caused some problems. Ordinarily they want to see everything.