Me again, sorry! TP overpayment? migration a NIGHTMARE.

bubsxo

Firstly I apologize in advance for the incredibly long post but I am at a complete loss and also at my wits end with Universal Credit. It seems to be one thing after another with this bloody migration. I honestly wish we weren't forced to migrate from legacy benefits as since moving to UC, things have gone completely sideways.

The latest update in my migration is, that I may now have been overpaid transitional protection. Brilliant!

Before migrating, I was receiving £485.20 every two weeks. This was a mix of Contribution-Based ESA, Income-Related ESA, and the Severe Disability Premium. I also received Housing Benefit of £376.88 paid directly to my landlord.

Initially, after following their "simple" migration process, they failed to include both my LCWRA and TP elements and paid me £0. Eventually they issued an updated statement.

For clarification, here’s what my latest UC statement shows:

• Housing Cost Element: £419.29
• LCWRA: £423.27
• Transitional Protection: £560.12
• Deductions:

£609.50 (New Style ESA)

£419.29 (Housing Element supposedly paid directly to my landlord)

Total payment - £774.48

I naively assumed this had all been calculated correctly and it would be smooth sailing from here on, but it has come to my attention that apparently, it hasn’t been calculated correctly, and it was only flagged up by a number of other issues I am now facing!

Further issues:

1. Housing element Not Paid: Despite UC stating they would pay the housing element directly to my landlord, it hasn’t happened. My landlord is now chasing me for £649. I was under the impression it would be paid on the 22nd of May, the same date I got my first payment but it wasn't. When I chased this up with UC I was told it would be paid on the 5th of June, so you can imagine my frustration when I followed this up on the 6th of June to query why this still had not been paid, UC then claimed it had been paid on the 22nd of May! When it very clearly hasn’t. My landlords are becoming increasingly frustrated, as am I as the amount I owe is increasing every week by £96+
2. Council Tax Support Loss: I’ve lost my full council tax support because ESA is now being treated as assessed income, along with my permitted work income of £396 which might be right to be honest? but confusingly to me my housing element is also being treated as income. This doesn’t make sense to me at all. I do not believe the housing element should be classed as an income, and also my circumstances haven’t changed from when I was on ESA. The only difference is my earnings are now in fact lower, as I have cut my permitted work hours by half due to recovery from surgery. Yet my council tax has jumped from £35 a month to £135? I understand every council is different but I was assured I would not be worse off by this stupid migration.

The latest TP error was only picked up as I initially reached out to Citizens Advice regarding the CTS situation, who could offer very little advice to be honest. All they did was flag up that I may have been significantly overpaid TP as well! (I'm virtually banging my head against a brick wall right now)

I’ve requested a full UC breakdown via my journal, but I’m now really concerned:

• If I have been overpaid TP, how much will I owe?
• Will they claw it all back at once?
• Has anyone else been through something similar and can offer advice or insight?

This whole migration process has been incredibly stressful. UC blamed ESA for the initial missing elements, while ESA said it’s due a new benefit system being used by UC and that “thousands” of people are affected.

As it stands right now, thanks to this migration I now owe my landlord due to an unpaid housing element UC claims to have paid, I’m £100 worse off on council tax, and I might have a TP overpayment hanging over my head, all without any actual change in my situation. I did actually query the TP amount weeks ago with an advisor who rang me from ESA to do a commitment phone call for NS ESA and she said although this was quite high, she was certain it was right.

Why does this have to be so difficult?!

As always, I’m so grateful for any advice, shared experiences, or insight anyone can offer. Thank you!

bubsxo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1035717#Comment_1035717

Im sorry I dont understand?

OverlyAnxious

Sorry to hear this. Many people have one or two issues with the migration but you do seem to be having more than most. With NS ESA and work as well that does add some extra complication.

1: Housing Element should be paid on the same day as your own UC. The only advice I can offer there is to keep badgering UC until they make the payment. It will now need to be a 'manual' payment as they're obviously well past the automatic payment date now. Going forward, you might find it easier to have HE paid to you with UC and you send that to the Landlord on their preferred date? That's how I do mine and don't find it to be any hassle at all, it's just setup as a Standing Order through my bank.

