To ask for help with UC?

[FlatShite]

I paid too much tax in early 2019, working two jobs part time and living with my partner. I had to borrow money during this time to cover some bills that I wasn't able to afford due to paying so much extra tax.

I found full time work and split up with DP in July when I had to claim universal credit as a single parent. I was awarded a tax rebate which was credited via my wage in September 2019. Universal credit assessed this as earnings and it wiped out my payment from them for the following month.

I have appealed this on the grounds that all of the tax that was refunded was paid before I claimed any universal credit - it is not extra income. I used the rebate to repay the money I borrowed earlier in the year so i was alot worse off after losing my UC as well.

The appeal process has been slow and fruitless, all correspondence I have received has more or less been "computer says no", however I have eventually been given a date for a telephone hearing next week.

This doesnt give me much time to prepare, my shifts at work don't allow for me to correspond with any services during office hours and obviously because of the pandemic it can be even harder trying to access help.

Has anyone been in a similar situation and can offer any advice? I know there are facebook pages dedicated to this sort of thing but I don't really want to set up a facebook solely to discuss this so publicly.

I very much doubt you will reverse the decision. You received the rebate as income that's all they care about.

Benefit adviser here. I had occasion to look this up for a client the other day and the Benefits Handbook is quite clear - refunds of tax or NI paid in any tax year in which the claimant was working are treated as income for UC.

Manifestly unfair imo, when the overpayment predates the UC claim, but until someone challenges it through the courts, it won't change.

Afterthought: it's only just occurred to me that they may have made this rule to save themselves the trouble of digging about to try and establish how much, if any, of tax refunded pre-dates the UC claim.

It is impossible to get the decision overturned. I started a job in January but was let go less than a month later. They had taken a pension contribution out of my salary which was refunded months later as the pension had never been opened. That counted as income as it came via HMRC so it came off my payment. I tried to explain that if the pension had been started I would not have the money back and it would be invested. I got absolutely nowhere with it ..........

Thanks all, doesn't sound promising then

Is there any point in me going through with the hearing?

In the opinion of UC it's money you had to live on at the time of receiving it. The debts and stuff don't factor into this at all. You had it and could have chosen to live on it rather than paying anything back.

You should probably go for the appeal since it has got this far. since it is a point in the UC law you will probably lose (because tribunals exist to decide if UC made the wrong decision under the law as it is). But if the judge finds it unfair they can advise you to take it to a higher court to challenge the law itself, like the women who challenged the income is counted in the month you got it and have won because of a moving pay day that puts 2 paydays in one month.

The 2 paydays in one month thing - as I understand it they won but DWP neither have to correct past decisions and are still currently applying it as they have been granted time to change the way the system calculates so not sure when this will eventually be “fixed”

Thanks all for your input.

I've just had my hearing and the judge decided that Universal Credit were in the wrong and has ruled in my favour.

There is a part of the rules/law which states that although they calculate your earnings based on real-time income, they should disregard what does not reflect your actual earnings.

Never thought that would happen, I almost didn't bother answering the call!

Anyone else thinking its not worth your while pursuing - just try, you never know!

Op thats fantastic news.......so glad you took that call!!

I bet your pleased you called OP.

I certainly am - it wasn't a small amount that they deducted so it will be nice to have that back!