re universal credit " review"
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A few years ago i took my disabled sons, then aged 14 & 16, to New York, only for 6 days, cheaper package, as i was owed some backpay from DWP for carers allowance, it was somewhere they both had always really wished& hoped to go- so we took the plunge- really enjoyed it, and i'd not seen both boys so happy & enthusiastic about something for a long time, usually their lives are all about hospital trips & tests & medicines etc. I had no regrets about doing it with money that should have been mine anyway, to treat my boys, they deserved it- BUT, the following year, when the youngest son was made to appeal to get his DLA renewed, the panel brought up our holiday, and mentioned where we had gone, the 'nice' hotel we stayed night before flight etc(even though that was a 'freebie' we'd saved stamps to get over the years, so not even spent money on & as it was on airport & saved us from struggling to get there, why not?)These were all details i had shared with no one so i knew they had been snooping on either my emails, or my bank account, or both.The thing that made me angry was the way they said it- like an accusation, as though disabled people didnt deserve a nice holiday? And as though i should not have done that with MY money, as it was paid me by DWP? Also, they then quickly turned sons claim down flat, as though they were refusing just in case we wanted another trip at 'their' expense.I waited till he was old enough at 16 to apply for PIP when he got it straightaway, because they clearly just looked at his medical conditions & medical support, rather than my private accounts.
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I've never trusted DWP since, and i know that means theyve ALWAYS been snooping into folks business, it is only now that they must admit it.Only they still arent being honest, pretending its only for the big- time fraudsters/money launderers.No, they check up on EVERYONE, they always have.
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My wife and I were asked to provide 4 months of bank statements, photo id and a photo taken with said id,did all that and within an hour we were both given 2 separate times for a telephone interview for UC review in 2 weeks time,wife is having counselling for severe anxiety so you can imagine what this has done to her,she doesn't even leave the house! No idea what this is for,been on UC for a year now and not done anything wrong.The damage these people are doing is making things worse for everyone.
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@gym
Just to add to your comment- & if you leave GB for 28 days or more, even for medical reasons (declared in advance) , your Universal Credit can be abruptly closed, as happened in my case. Despite declaring my plans well in advance, my LCWRA was also removed, and I was told to restart the WCA process.
I’m currently appealing this decision (there’s a whole thread dedicated to that), but I just wanted to highlight this for awareness.1 -
What photo id did you upload if you don't mind me asking. As you say it's horrific having to hold things up like a teenager taking selfies and messing about with PDFs. I don't understand why photo id is needed for claims which have been ongoing for years - fair enough for new ones but to even start a UC claim there needs to be significant checks with identity. When you for eg open a bank account, they don't keep asking for id to confirm you are the account holder so why you have to do this with UC when it has already been done, I've no idea.
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This is terrible! I didn't think they could go snooping into bank accounts unless they had good reason to suspect fraud. And DLA is not a means tested benefit so something very strange has gone on there.
I have had a judgy comment about spending on my son's account - when i went in with 3 month's statements (i am the appointee) because his capital was high, i pointed out little cluster of transactions which i thought might look 'dodgy' to them.
We all went out for our Christmas dinner last year. There were 6 of us and it was £80 per head. Everyone going is working and earning (including my son who has some small earnings) - my son is the only one on any benefits so this was a very normal thing for us to do on Christmas day.
For easiness, i paid the full amount from my son's account and everyone going put their £80 back into his account that very same day. So there was £480 shown as leaving his account and 5 lots of £80 crediting on the same day.
The guy at the job centre just furrowed his brow and said "woah! Expensive meal!!"
Well, yes it was but it's not like my son could not afford it - the very reason for me being at the JC was because he wasn't spending enough money!!! A totally un necessary comment, i thought. His whole tone suggested that was a wrong use of my son's money. Only a portion of my son's money was UC. The rest was pip plus his earned income - in fact he earns more than £80/month so there was no need at all for the scrutinty on that particular spend!
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Basically it's continual stress because when one hurdle is overcome another 1 waits in due course.
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Why do you think that a person cannot live where he is comfortable?
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Hi David, couldn't agree more, extremely stressful,they know why people claim and still put them through unnecessary stress. It was my Driving licence I took a photo with,felt like a criminal, my wife did it with her passport.
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Morning all. I've removed several posts this morning.
Please may I remind you of the house rules and respecting one another. We may have differing opinions, but should all respect one another. We're on the same team. 🙂
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Sorry but i have no idea what your comment means?
Do you mean that people who live outside the UK should be able to claim on our benefit system?
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Of course. The government does not forget to charge taxes, for example, on the property of a person who has gone abroad.
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I'm in the uK, hardly been abroad bar the odd trip although they may use that as a negative. Do they check your rent payments are coming out of the bank account if you are claiming hosuing benefit or is it just the capital they look at. What about tenants who pay cash for eg
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If you’re claiming housing benefit you won’t be paying rent!
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I'm in the private sector so it is called LHA
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If you're claiming UC then you get the Housing Element rather than Housing Benefit. And yes, we do pay rent to the landlord using that. LHA is the maximum we're allowed based on area and bedroom entitlement.
It does not matter which bank account your rent payment comes out of, you need to declare all accounts for the review. You are allowed to draw out cash to make payments, but UC may ask what it's been spent on. It's easier just to stick to bank and card payments in all honesty.
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