Is this just getting ridiculous! UNIVERSAL CREDIT

[ChristmasTime2023]

So had a review with UC today phone call she stated she would up date the journal with what I need to provide.
A full length photo of myself standing outside my front door with the key in the lock!?
Then a letter from the children's school & nursery saying they attend there
A letter from the children's gp
Passport photos
Child benefit award letter
Birth certificates (they have had birth certificates before )

This isn't a new claim either I dont understand why gp letters are needed they want one for me and my partner too.

Also on the phone call asked who I use for my gas and electricity
Ive never been asked these things before seems strange to ask?
Anyone else had a review lately what did they ask for.

Partner works full time if that matters.

I think they are unless the parent actually cannot withdraw from it as otherwise it's a great place to stash any funds you don't want UC to know about.

I hope you are right. They have delayed it several times before without informing me.

You can download it from your government account

Re: child benefit letter.

You can request it online.

Had to provide it very recently for secondary school applications and it's easy to do online (with older DC and their secondary school application I called and they sent the letter within 2 weeks - the download thing must be quite new!)

Are these things not all connected in the uk? Everything in Ireland is connected through your PPS number and government account! your wage…your tax, your housing, your driving licence, child benefit claim and any other benefits, health records, education records and grants etc They can see everything through that one number!!

My DH rang up to apply for PIP recently. To confirm his identity they wanted him to give his previous address. He gave our last address but they said it wasn't the one they had on record so he must ring them again as they could only accept the first answer he gave.

Four phone calls and several hours later he gave the one they had on their records. It was an address from 30 years ago where he had lived for less than a year. Absolutely ridiculous.

I have (thankfully) never needed to claim any type of benefit, and my jaw is on the floor that this is part of the process!! WTAF!! I’d be totally screwed as I’m terrible with remembering past addresses, log ins, and paperwork in general. If I had to do all those steps I’d 100% fuck it up. And as for the photo of your front door…. Bonkers!!! So sorry OP, sounds like a nightmare!

the door photo isn’t new. thats been a thing for at least two years.

they google it to make sure it matches the streetview. domt know what theyd do if it had been updated since streetview was done right enough…!

Our Google street view still shows our house from 6 years ago before we had a driveway installed 🫣🤣

Those Albanian scammers were photoshopping numerous front door photos to make multiple claims, so it obviously doesn’t prevent fraud.

I didnt know this thank you!

They aren't even if the parent can access it.

I don’t know. There are some horrible attitudes towards people who need to claim universal credit on here. Those posters would probably be the first to claim if they needed it.

I'm just saying they aren't counted for UC purposes.

You really don't think asking people to do these things is quite odd? OK then.

I have no issue with the principal of having checks. I do have an issue with the the way I am treated.

I have sent them about half a dozen messages over the last couple of weeks and I’ve either had no reply or a promise of a reply by a certain deadline and they still don’ t do it. If I did that to then they would dock me money. They also make appointments for phone calls, don’t call and cancel an hour after the appointment time.

in general they make uploading documents as difficult as possible by imposing quite small file size limits and only providing (in my most recent example) about 10 upload links when I actually needed about 40. And why do they insist on having a load of documents that I gave them a year ago?

They can check it on Google maps though

Fuck off wifh that attitude. Someone claiming UC is not a beggar ffs.

It doesn't change the fact that they should be reviewed, for those exact reasons.

Because the whole system is set up to make you feel desperate. Miss an appointment or whatever and they take the one thing that we all need...they sanction with penalties by deducting money.
it's a derogatory system and makes people feel rock bottom, and there is a obvious power imbalance felt by people who use their services.
In their eyes you need them, so you will do whatever they require of you. If that's silly photos and faffing around getting all of this 'evidence' then so be it. The whole system is flawed.

They knew what they were saying.

No they shouldn't. Nor should the bank accounts of anyone else living in the same property as the claimant unless they are part of a joint claim for a couple.

Yes they should, to counter fraud in the system.

Ok if you say so.

Don't claim then.