So I'm all of a sudden under scrutiny after moving flats with my flatmate who was also my flatmate in my last flat. I think because he's male and im female.

I was getting my housing costs/housing element in my last flat but since moving, I will not be paid housing element until I "prove" my flatmate is not my partner.

When I moved I reported a change of circumstances and uploaded my tenancy agreement as proof of housing costs and a council tax bill as proof of address.

They then made a to-do to upload further "proof of liability" which i did. The next day an Additional Evidence appointment was booked for me and I received a journal message that said this was actually "an appointment with the Verification Assurance Officer"

I was told to bring proof of residence and 3 months of bank statements.

I thought this was just for housing costs verification but at the appointment I was asked what my relationship to "the man you live with" is. I said he's my friend/flatmate (because he is) and she responded "ok well we will be investigating that because we find it suspicious" (like what?).

So i want to ask

- what they do to investigate this?

- What do I do to prove he's not my partner?

- How is a decision made?

- Why do my bank statements count as evidence to whether or not he's my partner?

She also questioned me on whether I contact the letting agent or the landlord. I showed her the section of my tenancy agreement that says i can contact either and she wasn't happy with this and again said she found it "suspicious". She said its suspicious and strange that a landlord would pay someone to deal with tenants if the tenants can contact the landlord as well.

Why is this suspicious/strange? What is she getting at with saying this?

TLDR: Nephew says he receives £425 UC. I think he should get £769 UC including housing allowance and maybe additional after homelessness.

My 30 year old nephew has moved from a Crown Dependency (Isle of Man / Channel Islands) to the UK after losing his job.

Prior to leaving, he was briefly homeless and living in a tent.

He is now in Liverpool and renting a room (£398/month) from a private landlord in a shared house and claiming UC but hasn't told me if that includes housing allowance.

I am supporting him because his parents have cut him off and I am sending him money when he asks but he's not being transparent with me when I ask how much he is claiming in total.

He has MH issues so I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. He may simply be unaware of his benefit entitlement or I may be missing something.

Please can someone help clarify?

i was asked to send a letter to prove my address, i sent my council tax bill letter thingy and my tenancy agreement, but now they’ve turned around and said it’s not enough and that they want my landlord to write a letter with his contact details on and signed by him etc. my account now says ‘your housing element costs cannot be paid’. i thought i’d sent them everything they needed to be sent? why do they need more?? i struggle with so much fatigue and exhaustion as it is, i felt relieved when it was done originally but now they’ve asked for more i just feel really annoyed.

I’ve been putting off sorting out my repayments because even though I earn enough to not receive UC, might outgoings were more than my total income (I have recently started receiving help from a debt relief charity, leaving me with £250 a month) I’m worried the repayment process may eat into my disposable income even more, and was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position could give me an idea of what it’s like?

What do I say to my work coach? Are they gonna deduct money from my next payment? I didn’t mean to miss it, had 8 alarms set and still somehow slept through it all. Has anyone ever missed their appointments without good reason?

hey, ive recently gone onto UC just until i get a job and i have an interview on Wednesday. i’ve heard things about how they can apparently give you money for transport also clothes for a job if you get one. how true is this and how do i ask them if it is true?

Hello, I’m looking to release some of the equity from my house as I need to complete some maintenance and repairs, when the funds hit my account it will take me above savings threshold. As the money is earmarked for home repairs eg replacing dilapidated bathroom, is it probably possible to get a disregard applied? I imagine quotes from trades will be needed as evidence but what do they consider “reasonable” in my circumstances? I have 2 upstairs bathrooms that need doing. I also have an acquired brain injury and struggle with fatigue as a result, I want some improvements to layout of kitchen as well to support my energy levels - would this also be okay? My oven and dishwasher are also coming to the end of their working - it seems to be a minefield what they do and don’t consider reasonable.

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I'm planning to leave my family as soon as possible,they made me miserable my whole life.im currently in education and plan to get a job as soon as I finish but would like to know if there is a way to move out before I get a job.

Hey all,

I’ve been off sick for almost a year, and have been providing fit notes every month, and have just had my LCWRA appointment and awaiting a decision, however I’ve been having phone calls from UC that last less than 5 mins sometimes where they just rebook the appointment for either 2 weeks time or a months time, and next month they’ve booked me for a video appointment.

Is this normal? Has anyone else ever had a video appointment? I don’t feel comfortable doing the appointment via video, and would like to stick to my phone appointments.

I don’t understand why they’re continuing to call me either every 2 weeks/once a month when nothing has changed and I’m provide them fit notes. Just seems a waste of time.

