UC commitments worry

wrote:

Hi ThisGovernmentsGoneToFar

Once you have applied for UC, you cannot claim HB even on a nil income.

For new claimants, the only way of claiming HB is if you live in certain types of supported housing, hostels such as homeless units. Contact Shelter for further advice: england.shelter.org.uk/get_help

Gary

Gary sorry to put a downer on the above but my council has supplied it all in a letter, as I have a letter from the council confirming and stating I can claim under the nil income and just live of my PIP. It does state also I would loose out on UC as when we discussed i can't cope with claiming UC she had I'd be ok and has been confirmed with my housing for when the time is when I would have do that move under managed migration to UC.

I would post up the letter which confirms I can claim housing only and live of my PIP till retirement.

wrote:

Hi
Best to read them and change or agree them with your work coach, bits you can't do or won't work throw them out and when agreed to a commitment document just sign it to get your money etc. It's written in stone - no commitment = no benefits

Yeah, I called the local benefits advisor on Monday morning and this was pretty much what she said. I got a message from the work coach earlier that morning, saying that I didn't have to search for work and that it was a form of words to make a space for me to have these phone calls (which the advisor said very much wasn't a thing). The message said that I could have another phone call to clarify but it offered nothing more. The advisor said that I should take it and try and get rid of the clause as it left me vulnerable, but if I couldn't then I'd have to agree and see where it went, as they'd cut my benefits off otherwise and the fact that the work coach had said in my journal that I wouldn't have to look for work left me in me better position.

Anyway, when i got the phone call, the work coach just changed it all straight away and didn't make a fuss at all, which hadn't been the impression I'd gotten from her message. I wonder if this was a mistake (certainly there was no reason for the new clause to be there and no great problem in taking it out) or they were trying it on. I've heard stories of vulnerable claimants being asked to sign up to things they didn't really understand and being thrown off when they couldn't cope with them. But that's on the internet and while I will never trust the DWP, I'd be a fool if I believed everything that anyone said about them.

It's a shame I couldn't get the post up over the weekend for some reassurance but I appreciate that people are busy and have other things they have to be doing. I just thought I'd update in case anyone else has a similar problem, I almost didn't call them back cos I thought it sounded like a foregone conclusion.
gb

Hi gottabe,

Its the DWP at their finest with their bullying tactics.


Regards.

Hi ThisGovernmentsGoneToFar

If your claiming under a zero /nil income, surely having pip payments means you getting an income right?

Also if lets say a claimant had 3 grand in their bank, and then decided not to claim say a forced UC on them, would that mean they can still claim under a nil income.

regards.