Benefits, they penalise people in some situations

[creaturcomforts]

I've been very grateful for the fact that I receive universal credit which tops up my income and helps me to survive.

As a lone parent with sole custody I was desperate to escape an abusive relationship with my now ex husband, I was too scared to leave partly because of financial reasons, we didn't have the income to buy a house and because I always worked from when my dd was 6 months as a carer and my husband was also on a low income we rented and I still do

We separated 2 years ago , but because husband left work before we separated and expected me to foot most of our daily living expenses and bills, I'm still to this day struggling with council tax, rent and energy bills.

I worked full time nights from when dd was 6 months old and had a child minder until she was nursery age and spent every minute I could with dd, we still have a very close bond but it was such a struggle.

When dd was 12 husband of 14 years told me I was not appreciating him or spending time with him, bear in mind I was working full time just like him, nights and bringing up dd basically alone, I asked him for support over and over but he just made excuses.

He left when dd was 12 at the time, now 14 after leaving his job so I could pay the rent and food but the joint Bill's were in arrears, he told me hed found someone who appreciated him and when i brought up child maintenance he told me he would not pay for me.

He is not in contact with poor dd at all and she has had many problems because of this, I'm now able to work full time and I claim universal credit but I'm still paying the joint Bill's that were in arrears as well as private rent.

I've been hassled constantly over the Bill's and am almost at wits end, I now have just enough for rent and food, my rent alone is 750 a month but in my area there is nothing cheaper to rent and I wont get council housing, family are not willing to put us up.

Ex husband has not paid child maintenance as they do not know where he is, be moved abroad for girlfriend and immediately cut contact with dd, shes so upset.

Meanwhile I am in debt and dd is devastated. I found full time work that I could fit in around dd but I'm still on the bread line as paying off debts.

This latest month I recieved no universal credit and only wages as I am 4 weekly paid... so even though I have two lots of bills, rent etc to pay , I didn't get the universal credit payment.

This is just another thing that is pushing me over the edge at the moment

Have you tried step changed?
Do you have single person discount on your council tax from the time he left?
Have you asked your council for discretionary housing payment ? (You have to have a small amount of housing benefit in payment).
Claim council tax benefit, though if you work full time you won’t qualify.

Unfortunately benefits takes in to account earnings, not bills and debts.

I've just paid so much money for school uniform and clothes for dd who is growing so fast, its left us with nothing and now I cant pay Bill's this month.

Just so scared of them ringing me up and hassling again as i had caught on top of things, I'm on anti depressants and i had been feeling better I'm just trying not to think too much...

Are you eligible for an advance on UC?

My friend actually left her job as she got more in UC than her wages and was paying for childcare. Child was 1. So I could see why she did. It's a messed up system sometimes.

People should be better off in work! Bonkers.

I meant she left her job because her UC calculation was more than her wages per month*

Step change or citizens advice. You might qualify for a debt relief order or some other debt management plan

Thank you for your response cup of tea, no sadly I cant cope without the universal credit payments as I'm on a low income, the universal credits would literally just pay the rent and food, there would be nothing towards Bill's or anything else.

I really hate claiming anything but have no choice

Unfortunately people who get paid 4 weekly do get stung by this UC loophole.

Speak to stepchange or another debt management agency and they can advise you. When I applied for UC my council wrote to me to tell me that I can apply for help for council tax, it might be worth you doing this if you look on your councils website.

Depending on the type of debt are you able to transfer any of it to a 0% interest credit card? Martin Lewis has a good section on his website about this.

You mention you are on ADs in which case you may qualify for prescription costs, look on Google “nhs help for prescription costs” or similar.

If you are struggling to afford food this month due to the UC issue I would contact your local food bank and ask how you can get a referral. This may help you pay the bills

You could contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, they will be able to help you to sort out your debts and also advise you on any benefits you may be entitled to but may not be claiming.
They can also do a check to see if you are better off in work or not.

Just asked about a universal credit advance , hadn't thought about this until someone suggested it to me.

This would have been taken out of my payments, they said I'm not eligible as my wages in the last month were too high.

I said to the advisor that even though I was 4 weekly paid and had two wages in june, that because I was paid on the 1st june and rent and bills came out on the 7th with universal credit and then I was paid again on the 29th june this will cover my july 7th Bill's and I will not receive another wage until july 24th!

I am going to still be one month behind on all my Bill's, luckily I had enough for rent and food but as I am in debt , I have no savings... so I will basically be in arrears with council tax, energy and water next month.

I'm just so fed up with it all

Just dont feel ready to deal with all the hassling calls asking why are you behind again, I'm so stressed out about it

Hey I am sorry your going through this. Sending love
Council tax if you ring them up you can set up a payment plan they are really helpful and helped me a lot
I don't know what else your in debt with but it things like Gas or electric or water ther is actually social funds for them you apply online and they basically pay your debts for you? Maybe have a look into that if it's them

If any debt are with debt collectors I would suggest joining the beat the bailiffs group on Facebook there so good

Hope you get it sorted x

Could you call the companies and ask them to spread the arrears across the year? I did this with my council tax and my gas and electric. Council tax is quite a lot at an extra £20 a month bit at least now m up to date with it. Have you asked for the 12 months instead of 10? That also keeps it down

Step change or citizens advice can also request "breathing space" for you. It's a fairly new scheme where companies can't chase you for a set period of time (I think 60 days but I might be wrong) while you sort out a debt management plan.

