Universal Credit Backdated?

moonstar20k

I started working self employed last May and get my work via an agency where my last day of work was on the 3rd March and I was not booked for any other work for the week. The following week work started stopping until further notice due to COVID-19. I was not aware things would of dragged out as much as they are and was waiting for updates from my agency as well as the chancellor on how things would turn out. When the chancellor spoke on the 25 March revealing all support the government will be giving, I found out Universal Credit would be my only option. The reason I did not process my application earlier is because I was unaware this pandemic would be occurring and was waiting for advice on what to do from the government and my agency. My agency had no advice or support and suggested to wait for what the government which is what I did but I had to wait for the government to reveal what support they had. If I knew the pandemic would be occurring I would of applied for Universal Credit on the 4 March. It was completely out of my hands. I would be very grateful if someone can please assist me on how to ask for a backdated claim, I do understand how the claim is worded could mean everything to getting a back payment. Everything was beyond my control. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from someone soon. 

[Deleted User]

 You can get up to a month if you meet criteria which it doesn't sound like you do. 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/universal-credit/before-you-apply/how-universal-credit-is-paid/

Backdating your Universal Credit

You can apply to get a Universal Credit payment to cover up to 1 month before you started your claim - this is called 'backdating'. You’ll need a good reason for not claiming earlier - if you’re in a couple, you’ll both need a good reason. For example, this could be because:

• of an illness - you’ll have to show the DWP medical evidence for this
• of a disability
• you weren’t told your Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was going to end
• the online claims system was down, and you claimed as soon as it was working again
• you've made a new claim as a single person after breaking up with your partner - check what to do if you're in this situation
• you made a joint claim that ended because your partner didn’t accept the claimant commitment - you should now be claiming as a single person

You might not have claimed in time because the DWP told you the wrong thing. If this happens you can complain and ask for compensation.

poppy12345

UC can only be backdated for 1 month in extreme circumstances and this will not be one of the circumstances. If you have savings/capital of more than £16,000 then you'll be excluded.

calcotti

In answer to question. You claim UC and then post a note in your UC journal requesting backdating. As poppy says the maximum backdating is one month but only in exceptional circumstances. Waiting to apply while waiting to see what happens is unlikely to be accepted as good reason for not claiming sooner.