Hi all. Does anyone know what the current wait time is? They advise 9 weeks on the phone but that seems very optimistic. Thanks.

Just had my manual reconsideration phone call, asking the usual questions that they asked. Was on the phone around 25 minutes, went through what I can and can’t do, asked how it affected me, she also suggested I request occupational health from my GP, seems that she recognised I need help, is this a good sign?

Hello,

I am currently unemployed since July and i pay £800 rent by bank transfer every month. I am trying to apply to UC and asked my landlord for a proof of this as it will help me pay the rent but he doesn't want it as we don't have a formal contract. I am struggling and trying to find a solution for this and now my anxiety and depression is kicking in. I also following ADHD health procedures and therapy from NHS, is there a way I can prove I pay this amount of rent without involving my landlord? Please, is really important, I don't know who to ask further. I need to apply before the 6th of September.

I'm getting a gift from my family for a car.

I know the threshold is £6,000.

I'm currently claiming UC and carers allowance.

If the amount of £10.999 is taken from the account for a car purchase will this still be flagged as deprivation of capital?

Thanks

New claim denied, 23-06-26 denied 20-08-26

Tried to do a new claim due to my DD having signs of AuDhd, she basically is very impulsive when it comes to walks and behaviours such as being curious and burning herself or getting into dangerous situations climbing windows ect and then for her age still needs constant supervision in the bath and going to the bathroom and then struggles to switch off on a night can be a danger to herself and siblings as she wonders and doesn’t go to the toilet herself or if sick doesn’t move as once she is asleep she does not wake which is a struggle in mornings, we had no evidence other than pages of examples, we have no one close to us that could of filled in the question to describe her as family rather take her siblings out rather than her as she’s a handful.. I believe I covered all the points in the explanations I gave.. does anyone have time or experience who could advice me please, we applied with no diagnosis as we was advised to just try and then later get the diagnosis as they can take some time, I’m unsure on the next steps should I do a new claim? I believe I’m undiagnosed myself I struggle really bad with forms 😅 and have no support around me I’m good talking online but anxiety stops me going into the town to find help as I’ve never been good with it.

I received a letter from UC which I think was a work capability assesment, I filled out the questionnaire about my health and mobility etc.

I'm just wondering how the process works, I've been waiting 4 months now to hear back from my ADP application. Is this like the same process? I posted the questionnaire back so I guess I just have to wait. What usually happens next, do they call or write a letter, do I go for an assessment or can you have telephone assesment? Is this a long process? Thanks for any information.

Hi, if anyone could advise on this I would be very appreciative

For context, I am and my partner are both currently claiming lcwra( low ability to work UC)

We are thinking of taking the next step to move in together however we have encountered an issue with this

If we were to move in together, currently I am not paying rent or bills but they live in their own flat. we would have to open a joint universal credit claim ( I believe this is correct?)

This means that rather than us both having our individual claims, we would be claiming one (£800 less a month total)

This also means that we would only have one earning deduction limit of £400 or so between us rather than 400 or so each

My partner is currently working part time and earns enough that most of their universal credit is deducted from their wages (1200)

For myself however I earn below the limit (roughly £500 a month) but if we were to live together on a Joint claim, this means that my entire lcwra payment (800) would also be deducted by our joint earnings. Which would then be around £1700 Meaning I would be left with only my £500 earnings from work and 300 or so from the joint UC claim rather than the £1300 I am getting currently and my partner only their earnings and £300 too which means I would be around getting £500 less every month and they would be getting £300 from UC which would not be feasible to live together on

This makes moving In together not possible for either of us

What are our options? How can the DWA expect anyone on universal credit expect to be able to live with a partner when it means that the partner would be expected to bear the full financial burden of anyone with q disability that is unable to work full time?

I hope that I am wrong and there is some other option around this?

Thanks in advance

Hi I wonder if anyone could be of assistance. We applied for DLA for my daughter in June. After a while we were sent a letter that they needed more information on my husbands identity (I’m assuming that this is because he had opened a new bank account) this was all sent to them and they acknowledged that they had recieved ir.
We got a letter approx 2nd July saying that case was being looked at and that they would be in touch- just a generic letter that everyone gets. It’s now been almost 9 weeks from that date. I’m just wondering if anyone knows how long it should usually take to receive an answer?
My SILs claim for her child took just 5 weeks and both our children have exactly the same care needs, however my child also requires over night care also.
Thank you in advance for any help

I just finished university and moved back home with my parents. Because of moving back, I’m currently unemployed (although actively looking and applying for work). A family member suggested looking at applying for universal credit while I have no income as so far I’ve had no luck with finding work. I’m in a lucky enough position that my parents aren’t charging me rent and buy food for the house as a whole (not just for themselves, but for myself too). They also send me £35 a week for general living costs and I usually put some of this aside into a savings account to eventually insure my car as I don’t often do much at the moment due to lack of funds. My question is: would these two ways my parents support me affect my eligibility to claim universal credit?

I’m very grateful for their help but I really just want that bit of independence and to be able to buy my own food etc rather than feel like I’m just taking money from them (apologies if this is too much yap, just wanted to give as much context in relation to my question).

