Escape universal credit debt
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I have kindly been offered support via twitter to help get me out of Universal credit debt. I am in debt with them by around 1400k. 800 of this is due to them saying they have made over payments because of the way they assess my monthly salary. The other £800 is the loan I had to take from them for my first months nursery fees.
I am paid the last Friday of every month and so they deem me being paid two lots of salary in one assessment period and so say I have been overpaid. For example I was paid early for Christmas, even though I am only paid minimum wage (35hours a week, term time only) they say I have been paid 2k in one assessment period.
They are now deciding whether I have been overpaid the £600 UC My December statement says I am due to receive. If they have this will be another debt on top of my UC . If I am entitled to the £600 this month that is on my statement they say I will most likely receive nothing for nursery fees next month. I am unsure yet if I can pay my nursery fees for January as I am unsure if my UC statement of £600 is correct. At the moment it is looking likely I am not entitled to the £600 my statement says I should be getting this month, it has now been referred to a case manager again. This is because they are saying that I have had two pay packets in one assessment period due to early Christmas pay so shouldn't receive anything and the system has made an error . It is very complicated and makes no sense to me. So even though I haven't received extra pay from my employer I am being treated as though I have.
Universal credit say I need to budget every month for this and that I cannot ever predict what my UC payment will be.
On top of this, because of the way they interpret my pay dates and their assessment periods I miss out on the £198 working element ( tax protection on the first £198 I earn). Over the year this costs me £500. I am aware other single mums are taking the government to court over this.
I have no savings at all, I work full time, minimum wage as a teaching assistant. I leave my house at 6:50am with a three year old child, catch public transport to take him to nursery, drop him off and walk another twenty minutes to catch a lift to work four miles away. We don't return home until 6pm on an evening due to the travel despite my working day finishing at 3:30pm. I, like everyone else, work really bloody hard and it's not easy even getting to work!
Ironically, if I had taken only a 16hour job I could have earned £200 a month without it effecting my UC at all. It's very silly that wanting to work full time means I am much worse off, although I am reticent to state this as I'm sure the DWP must be unaware and will soon see that this ends swiftly for people that are working 16hours.
Before I took my job I made numerous calls to UC to check and double check I was doing the right thing returning to work, of course it made sense it was right but they reassured me and promised me that I would be better off in work. They did not tell me about pay dates, assessment periods, nursery fees being paid as back payments, over payments and fluctuating payments, nor did they tell me about the £198 protected earnings being lost due to the pay dates or that I would actually be better only working 16hours a week.
Nor did they tell me of the anxiety this would cause, the lack of sleep and actual distress this would put me in every day worrying about whether I can pay my bills, fees or treat my child to a book or some bloody shoes.
I've had a tricky life, I was in care as a youth, have been homeless as a teen, lost my brother to suicide but I've always just managed to keep my head above water. I've never ever been in debt and I have always worked hard. I left school with no qualifications due to my life circumstances but despite this I have always been able to knuckle down and plough through. Now though with a child to support the situation with UC is one of the most challenging I have experienced- because it is scary.....because of the way they work it is beyond my control what happens to me financially and I am getting into debt (with UC) because of them. I am a good, strong role model for my son, and I want to be able to provide for him, work hard, contribute to society and be happy. UC are making this exceptionally hard.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. I do appreciate it. I really appreciate the moral support people have given and shown me.....it's felt pretty tough and lonely but it's nice to know others realise how hard it is.
I am paid the last Friday of every month and so they deem me being paid two lots of salary in one assessment period and so say I have been overpaid. For example I was paid early for Christmas, even though I am only paid minimum wage (35hours a week, term time only) they say I have been paid 2k in one assessment period.
They are now deciding whether I have been overpaid the £600 UC My December statement says I am due to receive. If they have this will be another debt on top of my UC . If I am entitled to the £600 this month that is on my statement they say I will most likely receive nothing for nursery fees next month. I am unsure yet if I can pay my nursery fees for January as I am unsure if my UC statement of £600 is correct. At the moment it is looking likely I am not entitled to the £600 my statement says I should be getting this month, it has now been referred to a case manager again. This is because they are saying that I have had two pay packets in one assessment period due to early Christmas pay so shouldn't receive anything and the system has made an error . It is very complicated and makes no sense to me. So even though I haven't received extra pay from my employer I am being treated as though I have.
Universal credit say I need to budget every month for this and that I cannot ever predict what my UC payment will be.
On top of this, because of the way they interpret my pay dates and their assessment periods I miss out on the £198 working element ( tax protection on the first £198 I earn). Over the year this costs me £500. I am aware other single mums are taking the government to court over this.
I have no savings at all, I work full time, minimum wage as a teaching assistant. I leave my house at 6:50am with a three year old child, catch public transport to take him to nursery, drop him off and walk another twenty minutes to catch a lift to work four miles away. We don't return home until 6pm on an evening due to the travel despite my working day finishing at 3:30pm. I, like everyone else, work really bloody hard and it's not easy even getting to work!
Ironically, if I had taken only a 16hour job I could have earned £200 a month without it effecting my UC at all. It's very silly that wanting to work full time means I am much worse off, although I am reticent to state this as I'm sure the DWP must be unaware and will soon see that this ends swiftly for people that are working 16hours.
Before I took my job I made numerous calls to UC to check and double check I was doing the right thing returning to work, of course it made sense it was right but they reassured me and promised me that I would be better off in work. They did not tell me about pay dates, assessment periods, nursery fees being paid as back payments, over payments and fluctuating payments, nor did they tell me about the £198 protected earnings being lost due to the pay dates or that I would actually be better only working 16hours a week.
Nor did they tell me of the anxiety this would cause, the lack of sleep and actual distress this would put me in every day worrying about whether I can pay my bills, fees or treat my child to a book or some bloody shoes.
I've had a tricky life, I was in care as a youth, have been homeless as a teen, lost my brother to suicide but I've always just managed to keep my head above water. I've never ever been in debt and I have always worked hard. I left school with no qualifications due to my life circumstances but despite this I have always been able to knuckle down and plough through. Now though with a child to support the situation with UC is one of the most challenging I have experienced- because it is scary.....because of the way they work it is beyond my control what happens to me financially and I am getting into debt (with UC) because of them. I am a good, strong role model for my son, and I want to be able to provide for him, work hard, contribute to society and be happy. UC are making this exceptionally hard.
Thank you everyone for your kind words and support. I do appreciate it. I really appreciate the moral support people have given and shown me.....it's felt pretty tough and lonely but it's nice to know others realise how hard it is.
Organizer
Kitty Parkes
Organizer
England
