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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Unable to pay full rent

415 replies

bratzdoll · 25/11/2021 12:25

I'm a single parent currently on maternity leave so I receive UC monthly to help pay my rent and further bills. I'm private renting but I got the flat through the homelessness scheme (when you're homeless and in temporary accommodation but willing to take a private flat instead of waiting years in temporary accommodation until a council flat is available)

The benefit of private renting through the homelessness scheme is that the council are in contact with Landlords that are happy to rent to someone on UC and are usually happy to negotiate the monthly rent price.

I moved into the flat a few months ago and always pay my rent to the Landlord's agent one day before it's due just so the receive it without any problems or anything.

This month my UC was around £1100 less than it should have been because my employer incorrectly reported that I had earned around £2500 last monthConfused
I'm still only receiving SMP so I have no clue how they made such a drastic mistake but this means DD and I are living on near to nothing this month.

I sent an email to the Landlord's agent a few days before the rent was due to let them know the situation. I included screenshots of my UC Payment page so they could see the breakdown of what I normally get and see what was deducted. I did say I was able to contribute a small amount to the rent (less than £200 as I was given less than £400 from UC to live on for the month)
I also let them know that I spoke to my work coach about what happened as she's raised this with the investigation team so hopefully she'll hear back from them soon.

I spoke to the agent on the phone the day before the rent was due (I always speak to the manager btw) and she was very understanding and just said to update her with what happens. The next morning I get an email from her saying the Landlord was not happy at all (understandingly) and that I need to do whatever it takes to be able to pay the rent in full including taking out an overdraft!

I've never not paid my rent since I've lived here and it's not as if I got the dates mixed up or I spent the money on something else. The rent amount wasn't given to me for no fault of my own. I was a bit shocked at the Landlord's response as I'd literally given him more than half of what I received just to be able to contribute something. When in reality I could have kept it and spent that on myself and my daughter as we desperately need it!

There's often a discussion on Twitter about some Landlords and how they refuse to be understanding even in unavoidable situations. I understand I'm renting and effectively helping to pay off his mortgage, but this wasn't my fault at all.

(just in case anyone wants to bash me for being on benefits, I've been working full time since I was 17. It's more or less impossible to be a single parent living on SMP)

OP posts:
PieTastic · 26/11/2021 20:22

This is why it's best to work for a living and not live off benefits. You can't rely on other people/the state. I learned this the hard way too.

Original poster
bratzdoll · 26/11/2021 20:25

@LakieLady

Fantastic update, OP.

This has been an eye-opener for me, I (and I'm sure my colleagues are the same) was under the impression that the RTI uploads are automatically shared with DWP and that the UC calculation process was pretty much automatic.

Makes me wonder how the hell it cost so much to set up UC now.

I had no idea that actual humans looked at the RTI figures to input them and possibly even calculate the UC entitlement.

I had no idea that actual humans looked at the RTI figures to input them and possibly even calculate the UC entitlement.

Me neither! The woman I spoke too really broke it down and said the someone at UC hadn't looked at the RTI payslips throughly enough and somehow made a massive mistake. I all thought it was automatic so it was interesting to know it's an actual human doing all this work. I just hope they never make such a mistake again!

OP posts:
JustLyra · 26/11/2021 20:25

@PieTastic

This is why it's best to work for a living and not live off benefits. You can't rely on other people/the state. I learned this the hard way too.
The OP is on maternity leave. She does work for a living. Spectacularly rude.
Original poster
bratzdoll · 26/11/2021 20:26

@Skyll

The bit I couldn’t understand was how if the employer was paying the op £2500 she hadn’t had £2500 into her account. Because payslip = bank payment. Mostly.

