My basic questions are:
1) Can I write my own statement for UC Compliance (on MF47comp_0619) or do I have to dictate it out over the phone during the interview?
2) Are there services who can review my statement to make sure I include the necessary points, & don't say the wrong (or irrelevant?) things. [I have nothing to hide but in my experience with DWP & government departments, there can be ways to explain things that fit better with their understanding e.g. the PIP guide on here]
For background- I used to work in a professional job where written accuracy is vital. I am now unable to work due to an Auto Immune condition which causes fatigue & brain fog (as well as other things). I also have slightly delayed cognitive processing (from ADHD) & I find it easier to process written information rather than verbally.
I had a telephone Compliance Interview for Universal Credit, & asked the Compliance Officer (not sure if that's the official title) if I could read "My Statement" before agreeing it. He said he could post it to me, then would phone to check if I agreed. The statement was put together by the Compliance Officer based on what I said during the interview.
When I got the statement it had lots of little errors like missing punctuation, capital letters, & is not quite how I would have worded things.
I asked if I could have an electronic copy to edit it directly then send back to him, rather than going through it line by line on the phone. He said this wasn't possible & he has to write it for me.
We have just gone through this; he said grammar & punctuation aren't important, but it still took 40 minutes to amend the wording.
He then told me that UC want to know what I spent my savings on before I claimed UC. This was 2 years ago & he expected me to know instantly. I said I would have to think about it, but some (most) of it would have been paying for carers for me when I became unwell. I added that I now get Direct Payments from social services which pays for carers. He wanted to know all about DP; how much it is, how I access it, did it tell UC about it? I tried to explain, & that I don't know if I told UC (I haven't tried to hide it, but I didn't think it was relevant because I don't get the actual money- it's not mine; I just sort the payments on the prepayment card). He said this needs to be included in the statement as it is a benefit I receive.
He is sending me the revised statement to review.
I'm exhausted from it, & scared. I want to write my own statement so I can explain in my own words with correct spelling & punctuation. Do you have a guide for this sort of thing?
