UC Managed Migration

Second Update

The information I was given through the journal was not correct.

My relative drove into the town centre during their limited free time, paid for parking etc. And was just told that my ID could not be accepted from them. No adjustment made. Waste of everyone's time.

Once again only given the options of a phone call or a home visit which are both impossible for me. I can't physically speak for most of the time now. And that means I have no control over people in my property, which has lead to some awful situations recently.

The only other option they suggested is to make my relative the appointee, which I do not want, for reasons I don't wish to state publicly. But more importantly, it's something I do not need for a claim that can all be managed online! They seem to have made disability benefits even more inaccessible to disabled people than before.

Sadly my physical health has taken a battering lately due to a number of unfortunate events all happening close together. I can't manage the physical symptoms of anxiety triggers in this state so I'm having to pace myself and spread stress-inducing tasks out. I'm hoping to be well enough at some point over the weekend to check the journal but I'm suspecting it'll just be a written repeat of the above information, plus a 'failure to attend' notice.

As it stands right now, it looks like I won't be able to claim Universal Credit due to the limitations caused by my health conditions. But will just have to wait and see if they change their minds now.

Thanks Adrian. That's very interesting to know.

Yes, it was stated more than once on my journal. They even made the appointment time based around my relative's working hours.

Apparently the JobCentre staff member told my relative they could see that written on my journal but a 'higher power' had since over-ruled.

Must admit, I'm not comfortable with them sharing journal details in that way, though it sounds like they just confirmed that part, rather than offering any new information. I would also be interested to know who the 'higher power' is and what gives them the right to deny my access to UC after nearly a decade on ESA.

I am currently drafting a journal message to remind them that they sent the migration notice to my address with my name on it, which is the same name & address as that of the ID I provided, and I've even used the same bank details for UC as I did for ESA, so I can't see how there could be any question over who I am. As Poppy said, I've been on the DWP system for many years already. If that doesn't work then I will have to email the MP.

Nothing more to report at the moment.

When I eventually read the journal message I was disappointed with the level of ignorance shown in it. The very first suggestion made was that I visit the Job Centre in person. If that was a realistic possibility, I would obviously have done that the first time instead of further burdening a relative!

I did send a polite but firm reply, reminding them again that I can't travel or speak, and asking them to reconsider. But this weeks heatwave has absolutely wiped me out physically so I haven't been able to check for any reply to that so far.

Third Update

Hi all,

I can now confirm the Job Centre did eventually allow my ID verification to be done by a relative going there on my behalf. Although the relative also had to provide their own ID, as well as a picture of myself with my ID.

I don't think this will be a common method of new claim ID verification moving forward, though at least it is possible for those of us who cannot manage any of the main 3 methods (in person visit, home visit or telephone).

There was some more incorrect advice offered by the Job Centre at that appointment. I am lucky to have gained so much knowledge about UC beforehand (mostly from here!) but it does concern me about how many other claimants are still being given incorrect advice which will cause them additional stress, hassle and problems both immediately and in future.

Fortunately the automated part of UC, the statements, do appear to be correct, including LCWRA from the start, as well as transitional protection, and the correct amount of housing element.

As the process took so long in my case, the first payment was delayed, and I continued to receive legacy benefits over that time. It seems the legacy 'stop' doesn't happen until after ID verification. The first payment has now been made manually, but there is a lot of overpayment to be taken back from the next payment due to the large overlap. Currently there is a discrepancy in the amount of overpayment. So that is the next thing to work out, which I am getting assistance with.

I'm not sure if this is the end of the migration process, and whether I'll get left alone again now, or whether there is anything else I will have to do. I had sort of expected them to ask for 4 months bank statements, while they're doing that for longer term claimants, but they haven't asked so far. It is also confusing as to whether the manual payment counts as capital as it was paid after the payment period ended, so that could potentially have taken me over the £6k now. But I'll just wait for them to sort the overpayment and try to work out the capital next month. Is it correct that I should be working out the capital on the final day of the payment period, not the first day of the next period?

Thanks to all who have assisted with this so far, and those who I've been learning about UC from in other threads over the years as well! 🙂