I’m self employed and I’m trying to make sure I’m reporting my income and expenses correctly to Universal Credit.

I take a refundable holding deposit when a customer books with me. Sometimes this can be several months before the actual appointment.

For example:
June: customer pays me a £30 holding deposit for service booked for August.
The £30 remains refundable to the customer if the appointment doesn’t go ahead.
I move the £30 into a separate “Deposits” pot in my bank account and don’t use it as business money.
August: The service is completed and the £30 deposit becomes part of the payment for the service. The customer then pays the remaining £70.
I currently record £100 as income in August, rather than £30 in June and £70 in August, because that’s when the deposit actually becomes mine/business income.

I’m now confused because I’ve read that UC self-employed income is generally based on money actually received during the assessment period.
Does anyone know how UC/DWP treats a genuinely refundable holding deposit like this?
Would the £30 need to be reported as income in June simply because it entered the business bank account, even though it was still refundable and effectively being held for the customer?
Or would it be correct to report the full £100 when the service is completed and the deposit becomes non-refundable/business income?

I keep the deposits separately specifically so there is a clear record of what they are, and I have records showing when the service takes place and when the deposit becomes part of the payment.

I’m looking for advice from anyone with experience of UC and self-employment, particularly if you’ve dealt with deposits/retainers before. Thanks!

My partner has recently left the family home, the impact emotionally and financially has been hard. Our daughter has special needs is twenty two and will stay with me. I know she was awarded access to work but my wife stopped claiming as she found the process too hard, she did it manually a few times sending taxi receipts in the post. I would like to pick it up but online. I hope to only use it for claiming taxi expenses to and from her place of work. So a few questions

Will I hit difficulties as regards my wife being the appointee, I can’t get her PIPs at the moment because of this?

How complex is the online process and what will I need, eg ID (my daughter doesn’t have a passport or driving license)?

For how many years can we claim for in the future?

Will the online process accept individual digital uber receipts?

Any insight is truly appreciated.

Thanks

My Universal Credit claim was closed recently due to excess capital. An investigation was performed and I provided all necessary documentation. I received my letter with their decision. I am now reapplying for UC which they said I'm able to do.
They are asking me to provide my ID in person at a job centre though. I didn't have to do this last time I applied. Has the application processed changed over the past few years or is this because my previous claim was closed?

I’ve been self employed under UC for a few years now, this consists of streaming on twitch. For a while I did make money quite consistently & was really active however in the last year or so I almost stopped streaming at all & will only very very occasionally reach the payout limit to be paid.

I’ve decided to start university part time in September & I’m aware of how that affects my UC, but in sorting it all out I just assumed I needed to declare myself as no longer self employed. Which tbh I find quite sad, I understand money wise it needs to be logged as self employment but it really is just a hobby that occasionally makes me some money.

So is it possible to both? Would I loose my claim or be working too much?

Hello! My mother (69F) is struggling on her pension and Im sure shes eligible for PIP or Disability allowance or some kind of Independent Disability income.

-So shes got heart failure (breathlessness with the odd chest pain ect) and on 5 different tablets for it
- Arthritis In the knees and lower back, has to walk with a stick. Prescribed strong painkillers for this
- 85% deaf but has 1 cochlear ear implant.

At the moment she is living in a housing association house (Midland heart) and her only income is her pension. By time shes payed all bills she barely has enough for food.

May i just have some advice on what kind of other benefit she might be able to apply to? And how does she go about applying for it (online,call,email,letter,in person)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

A few questions in regards to claiming JSA;

- I am due redundancy from my 11 year job I lost a few days ago. Will claiming JSA effect this?

- How long does it take for the DWP to get in contact once my claim has been submitted?

- How often do I attend the job centre?

- All i've done in my working career is retail. Will the job centre require me to apply for jobs I have no skills in? If not, how long before they ask me to do this?

- Does DWP monitor the money you spend?

- Does DWP monitor the money you receive? Got a lot of de-cluttering to do & looking at selling items on Ebay and CEX.

- Can I cancel JSA at any time without having a job? If so, will they require a reason?

Thanks all. Appreciate the help/advice.

I’ve just received a letter from Wiltshire council stating that I was overpaid housing benefit between 30 July 2012 and 19 Aug 2012 meaning that I now owe them £19.03. I can afford to pay this, but out of principle I don’t think I should have to. I don’t even remember ever applying for council tax benefit.
So my question is, is there a time limit on them chasing me for this money.
Also I have never received a letter regarding this in the last 14 years

I currently have two jobs. My main job is an office role, around 35–40 hours a week, but it’s a temporary contract that ends in exactly four weeks. I’ve been temping with the organisation on and off for the last 2–3 years while trying to get into a permanent graduate job.

Alongside this, I work one shift a week in a restaurant. I’ve worked there for around three years, but the restaurant was taken over by another company around two years ago and the working environment has become horrible. Me and one other person are basically the only staff left from before the takeover.

