BEWARE OF CAB ADVICE ! Best date to migrate from CTC/ESA to UC

Hello Everyone,

I’m a disabled single parent on irESA / PIP / CTC, where I have received the dreaded migration letter to UC.
I initially contacted the CAB for advice on when to apply for UC; as the timing is important due to the ESA / CTC benefits being paid in advance whereas the UC payments are in arrears.

The advice I received from the CAB was in an email from them advising me thus : ‘ You will want to apply the day after you receive a tax credit payment as this will stop the day you apply. Your ESA will run on for an extra 2 weeks and stop.’

BUT, when I checked with the HMRC, to find out when my last CTC would be paid, they advised me that if I applied for UC a day after the CTC payment had been made, then the CTC payment would need to be repaid, as this would be an ‘overpayment’ ! CTC is paid in advance apparently. The gentleman at HMRC also stated that this was a common misunderstanding and advised to apply for UC a month after the CTC payment to ensure an overpayment did not occur.

So from my experience, be careful to check what is being recommended, as if I had done what the CAB had advised, I would have to repay the CTC ‘overpayment’ back to the HMRC.

This ‘migration to UC from ESA/CTC’ is an absolute minefield, with Christmas right in the middle of the switch. I’m dreading it !