Sorry it is a long one. I'm just so fed up and worried I'm not going to be paid.
Me: I was unable to upload my documents last night because I have no WiFi in my house currently and the phone network was down. My son was asleep so I couldn't leave the house. I have come to my father's house to upload the documents this morning as the Internet is still down on my phone. I have a screenshot of the message from three network provider from this morning if you can send me a link to upload it? Thanks.
UC: Hi. The childcare costs have been referred to the Decision Makers for late reporting to see if they can be allowed and verified. Unfortunately we aren't able to give you a timescale on when a decision will be made, however once a decision has been made you will be notified of the outcome via your journal. Regards
Me: Hi, I'm a bit confused as to why they need to go to a decision maker. Don't we have two months to submit childcare costs?
UC: You are advised to report your childcare costs the same date you pay them and you must provide the evidence within one month of reporting them. The childcare costs you reported on 09 September you declared you paid the childcare costs on 02 August. The date you paid and the date you reported are 2 assessment periods out, therefore it must go to a Decision Maker for late reporting. The Decision Maker will look at all available evidence before making their decision. Regards
Me: Good morning and thank you for your message. I understand what you're saying, however would like to clarify something. On the government website (www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-childcare-costs#how-to-report-your-childcare-costs) it states: 'Report them as soon as you pay for them. If you leave it for longer than 2 months, you might not get the money back.' I understand that it says to report them asap however it also says that you will get them back if reported within 2 months. Is this incorrect? Sorry to argue the point, I'm just trying to work out what is the case as I'm being told different things by yourselves and the govt website. Thanks
UC: The guidance on gov.uk is vague compared the to the guidance we have to follow. Also Universal Credit uses assessment periods rather than months. Your assessment period is the 9th to the 8th of the following month. The childcare costs you wish to claim for you reported you paid on 02 August 2023, this is classed as the first assessment period from when you paid (09 July 2023 to 08 August 2023). Your most recent assessment period was 09 August 2023 to 08 September 2023, this is the second assessment period. Your current assessment period is 09 September 2023 to 08 October 2023. You reported your childcare costs and provided the evidence on 09 September which falls in the third assessment period, therefore it is classed as late reporting and needs to be referred to the Decision Makers. Regards
Me: Has there been a change recently? I have identified 4 occasions where I reported costs outside of the assessment period (same scenario as this month) which was never an issue, was not referred to a decision maker and I was just paid the following month. These 4 occasions were between December 2020 and April 2023. Apologies for all the messages it's just difficult because it's not possible to speak with someone on the phone about these specific issues. I'm really not trying to be difficult.
UC: Your previous occasions were handled by a different service centre and were not following the process and guidance correctly, hence a new service centre taking over.