now that we have moved we need to go to universal credit. we currently get joint income support, i get carers allowance and we get child benefit. (my wife get PIP but i understand that is unaffected by the change)
My worry is that everyone i know that has switched over has had issues, either late payments or payments stopping and the restarting. i can not afford to have it stop and the change and start up again. It seems like a really difficult change and i dont want to end up in debt. its also going to mean that me and my wife have to chose whos account gets the money and i think it will have to be hers as thats where all the direct debits come from. this will mean if there is a stop/start that she will end up going overdrawn if payments go out and with her autism i cant put her through that, but equally i cant take the payments off of her as she has been managing so well and that would be totally unfair and confusing for her.
I am totally at a loss. its such a stupid switch and its going to cause so much upset in our household that we dont need. I know it needs doing but how can i do it so its done quickly and efficiently?
Hi David,
Unfortunately Universal Credit is an inflexible computer system that requires everyone, whatever their circumstance, to jump through X amount of hoops. I don’t think there is an easy, quick and efficient way to do it.
S has autism and a LD and I ended up getting our MP involved as he was still expected to jump through all the hoops!
Waiting for the payments is standard, they will give you an advance, but you have to pay it back - its deducted automatically when you first receive the payments.
Just make sure you have everything ready that is required, so that you don’t slow down the process unnecessarily.
Good luck!
Melly1
I would suggest that you have a separate housekeeping account that you both pay into, and the bills go out of, once the benefits situation is resolved.
Hi David.
The MAIN UC thread is full of minefields that I have been posting since 6 August 2017 … forewarning all readers
of the pitfalls inherent in the new system :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/news-and-campaigns/latest-caring-news/universal-credit-uc-rollout-schedule-mines-sanctions-changes-delays-reports-from-affected-manors-30601
Given it’s current length , not an easy read at all.
The only saving grace so far is that only 1 in 10 on current benefits are now under it.
Trouble is … it’s only a temporary reprive.
Anyone who requires support to make a new Universal Credit claim or is moving from a legacy benefit to Universal Credit following a change of circumstances can access Help to Claim.
Accessing Help to Claim support is completely voluntary.
thank you everyone. we are keeping the bills coming out of her account as her PIP pays for most of the bills and i pay what i can into that account as well. I will see if i can get our social worker to help us with making a claim. i have tried to explain it to my wife and she is terrified that we will lose income because of the change
Your welcome , David.
An online benefits calculator for you to crunch some numbers :
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/
That will give you a clear indication of what level of income to expect.
ive done the benefits calculators but they still come up with income support/carers allowance etc… i cant find one that takes in your benefit information and transfers it to universal credit
" Universal Credit " …purely a title … which is made up of individual benefits and allowances.
It is not a benefit in itself , merely a collection of benefits.
Said calculator will give you the individual benefits.
When addded together , do they equal the total paid under Universal Credit ?
Hi David,
Try this online calculator instead: How much Universal Credit (UC) will I get? - Turn2us
Melly1