What problems do you face when benefits are delayed or underpaid?

pmlindyloo

Fatherof2mids wrote: »

Even just 3 days without electricity or gas during winter could be life threatening to many groups.

The only thing that I disagree with is your quote of 'many groups'.

What groups of people are you talking about?

I note the discussion of what people consider to be vulnerable people.

My definition of that is someone who does not have the ability to seek help and support, or does not know how to access it.

There is a wealth of help and support out there from charities to government bodies. The important thing is to reach out to people who do not have the ability to access these themselves.

Perhaps if we were a more caring society and did not see it as a government responsibility than we all would benefit.

Fatherof2mids

pmlindyloo wrote: »

The only thing that I disagree with is your quote of 'many groups'.

What groups of people are you talking about?

I note the discussion of what people consider to be vulnerable people.

My definition of that is someone who does not have the ability to seek help and support, or does not know how to access it.

There is a wealth of help and support out there from charities to government bodies. The important thing is to reach out to people who do not have the ability to access these themselves.

Perhaps if we were a more caring society and did not see it as a government responsibility than we all would benefit.

The many groups are those who are elderly and frail, the impaired both physically and mentally, those with young children or any combination of the above.
I agree on the more caring society. I wish we were less reliant on government, I also wish those who koan about the high level of taxation would view it more as a charitable contribution as I do

Murphybear

[QUOTE=pmlindyloo;:(


If you ring your utility company they can extend the emergency credit.

You will not get any extra charges for debts if you ring the company and explain the situation. They are usually very understanding and should allow a month's grace while things are being sorted. DDs should be cancelled so extra charges are not put on. Rent arrears can be paid back when you receive your back payments. No landlord can evict for rent arrears unless you are in two months arrears.

Keeping in contact with people that you owe money to is usually met with a sympathetic response.

I am not making light of the situation. Things need to improve and get more efficient. I am merely trying to explain how only food is considered a priority and everything else can wait or be managed.[/QUOTE]
Not that simple. Firstly, many libraries in rural areas are being closed. Our local library offers only half an hour free per day 5 days a week. After that it is expensive. Not everyone lives within walking distance of JC/library and someone sanctioned is hardly in a position to afford the occasional bus.

Mersey_2

UC payments are taking far longer than the apparent 5 weeks announced by the DWP. It's probably too early for official figures but the CAB in my area say it's taking 8 - 12 weeks from claiming UC online to receiving payment.


Also when sanctions are overturned, the Claimant only receives the old rate of benefit, not the current (updated amount) ie they lose out in real terms and the DWP benefits by their error.


I assisted a Claimant/Appellant who won his Appeals against 2 sanctions. He was only paid £55 from memory for each when the weekly JSA rate was £71, because it took 18 months - 2 years from sanction in 2010 to Appeals in 2012.


However, Govt debtors have to pay back in real terms ie with interest. We did raise these in his DWP complaint, but even the regional DWP could not find the answer. I suspect it may need an MP to raise the matter in an oral or written question in the House or at the Select Committee, respectively.


When sanctions are overturned, the DWP are also failing to retrospectively correct the claimant's NI record by adding a credit for that period. This is leading to Claimants receiving letters from HMRC stating there's a gap in their NI record and requesting payment.

HackedOffAgain

This is partly what happens when payments are late and messed up. I am a fairly string individual and do not buckle under pressure, but this is getting me down its starting to make me angry.

They send me letters saying my payments have been stopped due to a change in circumstances yet when i phone to ask what change that is they do not know and have to go through a list of stuff that has not changed.

They stopped payment in MAY because my daughter who was at college at that time and her course finished in JULY? Personally I think they ran out of possible changes on the list and that was the closest excuse so chose that one.

I had 8 council tax bills last year and have received 4 already this year. This years because the JobCentre staff
do not know what they are doing.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

Confuseddot

tkwad wrote: »

Lack of decent food can lead to health conditions. No one finds healthy food cheaper than stodgy processed foods.