There is almost certainly a way around the problems you're facing

I don't know if you've tried the British Gas Energy Trust. It's funded by British Gas but you don't have to be a customer to apply:

britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/

They can provide a one off grant to help clear energy debt. I know that's not a full solution for you, but might help you rebalance things a little/

Please contact StepChange to help you go through your options and get some debt help
www.stepchange.org/

If you can’t get through there is also National Debtline

www.nationaldebtline.org/

Christians Against Poverty (CAP). There is no need to be religious they offer their service to all

capuk.org/

And obviously the CAB

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Also have a look at the Debtfree Wanabe board on the MSE website. In fact have a good old browse of the forums and the main board

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/debt-free-wannabe

Good luck with it all. There is help and support out there and if they suggest a DRO or indeed bankruptcy don’t panic talk to the people on the respective boards on MSE and they will guide you through it, it’s not the end of the world.

Universal Credit have to process four weekly paid claimants manually. It’s a monthly system and it struggles. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration and tell them this.
If you claim UC you may be able to claim school clothing grant and free meals (unless you receive tax credits).
You’d be better off not working full time to be honest, as you won’t qualify for as much help - if any by working full time.

So sorry things are so shit for you.

Have you tried to get/applied for a discretionary housing payment? This if approved would help with the rent that is due.

Also, I know it’s really shit but do contact everyone you owe money to, it is a pain to do but it really will help you. It will stop the phone calls and enable you to set payment plans.

Good luck

I’m sorry you’re going through this.

Is there anywhere cheaper you can move to? £750 is a lot to house 2 of you. If you have no family ties where you are, is renting a cheaper flat in a cheaper area an option? As a carer you’d be able to find work easily, even if you did agency or bank for a while.

Doesn’t Universal Credit include housing benefit now? Can they not increase that part of it?

Working tax credits an option?

Uniform’s expensive new, are you able to get second hand?

Hi, thank you to everyone for your help, I guess I might be doing all I can at the moment.

Husband left me with debts and unable to work despite never being unemployed before. I went straight back after maternity and the debts built up even more when I was unemployed for a year. I'm a private rental and even though I received the child element with universal credit, my rent was deemed too high.

It's not really as its the going rate for my area, I'm in a 2 bed and I looked into 1 bed and bed sits for me and dd, but the rent element decreases and it's just the same!

I had such a struggle to find work that would not mean leaving dd alone for hours, there is childcare for 12 year olds. I have no family to help either and dont receive child maintenance.

Universal credit only just covered my rent and food , in fact and some bills, but because I was already in arrears I slipped further into debt.

I contacted stepchange immediately at this time and they were a help but it didn't stop the harassment, most by eon who i was in a payment plan with who hassled me constantly.

I had a buffer after all my essential Bill's were paid of 10 pounds a month despite not having a budget for example dentists for me and dd or clothes and they asked me if I could pay that 10 pounds to them each month.

It was really really hard, I can now afford enough for food and I'm so proud of working full time, but being behind for a month and having the council water and electric chasing me I feel its going to push me over the edge.

I'm not able to get debt relief as my debts are less than 5000 and I dont think the debtors are going to take it that universal credit means I cant make my payments.

I've been worrying all day about it but theres nothing I can do

Am a single parent it's a catch 22, I dont drive so landlords dont want to know. I've always paid the rent , but now I've got a bad credit rating so no chance of renting as single person anyway

Sorry should have been I could move to a village which might be cheaper but due to work and not being able to drive

@creaturcomforts there is help out there. Please ring StepChange or one of the other people I linked to in my post. They will be able help you sort out your benefits, help with the debts and give you some piece of mind.

Obviously with no surplus then a Debt Management Plan (DMP) is not really an option. But a Debt Relief Order (DRO) most likely will be. The general qualifiers are not have a mortgage, owe less than £30k, have assets of less than £2k, car less than £2k, less than £75 left at the end of the month. Have a read about them.

www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/debt-relief-orders-ew/

You are catastrophising at the moment which is understandable but there is help out there.

Hoping things get easier for you OP

There IS a way through this x

You can ask council tax to be paid over 12 months, instead of 10, to spread the cost

The two wages falling in your UC assessment period because you are paid four weekly will only happen once a year and you do actually get more Uc for the other eleven months than someone on the same annual salary who is paid monthly so it does work out the same. I know it's easy to do in hindsight but try to plan for when this will next happen to make budgeting easier.
If you are having deductions on your Uc for arrears then speak to the debt management team and see if they can be reduced.