UC Managed Migration

OverlyAnxious · June 15

Just received my UC migration notice in the post.

Wasn't expecting it before September as I'm not in receipt of tax credits.

Nothing more to ask at this point. Just sharing the info that the letters are being sent to some of us without tax credits now.

66Mustang · June 15

Thanks for the info

I'm still thinking about volunteering to do it because I will get about £100 a month more on UC

I guess you'd be no better off as you live alone so you get the extra payment (instead of someone getting Carer's Allowance for you)??

poppy123456 · June 15

Are you living in either Wolverhampton or East Suffolk by any chance? DWP are migrating 500 people claiming ESA from those 2 areas. It's part of the Enhanced Support Journey trial to learn more about those that have health condition and may have extreme difficulties in migrating across. This was only recently announced, though not announced by DWP as far as I'm aware. There's some information here. https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-quietly-starts-early-rollout-of-universal-credit-to-some-esa-claimants-without-telling-mps/

There's also some information on another thread. I'll find that thread and when I do I will post that link for you. Here it is. It's a very long read but scroll down to Enhanced support journey. https://cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/CPAG_managed_migration_briefing_5.pdf

OverlyAnxious · June 16

Thanks Poppy. It looks like I am part of that trial group. Those links were helpful. 🙂

@66Mustang Yes, you are correct. I won't be any better or worse on UC as I'll get transitional protection to make up for the loss of SDP. However, that erodes over time so I will eventually end up with the same payments as everyone else.

(That could technically be considered a loss, as SDP was increased each year with ESA, but will now stay the same while everyone else's UC payments increase. Hope that makes sense!)

poppy123456 · June 16

You're welcome. Yes, technically it will eventually be a loss, the same applied when people migrated from Incapacity benefit to ESA but that was before I claimed ESA so didn't apply to me.

I would really appreciate it if you could post here with an update on how your migration was for you because I know your health conditions also prevent you from in person appointments and telephone appointments. There must be something in place for people like yourself.

OverlyAnxious · July 8

First Update

Had a particularly bad month both physically & mentally so haven't been able to think about UC until this weekend.

Found a spare hour to complete the online forms and found that process relatively easy.

First thing I found strange was nowhere to put a reference number to link to the migration form or my ESA account. I know they can do it using my name & address but it could've prevented the automatic journal messages if they'd understood my access requirements immediately. (Will get on to those further down)

Secondly, I wasn't expecting them to be quite so invasive with bank accounts. Literally wanted to know each account down to the penny on that day! I was expecting there to be a section for disregarded COL payments but there wasn't one. Also I couldn't remove the most recent benefit payments which should be considered income rather than savings. Hopefully I did right by putting the exact account figures in, as that is what it asked for. Fortunately I am under the £6k at the moment so it shouldn't make any difference at the moment.

Thirdly, as expected, I could not prove my identity online. I only had one of the acceptable forms of ID. This is where the problems started.

Unfortunately that meant an immediate journal message saying to expect a PHONECALL to prove identity. I cannot do this, and left a message on my journal explaining why I cannot use phones, and also explaining that I cannot travel to a JobCentre, as well as a few other access requirements.

This morning I get a message on the journal saying that I have an APPONTMENT at the JobCentre!! Can I assume that is just automatically generated and that no-one has read my previous journal message yet? I don't want to confuse things by adding a second message if the first one won't have been read.

Also want to say I'm impressed that they have a specific section for access requirements. But disappointed to find that it is only for physical conditions at the JobCentre. It has tickboxes for things like ramps and hearing loops, but nothing at all for telephones or inability to travel.

Sorry for the long post but that's where I am with this at the moment. I will update again if someone at UC reads and understands the journal message.

OverlyAnxious · July 8

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/885868#Comment_885868

I can't even prove identity yet, let alone accepting commitments. Did you have two forms of acceptable ID for yours?

The latest message in the journal this morning says it's from a persons name (won't put the name here for security reasons) but it looks like a cut & paste message if not automated.

I'm really not up for a load of confrontation right now. Maybe I shouldn't have started the process so soon. 🙁

Remina · July 8

I haven't receieved my managed migration letter yet (I'm on ir ESA and housing benefit) but I'm a little worried in-advance about the 'Verifying Identity' part too, I heard that it says you need 2 of the accepted forms of ID, but I only have my passport, the part where it says about other forms of ID being acceptable it mentions 'credit references / phone contracts', I only have my monthly bills from my mobile phone provider and my broadband provider, I don't have the actual original contract(s)..

I wonder if the monthly bills from my phone provider are acceptable? I really do not want to have to go to the job center to prove my identity, that would be massively difficult for me to manage..

