Universal Credits- a new nightmare

As bikergran described, the incompetence of DWP offices and their staff can be stunning.
It's hard to believe that it is not deliberate, with the intention of avoiding payment of benefits to those who need them.

Quizqueen, your remarks are very offensive.

I had a friend whose husband was a manager at a Job Centre until he became too ill to work. Even though he'd been 'one of them' suddenly he found himself to be a claimant and was amazed at how badly he was treated. All the time he'd worked there he'd had no idea what it was like to be on the other side of the counter at the mercy of the whims of the target focussed staff. Of course by that time it was too late.

quizqueen- while a minority of people i am sure claim benefits fraudulently please don't judge individuals with mental health or physical health issues. It isn't reasonable to assume that everyone are scroungers unless they are born with a disabiliry,
Have you not heard of eating disorders, debilitating mental and physical health conditions? You are fortunate indeed if you have lived your life experiencing none of these problems or not knowing anyone who has. Although this is unlikely unless you don't know anyone.
It is this judgemental ignorance that breeds contempt and scapegoats vulnerable people who deserve a compassionate response.

My son has a degenerative life limiting disease. Last year when he finally got a flat he was changed from ESA to Universal Credit. So he went from payments two weekly to calendar monthly and it took months to sort his rent allowance too. They say they are putting people on to calendar monthly to prepare them for when they get work. My son will never be able to work and has very little idea of budgeting despite my continual help. It is now possible to be paid every two weeks which would help. When he applied for this and had an interview he was told that he would get his monthly money on the 8th September and then they would start paying him two weekly from 8th October if it was approved. Surely as UC is paid in arrears it should have started on the 22nd September. But no the person at UC was having none of it.

So he was cheated out of two weeks' money, Daisyboots?

Why am I not surprised. Anything to short change the claimant.

Quizqueen...come back. We promise not to bite.

Hi Trisha I am a volunteer at a housing charity so have now learnt a bit about universal credit, basically if they make you wait that long they will give you a sub to tide you over, it has to be paid back but they do not leave you penniless.

But Serkeen aren't delays with payments systemic? A properly run system shouldn't need to tide people over except in the most exceptional of situations. Look at Daisy's example, it's awful.

But Serkeen the problem for many people is that they just manage to live on the benefit they receive, upset the balance even by one or two weeks money and they begin a spiral into debt which they are then unable to get out of. And it can't be a small loan because it is 6 weeks money at least if it is to compensate for the money they are waiting for. There is also considerable evidence that no one is telling claimants this, they are therefore more likely to find themselves at the mercy of loan sharks or other dubious bodies.

You have to apply for a loan too. More paperwork.

Yes I totally agree with all that is said. The procedure is that you apply for UC and it does take six weeks, it is true to say that applicants are not made aware that they are able to apply for an in between loan

It is never a good place to be relying on the government, the housing association that I volunteer at aims to get people back into decent homes and only initially rely on UC but then go on to find relevant work.

The UK although has much to improve is much better than any other European countries that do not start paying benefits until the person has actually been out of work for six weeks or more and then what they pay compared to what uk pay is very different.

I do of course believe that folk should be helped in their hour of need but the problem is that being on benefits has without a doubt become a life choice.

The uk does little to get people back into work. I deal with people on UC on a weekly basis and when they go to the job centres there is no encouragement to find work they just go sit and briefly speak about what they may have done then they are given a new appointment and off they pop

We have a guy that has been on 'the dole' for over two years!! so why has he not found a job in all of this time, he has had loads of help in a grant for new clothing help with housing just loads of help but still no job..

We are lucky that we live in the uk, a country that does help the vulnerable, yes they as I have said do have much to improve in their dealing with people on benefits but still lots and lots of help out there for the vulnerable

Actually Serkeen if you become unemployed in this country you will not get any money until after your last pay slip, you then get paid fortnightly so it is usually about 6 weeks before you get anything. Exceptions of course are those being paid weekly or on a daily rate, who still wait 2 weeks and arguably need the money asap.
And I don't know where you live but the job centres near here certainly keep an eye on what people are doing to get a job. They have to keep a record of where they apply, have proof that they have applied and where they have sent CVs and attend regular interviews to check that they are following through. As for your "Guy" who has been on Jobseeker's Allowance for 2 years have you ever considered how depressing it is to keep applying and finding you are constantly knocked back? Perhaps for something you can do nothing about like age? No I don't suppose you have he's just someone on the scrounge isn't he, not a person with worries and problems?

I'm sure there is an expectation that job seekers have to prove that their time has been spent actively seeking work. Maybe 35 hours a week? The days of just having a chat are long gone!!

