To think it shouldn’t be so complicated to not be poor?

[itsme189]

I had to change my number because of a harassment issue. Anyway I’ve updated about 700 different accounts that you need to have just to exist.

Today I wanted to amend my child benefit payment to weekly as the monthly payment keep changing dates is making it hard to budget. To update it you have to log in but to log in you need to enter your email, an insane password with all the digits and symbols, your huge login ID number, an email verification code and a text code. Obviously I cannot get the text code as I don’t have access to the number.

i call they say to go to the live chat. The live chat is obviously AI and just keeps telling me to log in (AI being completely useless as always).

so I call again have to jump through loads of automatic voice questions and have now been on hold 40 mins while making dinner all just to change to get the £100 a month I normally get into weekly payments

this doesn’t even come close to how many hoops I’ve had to jump through to get £100 a month of UC to top up my wages to afford to live it’s insane AIBU

And before anyone wants to comment on the fact I claim a small amount of UC I work so does my husband and we still don’t bring home quiet enough. We’ve both worked since we were 15 and never had to claim anything before

Try repeatedly hitting the # key or saying to the robot you're returning a call.

All aspects of life are like this now, with companies/ Government departments pushing their administration onto the consumer but usually with poor systems that do not work and no way to contact a human being who will actually take any responsibility to resolve an issue.

I’m not sure what it has to do with being poor because almost everything works this way now, unless you mean not being so rich that you have an assistant to do administrative tasks for you? There is a large gap between that level of wealth and poverty.

And in live chat request a human.

This

just type “real person” several times

It is frustrating though

have now been on hold 40 mins while making dinner all just to change to get the £100 a month

I know that feels like a while but try to see it as being paid a rate of £150 an hour?!

Passwords are a modern day nightmare, whether you're poor or not.

No one is targeting child benefit claimants.

A new phone number causes lots of issues. I haven't had the Lidl app for ages now because my phone is tied to an old number that Lidl won't authorise.

At the end of the day, the child benefit is a benefit you're getting, so it's something to be thankful for.

I like this way of thinking

Yes I’m thankful for the money but I also think we should be able to speak to real people who work for the government and not endless loops of admin with AI only to end up having to speak to a human anyway

I reckon they deliberately make it more of a pain in the arse to put ppl off claiming tbh. It's ridiculous that as tech has improved, dealing with the public sector has often become more bureaucratic and difficult.

I just mean i know lots of people with more money who don’t bother claiming this money as the can’t be bothered with all the admin and honestly i can see why lol I do also think the less money you have the more of this you have the deal with because the process to claim and maintain a claim with universal credit is crazy. And I’m not a jobseeker who has to go in all the time my salary is the same every month yet I constantly have to complete admin to keep the claim. Again I’m grateful but there is no need for this level of complexity

This is what I think, my parents struggle with technology (they do try) so I have to manage all their passwords too and it’s a nightmare. I have no idea how elderly people with no help get it done unless they are tech people

Oh definitely, it's becoming massively ageist in that sense, and basically not fit for purpose for anyone not tech savvy. They have workarounds but you can expect a slower service if you don't use their online platform.

Because the child benefit is paid 4 weekly rather than monthly it comes around earlier and earlier in the month until eventually there is a month with 2 payments - so personally I would try to build your budgeting around it and look forward to the month with 2 payments, rather than change it.

E.g. if one month it arrives on the first and you budget it from first, the next month it arrives e.g. 30th - still budget it from the first, the 28th (budget it from the 1st) and so on until once a year you have two payments in one month.

Yeah I manage a lot of my mums tech.

Relatable!

I get my CHB every Monday, it is much better than 4 weekly.

The way things are set up these days, it's annoying to sort things out whether you're rich or not. I feel really sorry for those who have communication difficulties (speech. hearing etc), don't speak English well, or have bad tech skills-some of my relatives couldn't even get through to the doctor these days without my help. It's not just people on benefits, and I'd never judge anyone who is-try getting through to HMRC/dealing with older relatives phone/power/bank etc.
Unless you're rich enough to have butler to do it for you, you'll still have to deal with awful automated systems-and I like tech! It's just the terrible way systems are set up.

Try going back to the 2 verification process online, mostly where it says you will get the code texted to you, there is a tiny link that says something like 'I can't use my phone right now' if you can find that, you could switch to either a different phone number or email

The thing I really resent about all this is the way it’s positioned as being about progress and choice and convenience when everyone knows its about trying to spend as little money as possible.

Every company has a recording on its automated phone lines that cheerily asks if you have tried the website? Well, no shit, Sherlock that never occurred to me!

Or they suggest that most questions can be answered through the FAQ, which is invariably utterly useless.

I don’t mind the fact that companies have to try to save money, I just want them to stop lying to us about why they turn their businesses into digital fortresses which requires hours of your time and a lot of cunning to penetrate.

But the trend towards chatbots and AI is happenign across every industry.

Why should it be better for benefit claimants? It will cost the taxpayer more.

Its not just benefit claimants though.

Any interaction that you as a consumer have with any company or institution is like this. Its like going through an electronic maze to win the right to speak to a fellow human being.

No wonder people are so scared of interacting with real people nowadays. We have all been institutionalised into this way of thinking.

I’m not saying it should be better just for us it should be better for everyone. Also how on earth is it saving money to invest in all this AI chat bot stuff when I still had to call anyway. So now they’re paying the person who answered and all the pointless tech

AI is still evolving. It's the future, whether we like it or not.

Elderly people and disabled peopled have and should always have a dedicated line.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) operates dedicated, free-to-call Freephone numbers (0800) for elderly and disabled individuals needing help with specific benefits like Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and Pension Credit. Alternative options such as text relays and BSL video links are also available for those with communication needs

But how about we don’t implement it until it’s fit for purpose and actually works?