Hi everyone,
I moved from ESA Support Group to Universal Credit on 19 Sept under Regulation 19 (Managed Migration). My income, household and housing costs haven’t changed.
UC have completely messed up my claim.
What went wrong:
- Unauthorised change: On 3 Oct, a UC adviser made a “change of circumstances” entry without telling me. That single action changed my record and caused everything else that’s now wrong.
- Wrong type of claim: My statement shows Transitional Protection (so UC know it’s a managed migration) but no LCWRA element (as if it’s a brand-new claim).
- First statement wrong from the start:
• Calculated for 4 weeks only (to 18 Oct) instead of the correct 5-week assessment period.
• Yet the first payment date (25 Oct) is right — meaning UC’s calculation doesn’t even match their own payment schedule.
• The amount is wrong even for 4 weeks. Under Regulation 19 I should get the same as ESA, topped up by transitional protection if needed.
• Under housing, UC include Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) – which is a loan paid directly to my lender, not part of UC – and they deduct it from my payment.
• They don’t include my service charge.
• They then split this incorrect first payment into two parts: £401 on 25 Oct and £401 due 8 Nov.
• By 8 Nov, instead of being paid for 7 weeks (5 + 2), I’ll only have been paid for 4 weeks, leaving me £1,178.26 short. - Tasks added after 3 Oct:
• Report my earnings (already in my statement).
• Confirm where I live and what it costs (already reported).
• “Other benefits affecting UC” – shouldn’t apply, as I migrated from ESA. - Council Tax Support:
Because UC treated my migration as a “new claim”, my council got a “change of circumstances” feed. They issued a new bill for £600+ less support. - Communication:
I’ve sent many detailed journal messages explaining these errors — most ignored, and a few replied to by different staff giving generic, copy-paste answers that don’t explain or solve anything. - I’ve had many phone calls with UC staff trying to resolve the issues, they all agreed with me and promised it will be looked at.
- On my last call to UC on 20 October when the very first statement was alive I was told that yes, it is wrong, they couldn’t tell me how it would be solved, told me to add an entry on my journal even though I explained that my messages on journal don’t get replied at.
- On the same call I asked to speak to someone in charge or at a higher level who would have access and authority to remove the “change of circumstances” entry by UC staff (unauthorised one at that). I was told that they could not transfer me to a manager.
• Same person told me that they had escalated this to a case manager and promised a case-manager review by 23 Oct, but I’ve had no reply or update since. - I wasn’t able to request an advance payment so I can cover DD’s and mortgage payments.
Has anyone else had UC misclassify their managed migration like this?
How did you get LCWRA added, the payment recalculated, and CTS reinstated?
Is writing to my local MP worth pursuing or would that be a waste of time?
Local CAB hasn’t been able to help, can’t get an appointment as they’re fully booked.
I am tired, exhausted, frustrated and I have been dealing with this since late September and I’m getting nowhere.
My blood pressure has been sky high and my medication has been doubled in dose, the stress has had a devastating impact on my other health issues and conditions.
