Is there any way to get off Universal Credit?

Intheattic

My sister has 3 children and was put on universal credit last summer. Since they put her on it they haven't been paying her rent and when she rings up to sort it they say they'll 'log a task' to sort it out but never do. They randomly taker her children off her claim for no apparent reason, she rings up to get them put back on and the following month they've taken them off again.

Last year she was given an opportunity to do some voluntary work in Accounting which she thought would be good for her to be gaining more experience and so that she had more to put on her CV. She rang the jobcentre to ask if this would affect her benefit. They logged a task to ring her back with the answer but never did so the day before she was due to start the voluntary work she went into the jobcentre and asked someone behind the desk. They said it was fine and it wouldn't affect her benefit.

She did the voluntary work for two weeks and notified the jobcentre that it had ended.

Decembers payment of universal credit was once again not paid so she had to ring up for payment. January's payment her child was taken off the claim again and rent left unpaid. She started to receive eviction notices and whenever she tried to get help for her rent no one seemed to care.

This month they are saying that she owes the jobcentre £1200 in notional earnings for the 3 MONTHS she worked voluntary teling her that voluntary work is classed as earnings yet she wasnt told this when she asked?

They told her that an RTI feed showed a payment from the accountants to her for £489 which was impossible as the accountants would have to have fraudulently filled in a P46 on her behalf and set her up on payroll with details they didn't have. She rang HMRC who confirmed there were no gateway submissions for her at all and when she told the jobcentre this they said oh yes we can see that there was no payment to you.

This month they have paid her nothing, taken her rent payment again and now taken her childrens payments and her payment to cover the £1200. She has already used food banks from when they haven't paid her before and everytime she applies for a hardship payment they say no.

She tried to get back onto imcome support but they said she has to stay on universal credit.

Whats devastating her at the minute is that she has a second interview for a job on monday and if she gets it will she be on universal credit forever? Or can she claim tax credits? I read that they are no longer accepting new claims for working tax credit and child tax credit as tax credits is being abolished and everyone will be on universal credit.

Shes not a lazy person or a sponger and has tried so hard to get off benefits but its getting to the point now where she is poorly with the stress of the eviction notices and frightened at the fact that universal credit dont care if you starve or become homeless.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly greatly appreciated x

faerielight

I don't have any advice, just wanted to say what an awful situation she is in, I hope she finds resolution soon

Intheattic

Thank you for your reply

Its horrible seeing her so desperate and no one in authority is able to help. She is ringing social services today to see if they can offer her any support, I live far away from her which is frustrating but I've been sending whatever money I can to try and help her food wise but we're also struggling and I've even not paid non-priority debts just to be able to provide her and her children with essentials we have no other family to help if the jobcentre knew I was helping her with money they'd probably want that back too.

I just don't understand how they are allowed to leave people this way?

nannytone_2

im afraid that she will stay on universal credit, so fingers crossed, it starts to act the way it should.

the only way to come off universal credit is to become self supporting

sammyjammy

She can't claim tax credits although they are still accepting new claims from people. As she is in Universal Credit she will remain in it if she starts work and support will be paid via UC. It sounds like she is experiencing multiple problems with her claim. Has she made an official complaint? I'm not excusing them but the amount of people on UC with children and housing costs is very small so this is likely why she is suffering. I suggest she makes a concise report of the issues (both those now resolved and outstanding) and complain in writing. If she gets no suitable resolution I would suggest contact her MP.

If she calls them in future ensure she notes the time of the call and the name of the person she speaks to for future reference.

xylophone

Has she tried CAB?

Icequeen99

sammyjammy wrote: »

She can't claim tax credits although they are still accepting new claims from people. As she is in Universal Credit she will remain in it if she starts work and support will be paid via UC. It sounds like she is experiencing multiple problems with her claim. Has she made an official complaint? I'm not excusing them but the amount of people on UC with children and housing costs is very small so this is likely why she is suffering. I suggest she makes a concise report of the issues (both those now resolved and outstanding) and complain in writing. If she gets no suitable resolution I would suggest contact her MP.

If she calls them in future ensure she notes the time of the call and the name of the person she speaks to for future reference.

It depends on the area she lives in. In some areas it is possible to withdraw a UC claim and claim tax credits, but it is quite narrow criteria now as they have tried to stop people doing it.

She needs to consult with a specialist who knows both systems - at the very least she needs help to sort UC out.

Raising with MP is good, this is a flagship Government policy that is clearing not working well in this case

IQ

Poppie68

She needs to speak to her MP, things usually find a way of getting sorted when they are involved. CAB will also be helpful.


Edit....The time it took me to type the above 3 others suggested the same lol.

Mersey_2

Yes, it is possible to withdraw a UC claim and revert to 'legacy benefits' such as WTCs after a month; but, only if she "no longer satisfies one of the Gateway conditions for Universal Credit" such as became pregnant, or received a windfall (capital over £6k) and so on. It is difficult to escape the UC 'lobster pot' as welfare lawyers refer to it, but the rightsnet forum does have examples of claimants who have done so successfully. Merely becoming employed or going self-employed does not end a UC claim. It remains 'live' as an underlying claim for 6 months, although it will close after 1 month if you fail as a self-employed claimant to report your earnings to the UC telephone contact centre. Incidentally, JCP staff cannot view UC or HMRC data, so there's no point asking them. Complain via the UC Tel contact centre or DWP Chief Operating Officer, Noel Shanahan at HQ. The DWP are making a lot of data matching errors which involve tax rebates, PPI refunds and so on.

TELLIT01

A lot of UC claims are still being maintained clerically because of problems with the system. I suspect she is caught up in that scenario. No help to her I accept, but she needs to keep on to them.