Claiming universal credit retrospectively

PTK

I am a self employed massage therapist who had to stop work due to impending, and then actuaL,  lockdown on 19 March 2020. I assumed I would be help with the government scheme. I then discovered much later that am I not entitled for various reasons. I then made a claim for Universal Credit on May 12th. I have now been told I cannot retrospectively claim for UC even though it can be proven that I would have been unable to work from the end of March due to the Gov lock down. I appreciate this is usually the case but surely in these (sorry)... ‘unprecedented’ times the rules would be different? Does anyone know anything different? Or been able to challenge this successfully? With all the conflicting advice this seems very unreasonable. I am still not given a time when I can return to work.  
. 

poppy12345

People claim UC and work if they're on low income. What reason did they give that you're not entitled? Living with a partner that works? savings/capital of £16,000 and over will exclude you. Are you from the UK?

Rubyroobs

Universal credit can only be back dated for one month and only in exceptional circumstances such as being hospitalised and too ill to claim. 

PTK

I am from the UK. I had assumed I would get the self employed HMRC help. I didn’t know until mid May that I wasn’t eligible for the HMRC help. So I immediately made my claim in mid May. 

I am eligible for UC. That is not in dispute. My point was, in these exceptional (unprecedented) circumstances I am surprised that there is no possibility of retrospective claim for UC when it is so clear that I haven’t been able to do my self employed work as a massage Therapist due to the Gov enforced lock down. There must be others in the same position. They are not even allowing a month retrospective claim even though I told them from the outset that I haven’t worked since March 19th.

calcotti

Those are the rules. 

poppy12345

You could have applied for UC while you waited for the grant, as there are people that have posted here that did the same thing. As you didn't apply then it won't be backdated.