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Recent Universal Claim a total disaster

itsmefee
itsmefee Community member Posts: 27 Connected
I receive Contributory ESA. I moved into social housing and applied for housing benefit. This triggered a claim for Universal Credit. Below is how they worked out my payments. When you break down the totals it transpires that there is no extra money in there to pay my rent. 

Before Universal Credit application on ESA... I received...per month

Cont ESA                         £500.00
 Child Tax Credit              £500.00                           
------------------------------------------------
                                        £1,000   TOTAL 

After my UC claim .... I receive ...  per month

Allowance                       £317.00
Housing                          £368.55
Children                          £277.08
Disabled  child                £126.11
---------------------------------
                          £1089.00 
 
MINUS              £500.00   CONTRIBUTORY ESA 
----------------------------------
                          £573.32 sub total Universal Credit entitlement. 
THEN ....

Add Cont ESA  £516.24


TOTAL  RECEIVED ------------------------
                                     £1,089.00  THIS INCLUDES MONEY TO PAY RENT OF £368.55

So after applying for housing benefit which triggered a claim to Universal Credit this has given me £89 a month to pay a £368.55 monthly rent bill. 

I am not better off and wish that I had not bothered because now they are putting me through the whole Capability for Work process in order to keep receiving this money. I am already in the support group for ESA Contributory so can you imagine how that is going to work if they find me fit for work under Universal Credit but not for ESA Contributory. 

The whole process is completely flawed and not designed with disabled and chronically ill people in mind. I honestly think that people with health issues should be put through a completely different system. 

Comments

  • Ripples
    Ripples Community member Posts: 189 Pioneering
    UC is poorly planned and executed. The real intent is to try and get people off benefits totally by making it hard to exist. It reminds one of Dickensian Britain ' "If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population."
  • itsmefee
    itsmefee Community member Posts: 27 Connected
    That is exactly how I see it too. It reminds me of Hitler who simply executed anyone who was of no use to him or who he thought was of no value to society.

    I paid tax and national insurance all my working life thinking that at least I will be ok if something bad happens and I need to rely on it. Well that something bad did happen but it appears that my payments into the system count for nothing. 

    I would much rather have not paid into the system at all and used the money to purchased a private health care plan with a sickness benefit attached to it. 

    I  can honestly see why people turn to crime to survive. If they have nothing then there is nothing to loose is there ?  Frightening times we live in right now. 
  • itsmefee
    itsmefee Community member Posts: 27 Connected
    edited June 2018
    After some very painful reading I may have finally worked out what has gone wrong with my claim.

    I get ESA Contribuary which they deduct from my Universal Credit amount 500.00.  What they havent done is awarded me or paid me the  Health Condition and Disability part of the Universal Credit Claim. Despite being in the support group for ESA and the equivelant group for Universal Credit for having a health condition/ disability, they have not awarded or paid me that part of the benefit.  Hence I am £300 down after being transferred onto UC. 

    They are currently deducting my full ESA amount from Universal Credit although I am NOT yet receiving the disability element of UC. Hence robbing me of £500 a month. 

    If and when I do get the Disability award under UC they will give me £300 UC disability element and take away £500 ESA from it. !!! 

    How the hell is anyone supposed to be able to work any of this out. Either way it is a huge loss isn't it. 

    No one at DWP seems to grasp this and I am just going round in circles with them. ??

    All I get back from my work coach us.... "This is what UC is designed to do"..... 
  • Ripples
    Ripples Community member Posts: 189 Pioneering
    edited June 2018
    @itsmefee The whole thing emanates from you through no fault of your own having to claim  UC because you needed to claim housing benefit. When you claim the UC equivalent of ESA you only get the basic payment without enhancements.  If you are claiming PIP you can however claim extra.

Brightness