It is actually cheaper to buy healthy food and cook from scratch there is a lot of information out there on how to do this. Check out how to feed your family(2 adults and 2 kids) for on/about £20 website Facebook groups. Great recipes and hints and tips.

SingleSue

I speak nicely to the bank of mum and dad, something I had to do last year when middle son stayed on in 6th form for his second year and tax credits somehow managed to 'lose' youngest son on the system at the same time...according to them, he didn't exist and had never existed on my claim! It meant that there were no tax credit payments whilst the system caught up with middle son staying on and youngest son was 'found' again. I expected the amount to go down for a while because of middle son, but not for them to completely lose/delete a child and for them to stop!

Took 3 weeks to sort out and it got pretty eek at times as that made up the lion share of the money received.

densol_2

Maybe you saw this post that many of us saw last week - very very sad.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5299471

For the two times mine has been arbitrarily stopped WITHOUT WARNING - is the most concerning. One day no expected payment and then you have to call up and find out what is wrong ( guilty till proven innocent !! )

Ive been on benefits for 18 months after getting ill at work from VERY high paying jobs and working for 30 years ! Ive an interview on Weds - I hope its the start of me getting away from this dreadful benefit merrygoround and back to being in control.

Being on benefits offer no control or settlement - its an awful place to be

Edited to add - I appear to have light at the end of the tunnel - sadly many especially genuinely disabled do not. They are stuck with this dreadful uncertainly and stigma attached to benefits and when payments just stop and it's impossible to get a sensible knowledgeable person on the phone to sort the matter it is extra stressful

Terrysdelight

UKParliament wrote: »

How do delays or errors in benefit payments affect you?

Does the Department of Work and Pensions deliver benefit and Universal Credit payments correctly and on time?

How could the Department’s performance in the delivery of benefits be monitored and improved?

These are some of the questions that the Work and Pensions Committee want to hear your thoughts on. Your experiences could influence and hold the Government to account. Share them with us and the Committee!

Find out more about the inquiry.

I can comment on how a vulnerable person is affected by non-payment or short payments.


I have witnessed two vulnerable people with similar illness - they are/were passed from pillar to post with lots of red tape which they genuinely don't understand. Sanctions put on them because they have missed signing on - even when they were extremely mentally unwell and should have been on ESA. They were put under incredible pressure because they faced eviction because housing benefit wasn't being paid. Too vulnerable to understand what needed to be done to get the rent paid and to chase up back pay, or even know that they could appeal and have unpaid rent paid. The stress made them even more unwell, no food, having to go to food banks and rely on the generosity of strangers to help them. Both of these people ended up having breakdowns and one of the persons was in hospital for four months. I wonder how much money that cost the tax payer????


There are plenty of genuine cases for benefits and what I have seen of the benefit system is totally disgusting. Fortunately, I have never needed benefits but I truly feel sorry for those people who are dependant and have no way of helping themselves. It is diabolical the way these vulnerable people are treated and exploited by not being awarded the benefits they are genuinely entitled to because they haven't got the mental capacity to understand the system.


There is a saying about 'kicking a dog when it is down, and this is how I see the government treating vulnerable people'. I am ashamed at how the government treat our vulnerable people.

duchy

Murphybear wrote: »

Not that simple. Firstly, many libraries in rural areas are being closed. Our local library offers only half an hour free per day 5 days a week. After that it is expensive. Not everyone lives within walking distance of JC/library and someone sanctioned is hardly in a position to afford the occasional bus.

It's also all very well to tell people to ring if they need help be it the JC or the utility companies or their MP but if you have no money then you have no PAYG credit so phoning anyone is not possible- assuming the phone hasn't gone flat and needs charging- which without electricity would not be possible.

It is clear who has never needed to rely on benefits and is posting from their ivory tower on this thread -some of the posts are clueless.