To think I should work less and claim Universal Credit?

[Tiredandgrumpymum]

After a difficult divorce I find myself supporting my 2 children on my own. Ex-husband pays the bare minimum.

I work full time on about minimum wage, all my shopping is done at Asda usually yellow-stickered where ever possible. This year managed to take my 2 kids away for a weeks break by the seaside in a caravan. We had a lovely time but did it as cheaply as possible. Bought ice cream and put in the freezer in the caravan so when kids asked for an ice cream out I said wait till we get home.

No eating out except for takeaway chips etc. No expensive days out.

Just bought all the school uniforms as cheaply as possible from the supermarket and the school shoes which I've had to put on my credit card.

My SIL popped round for a coffee earlier on her way back from the hairdressers having treated herself to a new cut and colour at a posh salon and she was just on the way to get her nails done. She's just returned from a 2 week all inclusive in Turkey with her 4 kids. Her kids get the best school uniforms and school shoes and she pays for them to do various activities I can only dream about. All this and she works 3 mornings a week and gets topped up on UC. She goes to the gym everyday as she can afford it and has the time to so looks fabulous.
I'm sorry I sound so bitter but I really am.

Yes I was replying to the person who was saying that people spend their benefits on holidays.
In my original post to the op I suggested using her savings to buy the things she needs instead of putting the shoes etc on credit cards.
This reply was in response specifically to the holidays mentioned, which of course is classed as a luxury item

Admittedly I only have one child but I own just above minimum wage. I’m entitled to know universal credits how is that possible?

They don't provide them or what they do provide is the very minimum. I also know what my disabled child needs more than the state does.

Honestly the easiest way is just to apply online. If you are paid through an employer it’s fairly simple, the DWP will get the details of your wage from them each month so you don’t need to report it each month. You’ll need to put down if you are renting in case you can get help with housing costs (you don’t get help if you own), and report your childcare costs each month if you have any. Some people will suggest entitledto but the calculators aren’t always accurate (although give an idea). If you aren’t entitled nothing will happen other than you won’t get a payment.

No. And if I was you are being equally rude! It was a simple comment, move on.

I’m not being rude at all if anyone is it’s still you. You thought you were being clever and now you’re just doubling down and getting pissy because I did read all of OP’s comments and you don’t handle being wrong very well that’s a you problem not a me problem. Move on.

I wasn’t wrong at all, you commented before reading all OPs posts with an irrelevant comment. Grow up!

I’ve started to think like this! My sister and her husband have NEVER worked EVER! They claim all sorts, they live in a new build house, brand new 25 plate car, always eating out and posting it on socials, they have been on three holidays this year. And she is pregnant with her second and third (twins) They all have apparently adhd, autism and anxiety. Including the kid, they live the life of Riley! Where as I have worked since I was 14, I have a ok lifestyle, my home is an ex council house that I managed to buy cheap. I have a banger of a car, can only afford one child (I’d love a flock of children) and haven’t been on a holiday in years! I sometimes think should I just start claiming, I’ve paid so much tax over the years and I get nothing back. It’s ridiculous, I know so many people who claim they’re disabled and so are their kids! Yet my mil who has worked all her life now has cancer and tried to get pip or dla (can’t remember which one) and couldn’t! Yet I’m not joking the amount of people who are running around in 25 plate cars because they have anxiety is infuriating! I have anxiety really bad, sometimes just want to bury my head in the sand and not see anyone but I still get up for work EVERY SINGLE DAY!! People are so entitled now, I know for a fact I’ll get “oh but you don’t no peoples real lives and problems” my sister literally laughs about it and has said her twins will most definitely have some type of disability too and winked! I’m sick of it, I have a neighbour who’s son also “has adhd” she owns her own caravan and has her own horse and they go away every single weekend yet doesn’t have a job? It doesn’t make sense!

Funny how you’re telling me to grow up and yet you’re the one who keeps replying to me who really needs to do the growing up right now.

That’s terrible. In this situation I can understand your annoyance, hinting at making up your kids have a disability is so low.

Do it. I almost killed myself working when I was a single mum and missed so much time with Dzs, gor what?
Take the opportunity to study for a proper career with prospects while you are not working.

If they have a brand new car on mobility they must have a child who has severe mental impairment, or is virtually unable to walk
Don't try and tell me they lie about it i had to go to tribunal to get HRM for my son who has severe mental impairment, it's absolutely not something you can lie about.

Only it's absolute bollocks you can hint all you want it gets you nowhere.

This is quite the bingo card.

@Overandout12345

You'll now be piled upon by those that insist it's simply impossible to make fraudulent PIP/DLA claims - despite the plethora of websites that coach people in what to say for a successful claim. For children with ADHD all the criteria are things that happen in the home during the night and are impossible for anybody to verify.

Agreed. HRM/mobility car is one of the hardest things to get, and even children who are clearly entitled to that help are being declined and made to go to tribunal for it. You need A LOT of evidence for HRM.

For the PP who thinks so many people are playing the system and making up disabilities for benefits - you need a lot of professional evidence for DLA even for the lowest rate (which is less than £30 per week btw!!)
The evidence I had to send in for my children was hundreds of pages long for each of them, including paediatrician reports, diagnostic reports, specialist teacher reports, EHCPs, educational psychologist reports, SALT reports, housing adaptation reports, occupational therapist reports, prescriptions, sleep clinic reports, physio reports, sleep diaries, home diaries, neurologist reports, cardio reports, school evidence. I had to list all the professionals involved in their care and their contact details to confirm all of this was even true. People aren't just getting disability benefits without clear cut evidence that their child is 1) disabled and 2) needs more care than a non disabled child their age due to their disability.

