WTC migration to UC - questions re transitional protection & stopping UC

Hi Chris

Yes, I fully agree. If none of us needed this assistance to deal with our medical conditions, then I'm sure we wouldn't apply. It is like the DWP/govt deliberately want to make it too hard for people to get assistance. It defeats the purpose of assistance/social security. Most of us can barely cope with life as it is, let alone having to go through all of this nonsense for some much needed financial help. I think it's atrocious!

I live in hope that I'm wrong and things may change for the better, but I'm fairly sure Labour don't object to the government automatically being given our banking information (by the banks) and they haven't indicated they will reverse or plan to change that policy. Also my MP was the former shadow secretary for work and pensions, but now it's changed to Liz Kendall and she seems much 'harsher' in her approach to reforming the welfare state. Like I say, I live in hope she won't simply continue in this vein but I get the general impression they will :/

Hi Wendy,

Thanks so much for your post, and it's great to hear from someone in the same - sinking - boat Like yourself I'd resigned myself to accepting the end of the wonderful tax credit system. I didn't even need to apply/do much to apply, from what I remember! I think all I did was make a phone call. It has been a lifesaver, I agree. I just didn't realise what a faff UC would be/was and how intrusive it is. I feel really sorry for those who absolutely need it and have had to fight endlessly to get it like Chris. It's appalling.

I also used the entitledto calculator yesterday, it told me the TP amount I would get, and basically TP would be making up the bulk of the claim because under UC I'm entitled to £15 a month or something silly. Confusingly it also says that TP only applies in the first month. I guess it will apply to savings above £16K for 12 months but after the first month, they are allowed to harangue you for work assessments/health assessments and reduce your amount accordingly, if they wish.

I'm in two minds to apply for UC. It would only be for 12 months but if they start to hassle me to complete further work assessments I will just let it go before the 12 months is up. It's clear they want to find a reason not to pay you the TP/WTC amount you were getting prior to migration. If I do apply I'll post here and let others know my experience and if the TP did indeed last the full 12 months or not Honestly, what a joke this system is.

Thanks again for your input Wendy, and Chris, Gordon and dancer22

Hello MDBond,

I totally agree with everything you've said - I, too, remember the phone call I made to enquire whether we'd be able to claim Tax Credits and could hardly believe it when I was told we could - we'd never been entitled to anything before. I also remember calling the "Benefit Enquiry Line" (set up by the Labour government) to apply for DLA for my son and speaking to an adviser who was actually being paid to help people claim benefits, as opposed to trying to thwart all their attempts! Obviously, the Coalition government abolished this as soon as they manipulated their way to power.

We've decided not to bother with so-called "Universal" Credit, a benefit that seems to be anything but "universal". I really feel for anyone who desperately needs this help, but for us, the time spent complying with all the demands re meetings with a work coach, etc., is time we could spend actually working! I guess this is probably the whole point when the money you might receive (even with transitional protection) is not worth the effort. Tax Credits helped us enormously through difficult times when we really needed this help and I will always be grateful to Gordon Brown (my personal political hero), who really seemed to have sympathy with the lives of ordinary people.

However, I still don't understand why any government would choose to penalise people who, like Chris, have tried to make provision for themselves and have been unlucky enough to suffer ill-health. The unfairness of it all makes my blood boil!

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you the rest of the rant!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and let us all know how you get on.

Best wishes,

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I just thought I'd update you, and anyone else who may be interested, that I've decided it would be a mistake to go onto UC, so like you, I won't be applying. I want to thank everyone who posted here as if I hadn't known how intensive/difficult/contradictory the UC process was, I would have stepped into another mess that would have taken up a significant amount of time to deal with.

Briefly, as Wendy says, it would not have been worth the time and effort to apply for UC as the TP only really lasts for a month. It's totally misleading and I feel deliberately so, to tell applicants the TP lasts for 12 months. I really think the DWP need to change this immediately because it's not true. I'm sure that after the first month, they will find reasons - and yes I believe dancer22 and Chris are right about the savings from £6-16K deduction - to reduce your payment significantly until it is zero. I just don't see the point in going through all that when I could be spending what time I can either working or battling with this ongoing PIP appeal. The 'rewards' of only a month of your usual WTC amount seem to not be worth it.

Also I'm convinced that the DWP would try and use whatever info I enter into this UC claim against me in any further PIP appeal. So better for me to leave it for that reason, too.

I will bid a fond farewell to Working Tax Credits next week, and hope that they or some similarly easy and truly universal social security scheme, may make a return in the future

Thanks again to all for your advice, I've saved myself from another fiasco