Well, smug QuizQueen - so are you naive enough to be assured that YOU will never tangle with the Benefits Agency and the neo-nazis who run the system?

What goes around comes around, dearie......

It's absolutely no surprise to me that the government can get away with treating vulnerable people in this way. I remember the very first shows like benefits street and life on the dole ect. and remember thinking this would end up with a massive tide of hatred towards claimants, the whole shows are geared up towards it with comments like " Tinas using 20 of her benefits on getting her nails done" throughout the show, and countless barely veiled put-downs. These shows make me sick and are nothing short of stirring up unrest and discrimination. I wouldn't be surprised if they were funded by the government so they could slide their 'austerity measures ' in without too much revolt from the general population. Sorry for the rant.

Serkeen... I rely on benefits and will do for the rest of my life. It's definitely not a life choice. I did not choose to become ill.

hi vamp if you are ill that is obviously what government money is for, it is for people like you that genuinely need it, sorry that you are ill .

Margs if your post was directed at me a bit ott! EVERYONE is entitled to their own opinion and you should be grown up enough to accept that. I am more than happy to have a civil conversation with you but you really should control your flippancy and speak in a manner that can be conversed with.

sorry Margs thought you were referring to me in your post didn't know there was someone called quiz. try n speak to her in a way that will open her mind so that she can understand and see things from the other side

ok I have now read quizqueen post and she is right people DO play the system and she is right about women having children they can not afford to take care of without benefits, it happens loads. she is also right about athletes that although have a disability still do well ..she is obviously a no nonsense kind of a person that IS entitled to her opinion

Well qq never came back with the evidence for her opinion. I do wish people would think carefully what it means to be entitled to an opinion - you can have an opinion on where it's nice to go on holiday. Having opinions on welfare cheats without an evidence base is called being prejudiced.

And there can be the world of difference between an opinion and a fact. Articulating a prejudice does not make it true. Perhaps some people take advantage of the system, just as some very rich people take advantage of a tax system which allows them to park their funds off shore or to "live" abroad in a tax haven thus depriving the economy which supports the rest of us suckers no wonder there is a shortfall. My heart bleeds for them
To say "living on benefits is a lifestyle choice " is an outrage and insult to countless people, including the family members of many of us on GN.
As for disabled athletes who "do well" ???? Does that include disabled ex-service men and women who have lost limbs on active service, children born with spina bifida or other birth issues ? Why the h*ll shouldn't they "do well"??
And WHAT has that got to do with anything.
Finally the patronising account of what it is like to attend job centre interviews as a cosy chat "then off they pop" leaves me speechless. Does it not occur to serkeen that a person could be unemployed for two years because the economy has wiped out whole industries in some areas? That the skills he may have had are no longer relevant? That if you live in an area of high unemployment you cannot necessarily move to another area? Or that age can be a factor which seriously impacts your employability?
I can see why much of what "no nonsense (?) quizqueen ranted about appears to resonate.
Personally Insould leave the word "no" out of it.

As many often say..don't judge a book by its cover!

I was one of "those people" that had to walk in the Job center for over a year and a half, and yes those on the outside who saw me walking in prob thought " oh another scrounger/sponger". But at the age of 60 after being bereaved the having! to go to the Jobcenter and try and search for 5 jobs a day, believe me it was no mean task and yes! there are! 1,000s of jobs out there, but..there are also 1,000s of others looking.

Most of you will know my story if you have been here long enough.Now I am in work at a well known supermarket and enjoying it If! I hadn't been given a job, then god knows where I would be now, after 12 months the JC told me I would be put on a "work program" (in other words, you will go where we! send you and you will! work there)!!

I know plenty that are "abusing " the system. what I found was that the JC would pick on easy targets like myself, anyone complicated or stood up for themselves would be left alone sort of( bit like the HM REVENUE who go after the tiny little fishes instead of the Fat cats)

I remember the words from my work coach at the JC when I said I was struggling and couldnt see me finding a job. and whos going to employ me at my age? her words were "WELL WE ARE TARGETING YOUR AGE GROUP"!!!

So...I go back to saying " don't judge people until you know their story, "Listen to their story first"! then! judge them on their personal circumstances.

I never want anyone feeling sorry for me, I just want people to see that not everyone who is on some form of Benefit or going in and out of the JC are scroungers/layabouts/spongers or what every name you care to give them, but on the other side of the coin..yes! there are plenty! and I think we have all seen it somewhere whether its down ours road.street or on tv.
Each story to it's own.

Ok best get ready for work now bye all.

Well done biker for tavkling the stereotype and the ageist prejudice which can defeat so many people!!
And well said

Finding a job is like a massive game of musical chairs, with many, many chairs missing.