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Going through months of hell with managed migration

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3 months 5 days ago #298085 by Woody95
We are currently being migrated from WTC with disability to UC (mixed age couple) .

For the last 4 months it's been a complete nightmare. The stress is making our health conditions worse and my partner is on the edge of having a breakdown because of all the pressure they are putting on us. We are broken by this process and have no idea of any rights we have. We've done everything as advised by Citizens Advice at the beginning but it's constant pressure from the UC people that's not helping.

We can't safely attend face-to-face interviews as my partner is immuno-suppressed, he also struggles with phone calls and we think this may be disability discrimination by the UC team (I appreciate this may not be intentional). We both had to prove ID even though we have been at our home for almost 20 years and have tax returns and other official communications by post. This was done online then he was asked to attend the job centre for face-to-face ID, eventually they agreed to a home visit.

It's been horrendous and a situation we have been forced into.

I put in a claim for PIP, my partner put in a claim for Attendance Allowance prior to migration date as advised by Citizens Advice, we are awaiting decisions on both applications.

My partner took his pension just after migration date (as advised by Citizens Advice) so he's now retired but the UC migration team still want him to prove his minimum income etc.

I am my partner's carer so I was classed as carer primary role but I will continue working (I'm self-employed and work from home)

They want me to do face to face interviews at the Jobcentre to prove my work commitments etc but it's too risky as I have several chronic health issues as I risk taking viruses home and infecting my partner. They offered a private room but I would still have to be in a crowded waiting area & flu, Covid etc are on the rise in our area.

These are to prove my work/income etc but this can be done online. I had a telephone appointment yesterday and I asked if it was just our claim that's so complicated by red tape or is it everyone's, the lady told me it was all cases.

I have Crohn's Disease, Fibromyalgia, Long Covid, Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, stage 2 chronic kidney disease, gynae issues

My partner has Ulcerative Colitis, Osteoporosis, Nerve/vertebrae damage to his spine and brain damage caused by prescribed overmedication of Ativan many years ago which damaged the neurotransmitters in his brain so he struggles with the pressure the UC claim is putting on him and he's heading for a breakdown. He is also hospital phobic due to this and has several medical procedures coming up which are adding to the stress.

Our conditions are all made worse by stress and we are both showing signs of Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis flare-ups.
We have just written to our MP for help as we are going under with the pressure.

We have always worked but this has been curtailed over the last few months as we have been forced to waste so much time on the UC claim when everything they need to know is easily available to them. We have limited energy due to our health which we are wasting on all the red tape. We understand we have to go through the migration to get protected status for a year but as we are hopefully transferring to PIP and Attendance Allowance & my partner has retired it's an awful system. I have read that a number of people have committed suicide because of this process and I can well understand why. It's a nightmare

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3 months 5 days ago #298113 by David
Hi Woody95,

I am sorry to hear about the very stressful situation the DWP has put you in.
You have had a home visit from a DWP Visiting Officer so all ID should have been verified then. As for UC Commitments they can been agreed over the phone as other members of this forum have reported.
What other proof of income are they requesting? Why can't it be uploaded to the UC account? If not, as you were previously eligible for a home visit you could insist on a second because of the seriousness of you and your partner's health conditions.
Let me know how you get on.

David

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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