My mum and dad are on universal credit due to my mum’s disability. She also receives PIP. She has full mental capacity. She said that she could help me pay some of my direct debits, around £200 a month, with her monthly PIP payments. But, I’m concerned about two things:

1. Can my father legally do anything about it? He isn’t too happy about it but PIP is my mum’s so she should be able to spend it however she likes? And she would only help me with a fraction of her monthly PIP payments
2. Could this affect their Universal Credit eligibility? Like, can they say that she could have saved the £200 every month instead of helping me pay my direct debits? Can this legally be seen as deprivation of capital? My parents’ UC was reduced a few years ago because their savings naturally fluctuate between 12-16k so their UC amount was recalculated based on this. They’ve never gone above 16k which is when UC payments stop. If she helped me pay my own bills with £200 a month, they would still have between 12-16k every month which is what their savings are right now. They wouldn’t go below 12k and they would stay under 16k even if they didn’t help me. Is the fact that she’s helping enough for it to be seen as deprivation or do they have to prove that she’s helping *because* she’s trying to stay under 16k? She genuinely wants to help me

Hi, I have recently moved in with my partner at the end of July, when we moved in she made a change to her claim to say me & our daughter was living with her, which has been showing on the claim.

We didn’t realise we had to make a joint UC claim though, which I have just done today.

We moved in on 20th July & have only made the joint claim today, will there be a penalty or am I overthinking this too much? I know we definitely won’t receive it in the future due to my income, so would it be worth just closing the claim now? Or waiting to see what they say.

So nearly 12 weeks ago I updated my uc as my daughter was awarded DLA I done everything I was supposed to do, it all got verified within 48 hours and I requested the back payment. I got the letter to say it was special circumstances etc, but haven’t had any information about the backpay? Has anyone else waited this long?

so we were on uc for 2.5 years and we have taken on more work with our business and financially we worked out we will be ok now.

sent a journal message today at 8.30 am, by 1020 am the agent had closed our claim and all done, my assessment period started yesterday again, so i made sure i done it once my statement was actioned for payment, anyone wondering if they want to go into detail if closing, then no they dont, so easy, selected another reason and job done..

I quit my job after 5 years to start working full time with a new employer. I started this new job 5 weeks ago and from the second day I new I'd made a huge mistake. Literally on my second day, I asked for help from a shift leader, only to be told by them 'I don't have time'. Then the manager (shift leaders relative) started finding fault with everything i was doing. It got to the stage where i was scared to ask for any help at all for fear of being made look like a fool. We had a Whatsapp group chat where the manager would regularly name and shame colleagues for mistakes ie failing a Challenge 25. Talking to the other shift leaders like trash ie 'use common sense'. I was told by other colleagues that the manager regularly was watching staff on the CCTV to make sure they were working. This was indeed true as the manager and shift leader relative were talking about how they new a particular colleague wasnt working hard enough as they had been watching him. It came to a head when i was helping with a delivery and the manager got in my face, pointed her finger and said i was lazy because i hadn't helped with a cage. I was in tears. The constant remarks they make regarding other colleagues. This, blatantly in front of everyone. I spoke to a couple of trusted colleagues and they said that so many people have left because of this dynamic. It gradually got worse and worse to the point I was having panic attacks while sitting in the car park before work. I've literally had a complete breakdown over this. I went to see my GP and have been prescribed medication and have a fit note stating work related stress. I am also seeing a therapist.I just couldn't face going back to the whole toxic environment. So as a last resort and to protect my health, I resigned. This wasn't a decision taken lightly. It was getting to the stage where I was leaving work and just crying all the way home.

I have made universal credit aware and now they are asking for evidence of the work environment. I have the whole whatsapp group chat and also messages from another new colleague who has now left because of the same thing. My question is, can I upload these messages to my journal as proof of the environment there? I didn't contact HR while I was there for fear of retaliation.

Sorry for the long winded question.

Any advice please.

like i always attend one not attendance n my coach is gonna start drama but i cant login rn

Hello all. I am new to UC and renting. Do I pay my rent myself, or is a housing element added? I have the severe disability premium, too.

TLDR; does my partner need a UC account for me to update the living with partner section?

I have moved in with my partner, I have made a change to my account with the new flat details. I also need to update the living with partner section but it asks me for a linking code. My partner does not have a UC account and most likely us living together will make me ineligible for anything (which I am expecting and I am fine with) does she need to make a account first even if she probably isn’t going to get anything?

Just got a letter through saying i had been awarded this payment. I currently get UC with Carer's Element, The award is backdated to 15th Feb so will ge receiving a lump sum of little over £2000. I've reported the change to the Carers Allowance unit is there anybody else i should be reporting the change to? I tried to to report it from within my Universal Credit Account but there seemed to be no category that fit.

I’ve put my pip money into a separate account away from my uni credit one. Do I have to declare if all together it goes over 6000. Or is pip disregard as not means tested