I genuinely feel (and know) I’ve been bullied and pushed out by members of management for a long time. Some examples (ONLY from the past month):

- Making comments about my appearance/weight and calling me fat and a slut (not that it’s important, but I’m not either).
- Management telling team members that they need to be on “their side or mine”, despite me never participating in or wanting some kind of workplace rivalry.
- Apparently telling staff that they have been trying to push me out for around a year and discussing “setting traps” for me so they have a reason to fire me.
- Mocking me for asking for a pay rise. I’m technically a supervisor but earn £12.71/hour, the same as other team members.
- Racist, homophobic and transphobic comments being made in the workplace.
- Asking the head chef, who is around 15 years older than me, to “rate” me. He apparently said I was a “0.3” but that he “would still hit it”. He has also previously made inappropriate comments directly to me about cheating on his wife with me, and has made similar comments about another member of staff.

The thing that finally pushed me over the edge happened recently. A new employee who had only worked TWO shifts with me came to me genuinely upset and apologetic because of the amount of horrible stuff they had already heard being said about me. This is someone I barely know. They told me about the comments regarding trying to push me out, setting traps for me, etc.

I only work there one shift a week now and usually don’t even see these people, so I’d been trying to adopt an “out of sight, out of mind” approach. Finding out that they’re apparently still talking about me to brand-new employees made me realise this just isn’t going away.

My problem is HR. The managers involved are very close friends with the regional manager and people in HR, to the point of hanging outside of work, and I’ve seen how previous complaints have been handled. From what I’ve witnessed, raising things formally can actually make the situation worse. I feel completely paralysed about making a complaint because I have basically zero faith that anything meaningful will happen.

I have documented some incidents/messages over time, but I unfortunately haven’t kept a perfect chronological diary of everything since I’m so exhausted and busy. I have also been talking about the situation extensively with my therapist for roughly the last five months, so there should be contemporaneous evidence that this has been affecting me for quite some time.

At this point I just want to quit.

My office contract finishes in four weeks anyway, so that would potentially leave me unemployed. Financially, I have enough savings that I could live rent-free for at least three months, so I’m not going to be immediately destitute. I actually think having some time away from this environment and being able to focus properly on graduate/permanent job applications would help enormously.

I’ve worked continuously since I was 16, including while I was at university, so please don’t crucify me for considering benefits! But I’m thinking about claiming New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance once my temporary office contract finishes while I search for another job.

What worries me is voluntarily leaving the restaurant job.

Would the DWP potentially consider sustained workplace bullying/harassment to be a good reason for leaving, or could I be sanctioned because technically I chose to resign?

And what sort of evidence would I realistically need? Would things such as messages documenting incidents, testimony from colleagues/new staff, and the fact I have discussed the situation with my therapist for months help?

I know the obvious answer might be “go to HR first”, but I cannot emphasise enough how little faith I have in the HR process here. Do I HAVE to exhaust the internal grievance process before leaving for the DWP to take the circumstances seriously?

I’m just exhausted. I keep asking myself why these people dislike me enough to continually tear me down when I’m literally there for one shift a week. I also genuinely think the effect this has had on my confidence and mental wellbeing has made it harder for me to perform well in interviews and get myself into the career I actually want.

I want out, but I’m scared that resigning rather than forcing myself to continue working somewhere like this will come back to bite me.

TLDR: I work one shift a week in a restaurant alongside a full-time temporary office job. Restaurant management have allegedly been trying to push me out for around a year, making comments about my appearance, mocking me, discussing “setting traps” to fire me, making inappropriate sexual comments and talking badly about me to new employees. My office contract ends in four weeks and I want to resign from the restaurant too and focus on finding a permanent/graduate job. I have some written evidence and have discussed the bullying with my therapist for months, but haven’t formally complained to HR because I have no faith in the process. If I then claim New Style JSA while job hunting, could I be sanctioned for voluntarily leaving the restaurant, or could the bullying constitute a good reason for resigning?

Hi guys so I applied for pip online on the 18th June I had a 30 minute phone assessment on the 20th August at 4:45pm. Next day I received a text saying they received it so I called and asked for a pa4 but yesterday I received the delete dated 21st August scoring 0 on everything. Could I do mandatory reconsideration? Since to me it looks like the assessor didn’t even take time to read my application after the phone assessment just agreed and next day made a decision not even 24 hours. I believe because I am a carer for my mum they made this decision real quick but didn’t take time to read my application to see why it is that am suffering with since 2021 and only spoke up to doctors now.

Im going to uni, I have LCWRA and PIP so I know Im technically able to claim it.

My maintenance loan is 12693, but it says on the paperwork that 4582 isnt counted by the authorities, and Ive attached the wording. Im pretty sure the maintenance loan is covering 9 assessment periods.

Im moving in a private accommodation technically. I havent yet had the tenancy agreement from the landlord, but I might have to move out in summer for two months. Its shared with one other person.

Would I be able to claim the housing element? The housing element for the address for one room (I think thats correct as I have the LCWRA and PIP and stuff) is 97.81 per week.

Would I still be able to claim UC and receive money from it?

I have prescriptions being delivered/due to be delivered after my next payment on the 10th. I think theyre delivered about the 23rd or so, which is after uni starts on the 21st. So I dont want to be fined if it all goes wrong.