And it wasn’t even the company at all

Exactly!Confused when I saw that I just thought how could work make such a mistake when they can literally see what they've paid me?! How the hell did they come up with that figure and so on. And after all of that it wasn't even their fault lol, very annoying
OP posts:
Original poster
bratzdoll · 26/11/2021 20:28

@PieTastic

This is why it's best to work for a living and not live off benefits. You can't rely on other people/the state. I learned this the hard way too.
Do you know what maternity leave is or are you purposely being obtuse? @PieTastic I do 'work for a living' thanks very much
OP posts:
Original poster
bratzdoll · 26/11/2021 20:30

@EmeraldShamrock

That is good news. I don't know who's bright idea universal credit was, it's an absolute joke that fucks people over with no concern for the situation. It should at least be calendar month, not 28 days.
I certainly agree with this! I know the assessment dates are there on your UC page but it's so easily overlooked. I wish I knew there'd be a month where I'd receive less than usual so I could try save small amounts to cover the difference. I had no clue getting paid 4 weekly wound mess me up until it actually happened this month!
OP posts:
EmeraldShamrock · 26/11/2021 20:35

This is why it's best to work for a living and not live off benefits. You can't rely on other people/the state. I learned this the hard way too. 🙄
Have you rtt.

DBI78 · 26/11/2021 20:35

Awful situation for you to be in I hope it resolves quickly.
Can your employer give you an advance on your wage?
Can you get an emergency loan through council?
Can you borrow the money from someone?
Can you get a temporary overdraft ?

X2Kids · 26/11/2021 20:51

OP I have been reading your thread and realise you have been paid twice in an assessment period. It's the absolute absurdity of UC.

Why don't you apply for the Household Support Fund via your council. It's there for just these types of situations. There's more info here www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-500m-support-for-vulnerable-households-over-winter but have a look on your council's website for more info.

8dayweek · 26/11/2021 21:06

@LakieLady It is automatic. Whoever told the OP that someone has "misread" is talking out of their hoop. It's fully automated.

Either the Employer has already corrected their PAYE system, thus retrospectively changing what is viewable on the RTI Feed (potentially as a result of the RTI Dispute already raised) OR there has been a duplication of sorts (if the RTI Feed doesn't come through reliably, a self-reported Earnings task is automatically triggered and this could cause duplication if you get self-reporting plus the RTI Feed).

Either way, RTI Disputes will need to get the system re-swept to get the Underpayment to trigger now, as the next RTI sweep won't happen until the next AP ends. The Work Coach just needs to escalate the originally raised RTI Dispute (because there is physically nothing else they can do).

8dayweek · 26/11/2021 21:15

@EmeraldShamrock UC is monthly (12 times a year), not 28 days. The OP is paid every 28 days / 4 weeks (13 times a year).

I wish just explaining to people was that simple of a fix. The amount of people I explain this to and they argue that "4 weeks is a month" and roll their eyes at me and scoff as if I'm a bit simple...

8dayweek · 26/11/2021 21:22

Or, if there's been a tax rebate / refund / adjustment of sorts in this Wage slip it will count as Earnings. You often see the Tax / NI as a minus figure on the RTI Feed if this the case, and it needs to be added to Net Wage to get the true Earnings figure UC will use.

Original poster
bratzdoll · 02/12/2021 16:36

Just a further update in case anyone's still interested.

UC sent me a letter explaining they've refunded me X amount which is great. However, because I had two payments from of SMP from work within the assessment dates, I was still £325 short to pay the rent.
I didn't want to cause anymore problems with the Landlord so I ended up opening a Monzo account to take out this amount by Overdraft.

I'm really annoyed that I've had to take out an Overdraft but I'm hoping I'll be able to try and pay this off within a few months if I budget correctly. The Landlord has finally got the correct amount of rent 8 days later and I pray this never happens again! The stress was all too much!

Thanks again for all of the kind posters who commented helpful advice, the ones who had messaged me to give further advice and to the one person who actually offered to send any shopping for DC if I needed it! I really appreciate all the kindness you guys have shown to a random stranger:)

OP posts:
MrsMoastyToasty · 02/12/2021 17:19

I would be asking my employer to cover any debit interest and bank charges you incur as a result of their balls up.

Itsalmostanaccessory · 02/12/2021 17:25

@MrsMoastyToasty

I would be asking my employer to cover any debit interest and bank charges you incur as a result of their balls up.
It wasnt the employers fault.
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