2: Housing Element shouldn't be counted as income for Council Tax purposes. I suspect the reason it is in this case is because it shows as a deduction on your UC statement. So there are two options here. Either contact the council and explain to them that the Housing Element should not be counted as income. Or just have the Housing Element paid to you as suggested above, then no deduction would be shown for it on the UC statement.

When you were assured you wouldn't be worse off at the point of migration, that only applies to DWP benefits. Council Tax Reduction was never included in that because it's not a national standard across the country. You may still find you have to pay more Council Tax now than you did on legacy benefits unfortunately.

I have no idea why a New Style ESA advisor would be confirming your TP amount. TP doesn't even exist in NS ESA. It's UC you need to contact for anything to do with TP.

Your TP does look very high but it's different for each person so very difficult to work out how much you should get. If you have been overpaid TP then it should be paid back gradually, something like a maximum of 15% of each payment.

The basic UC Element is missing from your post so I have assumed you are single and over 25 for this calculation.

Basic UC rate: £400.14
LCWRA: £423.27

Total UC: 823.41 per month

Legacy benefits: £1,051.27 per month

So UC Transitional Protection should be: £227.86 per month

Housing Element shouldn't be included in the calculation because that gets cancelled out by going to the landlord. And NS ESA doesn't need to be included in the calculation because that gets cancelled out by the deduction. TP might be slightly different in reality but I can't see where they've got another £330 from compared to my own calculation? It is perfectly possible that I've made an error myself, so would want that number verified by someone else before you go any further.

bubsxo

@OverlyAnxious many thanks as always for such a detailed response.

Regarding the housing element, they have said it was now paid in a 'bulk landlord scheduled payment' on the 5th of June. I still cannot see this on my housing, but I have forwarded this on to them in the hope they can finally see a payment. I'm unsure why if it has been paid, that there was such a long delay. I think going forward I will do what you suggested and have it paid directly to me. I have never been in arrears with my housing before, and it has certainly caused a lot of stress.

I have emailed council tax querying why the housing element was classed as income, and that I didn't believe it should be. This was almost 2 weeks ago and I have had no response. I contacted them via telephone yesterday and was assured someone would get back to me regarding this later that day as she agreed with me but wanted to clarify… nothing! I will chase this up again tomorrow as I do not have the energy today to be honest! I'm guessing this high TP payment has also gone on to affect any CTS i could be entitled to.

Apologies for not including the basic UC element. I read through my post several times as well! I'm really unsure of where they have got this additional £330+ from as well after looking into it properly, I just naively assumed this would be correct when I received my first statement. I did ask for a detailed breakdown on my journal as per the advice of a telephone call with UC and was simply advised to "check my statement" which is not very helpful. I am due a new statement on the 18th of June, I'm wondering whether I should now wait to see if they've realised their error, and if not then proceed from there? To be completely honest I'm sick of trying to contact them constantly regarding the errors they keep making, and receiving very little help/response!

bubsxo

@OverlyAnxious I've decided it probably is best to highlight this error now just incase. I will see what they come back with. It's so frustrating that my next payment will obviously be lower, including deductions now for bloody overpayment!

bubsxo

This was the response I received when I highlighted that I'm worried I have been overpaid TP and will receive a notice of overpayment through no fault of my own - meaning deductions from my benefit

'I have posted your statement to you this morning in regards to you last journal message, if you wish you can access your statement via your Universal Credit account through Statement and advances'

The only statement I can see is the one with the TP payment of £560, I am not due another statement until the 18th. I guess I will have to wait and see what this posted statement says, although I'm pretty certain it will be what I can already see. I guess there is nothing more I can do going foward regarding an overpayment of TP - as they do not seem interested! I will just have to wait for an overpayment notice frustratingly, and to see whether my statement on the 18th of June says anything different. I will keep chasing the housing element, and also CTS regarding the housing element being classed as income. Although by the looks of it I will have to contact them again if it turns out I have been overpaid TP - nightmare!

bubsxo

@OverlyAnxious just to update you I spoke further to council tax today and they've advised the housing element DOES count as income whether thats paid directly to the landlord or myself. I still dont really understand it to be honest

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1036308#Comment_1036308

Oh, I am sorry to hear that. That must be a rule specific to your own council. 🙁

Do you know how close you are to the earnings limit for CTR? Just wondering if it would be a better option to reduce your working hours slightly. Obviously if you're already over with NS ESA & Housing Element then it wouldn't make any difference.