OverlyAnxious · July 8

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/885885#Comment_885885

Seem to remember I couldn't access the Government Gateway last time I tried. Would have needed a Passport I think? Though I guess you don't have a Passport either?

There was a long list of tick boxes for suitable ID but the only one I have is a driving licence and it needed two to be ticked. I think there was something about a credit card or mobile phone contract, but I don't have either of those either.

OverlyAnxious · July 8

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/885906#Comment_885906

There are two different sections for ID. One is the personal ID, such as passport and driving licence. You need two of those. I only have a driving licence.

The other is address ID, which can be confirmed using a recent bill (dated within 3 months).

If you have a contract mobile phone, that may be good enough for this. My phone is pay as you go without a contract.

Meg24 · July 8

All my bills are paperless and I don't have photo iD, I also don't have a phone contract. I also cannot have any direct contact with the DWP, either in person or by phone. Everytime I imagine what this process is going to be like I just want to curl up in a ball and let them cut me off. I just can't handle this. I've been getting support group ESA for 15 years, why can't they just press a button on a computer and switch me automatically, why are they making us do this?

OverlyAnxious · July 9

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/885970#Comment_885970

I can't help with much of that unfortunately. But I just wanted to say that you can download paperless bills as PDF onto your computer or phone and attach those files to the UC journal. That's what I've done for the address ID section on mine. If you need to send hard copies anywhere, they can be printed off as well.

summersunflower · July 12

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/885840#Comment_885840

I'm about to go through the migration process from IS and TC 😓

I hope you managed to sort out your ID?

my OH also cannot attend in person appointments etc.

Can i ask about bank statement checks, how far do they go back? and when you say they wanted to know each account down to the penny on that day, you have to type in what you spent everything on? I usually withdraw cash and spend that, what happens than?

sorry for all the questions, i'm just worried about the whole thing.

poppy123456 · July 12

@summersunflower they will only ask for bank statements if you have more than £6,000 in capital/savings. Usually they only ask what you spent your money on if you had more than that and spent it.

Your partner will need to make sure they report their health condition when they claim and provide a fit note within 7 days of that. They must continue to provide fit notes without gaps until a decision is made on their work capability assessment.

They will unfortunately be treated as a job seeker until a decision is made on the WCA. It’s a work coaches discretion to either turn off or reduce commitments, so do and others don’t.

If they are unable to attend their local job centre they can request a reasonable adjustment for a telephone appointment.

poppy123456 · July 12

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/887781#Comment_887781

The whole purpose of the early migration for 500 Income Related ESA claimants is to try to understand some peoples health conditions and the issues they may have in the process of migrating across to UC.

I have no idea what will be put in place for people like overlyAnxious who are unable to attend appointments or use the telephone.

For those that can use the phone then a reasonable adjustment can be put into place to change the face to face appointment for a telephone call. Although some work coaches may dig their heals and refuse that.

@overlyAnxious one of the flaws of the migration process for ESA claimants is that I was hoping they would know they are migrating from ESA which would save them waiting for ESA to send your details across. It’s frustrating that they haven’t done this.

OverlyAnxious · July 13

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/887781#Comment_887781

Yes, in fairness they have read and responded to journal messages quickly since the first one was missed.

Sadly they are still insisting on a JobCentre visit to prove ID before anything else, which I am completely unable to do now. They have allowed a relative to take my ID to the JobCentre instead. I am apprehensive about this, as my relative does not have a complete understanding of my circumstances and has no benefits experience themselves. I really hope they will not be asked anything other than to prove ID when they are there.

I also appreciate that I am lucky to have a relative living locally enough to do this for me. I'm sure there are some claimants who don't have that option.

OverlyAnxious · July 13

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/887811#Comment_887811

Hi,

ID has not been sorted yet, but they have made a slight adjustment in my case, shown in my post above. Your OH may be able to confirm ID via telephone if that's a viable option for them.

When you fill in the online forms to start the UC claim, it asks about any bank accounts you have (current accounts, savings accounts, etc). That is where it said to put the exact figure in the account on that day down to the penny. It does not ask to justify any spend at all. The only cost it asked for was my rent cost, and that is for the Housing Element of UC, which will replace the Housing Benefit I get now.

I have not been asked for bank statements yet. However it has been mentioned more than once with regards to my ID. As I do not have enough photographic ID, I think they may be able to use a bank statement and debit card as proof of ID in my case. I do not yet know whether I will be asked to provide longer term bank statements for a compliance check, in addition to any used for the ID check. I hope that makes sense.