It's very easy to say you're jealous of people having these flush lives, but you really wouldn't want to be living this life. I've had another poster jump on me because her husband works so hard and I receive more benefits than his wage - despite me having to give up a career to care for two severely disabled children. On paper, yes we do receive a lot of money but I would give it all up tomorrow if it meant my children could have a better life.

Absolutely, who wouldn't
We have a brand new mobility car we got it a few weeks ago I would swap it in a heart beat if my son could speak to me and be independent.

The forms for DLA (I have no experience of PIP) are confusing, complicated and overwhelming. Of course some people need help with how to word things and as long as those things are the truth, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Disabled children shouldn't miss out on money that would improve their quality of life just because the forms are difficult for some parents. Of course they should get support with helping with the forms.

I can't speak for ADHD as my son doesn't have it but everything I said in the form had to be backed up with medical evidence. This will also include a school report for school aged children.

Agree. l’m taking issue with the part about her MiL trying to claim PIP or DLA for cancer and bring refused. If she’s over pension age (which l assume is the case as the poster says she’s worked all her life) she won’t be able to claim PIP as it’s a working age benefit, and DLA no longer exists except for children under the age of 16. It would likely be attendance allowance - there is an automatic fast track for a terminal cancer diagnosis, and that being the case she wouldn’t have been refused. But unless it’s terminal, a cancer diagnosis isn’t treated any differently than any other condition and would be assessed according to the eligibility criteria. If she didn’t meet the standard she would be refused.

As for the rest, it’s absolute nonsense. I was a disability outreach worker for over twenty years and heard so many stories by outraged people who didn’t consider their friend/relative/neighbour or whatever to be ‘disabled enough’ to claim disability benefits. My answer was always the same. Unless you live with someone 24/7, are qualified to understand their condition and how it affects them, have access to their medical records and are privy to the contents of their benefit claim and assessment results, you’re in no position to judge.

And as for the ‘wink wink’ stuff - it’s bollocks. Disability benefits are among the hardest to claim - there doesn’t have to be a formal diagnosis, but there has to be clear medical evidence of disability. Assessors are medically qualified, eligibility criteria are strict, so the notion of all these people running around in new cars when there’s nothing wrong with them is rubbish.

The problem for those of us who, for whatever reason know what disability benefits are for and why they are paid, is people like this poster who clearly have no idea what they’re talking about and perpetuate the myth that disabled people are all scroungers and cheats.

And yet there are ADHD websites that clearly state the things that you need to put down for a higher rate claim - e.g. waking in the night and bed wetting. All of which are self-reported and impossible for any kind of verification. If people are willing to outright lie about their children, then I just don't accept it's that hard to make a fraudulent claim.

Those websites state all kinds of shite it doesn't mean people are awarded though.

I was a disability outreach worker for over twenty years and the only thing l can tell you is that l witnessed people whose disabilities would make people here simply want to lie down and give up. And even they had trouble making a successful claim, which was why people like me were there to help.

PIP and child DLA are probably the hardest benefits to claim. They are not awarded on the balance of probability that the unverifiable things actually exist, they are awarded on clear evidence of disability and whether that disability is likely to produce the effects described by the claimant. And for child DLA the standard to be met is a disabled child needing more care than a child of the same age without the disability - very difficult to do as all children need care.

There are websites and YouTube videos giving advice as to how to make the best claim you can. The forms are long, complicated and confusing - especially if you have a learning disability or a mental health problem.

There used to be much more help available from professionals like myself who would assist with form filling and gathering evidence. This help is largely inaccessible now due to cuts, and the services that do exist have long waiting lists of people needing help.

The DWP has an information hub for people setting up advice sites and YouTube ‘how to’ videos because they recognise that the forms are difficult and that this is the only way most people can access the help they need. I’ve see a few of them and they are largely doing the same job as l used to do.

It might interest you to know that many agencies actually complete the forms for the disabled person, using their medical evidence and input because they know from experience how to word the forms to avoid confusion, self contradiction and repetition, and how to understand the questions and give answers which are factual and to the point. Much of the information available online does the same thing and is based on the experience of claimants who have made successful claims. It doesn’t mean they’re giving false information or cheating in any way.

Unfortunately l’ve dealt with claimants who have attempted these forms with no help and who didn’t get past the initial application before being rejected - not because their disability ruled them out, but because they had made such a dog’s dinner of the forms. How else do you expect them to get the help they need ?

In actual fact many of them aren’t shite. They’re doing the job of the agencies which have largely been cut. The ones that do exist are over subscribed and DWP actually has an information hub for people setting up YouTube ‘how to’ videos etc, so they are giving claimants correct advice. Even DWP are aware that claimants need help with the forms, and for some, these videos are the only way they’re going to get it.

If a child is bedwetting and waking in the night more than a child their age without disabilities would then they would be under sleep clinics and have a lot of professional evidence backing that up. And it isn't just one appointment either. It's months of appointments and parental workshops

We can all only comment on the information given in the OP. Of course I don’t know the full details but something isn’t right if SIL is indeed having luxury holidays and salon treatments while claiming assistance which is meant to help low-earners cover necessities, she’s talking the piss out of all of us. If we think OP is lying there’s no point commenting at all.