Universal credit

Triggered_Tigger179

Struggling with universal credit - it seems that Hungarian fraudsters manage to get benefits no bother but for the rest of us, getting your basic entitlement is like trying to draw blood from a stone.

I never had financial stress or debt until I claimed universal credit, if I could have my health back, I'd rather work, this isn't a choice people make. My health is getting worse, I'm not even getting a chance to recover, 9 weeks with £0 and it's 3 months before the lcwra is even a possibility, and the government want to make it harder to qualify for that. I don't think I can live like this, and yes, I have paid all my tax and NI before I became unwell so I would have expected better. This system will probably end me.

poppy123456

Many people that come from another country to the UK are unable to claim any benefits and some also have No Recourse To Public Funds. (NRPF) Asylum Seekers also can't access any benefits here, instead they are given about £49/week or £8,86/week if their accommodation includes meals so please let's not go here.

https://www.turn2us.org.uk/get-support/information-for-your-situation/a-migrant

https://www.gov.uk/asylum-support/what-youll-get

Why has your UC been reduced to zero? Is it because of living with a working partner or for another reason?

Unfortunately, paying tax doesn't give you automatic entitlement to means tested benefits. Same applies to NI contributions.

There's New style ESA if you have the correct NI contributions in tax years 2022/23 and 2023/24 but if you claim this at the same time as UC it's deducted in full so no financial gain.

Are you claiming a disability benefit such as PIP or ADP? (if you live in Scotland)

Triggered_Tigger179

Thanks but I'm just having a moan, I know that asylum seekers have it worse so that's a bit of an assumption you made, I'm getting nothing due to a mistake which was made, not exactly my fault but it takes a while to appeal. The fraudsters were reported in the news and were not British so how are they claiming?

All I read in the news is that there's lots of fraudulent claims, and when you read the news it seems the government also think that we are making up medical conditions to get money. Of course none of that is actually true but I'm eligible for benefits and I've been left with £0 so how is that right either?

I'm sick of the media and right wing politicians making out that we are all fraudulently claiming benefits when we should actually be working, some of us aren't well enough to hold a job and for the record, I think they should let asylum seekers work so they can continue their skills to society, it's unfair that they are not allowed to do this.

poppy123456

I didn't make assumptions, I stated facts. I can't advise you because you haven't given any information about your case.

Maybe you should stop reading all that click bait stuff because nothing has been officially announced yet and no one knows what may happen. If changes are made in the future it will be a very long time before those changes will be put into place.

Jimm_Scope

Hey everyone, I know things are frustrating now. There can be a lot of misinformation and we don't always know the full context in these stories. But I do think we should focus on helping @Triggered_Tigger179.

You mention you've had £0 for 9 weeks now and that you have been awarded LCWRA. Are you not getting any regular Universal Credit payments or is it that it isn't enough?

How are you doing for food and other necessities like heating can I ask? I would take a look at our advice section that covers help with food and utility bills, it has sections on help with food banks, aid with utility bills.

As Poppy asked, have you applied for PIP (or ADP if in Scotland)?

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/973442#Comment_973442

As I was the only person that replied here, this comment must be aimed at me. I actually did try to help them by asking some questions, as they didn't answer them then I couldn't help.

Triggered_Tigger179

Thankyou for your replies. I recently applied for UC and haven't been paid anything at all. I am waiting for a medical assessment so no lcwra either.

The £0 payment for this month is down to error, I had help to make a mandatory reconsideration but that doesn't change the fact I've nothing to live off and still need to pay bills, etc

I do get ADP standard rate and that's all I have to live off - I've reported a change to them but heard it may take up to a year as changes to circumstances are not a priority.

Council have me a crisis grant, it's meant to be for food but having to make tough choices. I'm waiting for additional support from services to find my way through this but it's taking a while and because of my health, I'm struggling to sort it out myself. Every day feels like forever.

I hadn't been able to get to a food bank and was struggling to get anything from the food banks but someone (not sure who) has organised an emergency parcel which they sent out. I'm worried because I have other bills that need paid and I don't know how, but I've stripped right back and even when I do get the basic UC payment, I still won't be able to make ends meet. The other difficulty is a medical diet so can't eat everything in the food parcel, I contacted the doctor as I'm struggling with it all. 🥺

poppy123456

What exactly was the error that UC made please?

Triggered_Tigger179

It needs a longer explanation, I hope someone with some common sense helps. It's upsetting but not going to change anything just now, I hope that my next payment arrives 😞

Jimm_Scope

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/973465#Comment_973465

It was actually aimed mostly at people who have not commented at all, as the discussion around fraud and the misinformation around it is a better topic for a discussion specifically about it. I wanted to bring it back to helping the user as I felt like it had already been properly tackled by yourself and didn't need anything further added. I was concerned other members might join in, as I know many of our members do not like misinformation and often also comment on it which would take the discussion away from it's purpose and topic. So, as said, my comment if anything was more aimed at people reading the OP and wanting to comment about it when you already did a good job of tackling it and I wanted to bring it back to helping OP (Original Poster) with their issues around Universal Credit.

poppy123456

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/973488#Comment_973488

I have a decade of knowledge with all benefits and have been advising others for several years now. When giving advice I need as much information as possible and you haven’t given any so it’s not possible to even try to advise, unfortunately.