Still no credit…

It’s been over a month since I posted about the travails of applying for Universal Credit. Well, the issue still hasn’t been resolved, but, due to confusion surrounding a phone call from Universal Credit (for some reason, despite doing so many times before, they didn’t call my friend’s mobile number), my friend has been told that their payments have been frozen. As their payments have never actually begun, the system still being frozen at the pre-payment stage, it’s not much of a threat. If my friend wasn’t in a money-less limbo, it would be amusing, like the plot of some sitcom. Unfortunately, this is the reality that so many people face.

It does the system no credit at all.

You wouldn’t Credit it…

Over the last few months, I have been helping a friend apply for Universal Credit as they don’t have internet access and possess few computer skills. I had long dreaded, based on what I’d read about it, having anything to do with Universal Credit, but must admit I was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which completing the initial application went. If you need to apply and are worried about the initial step, be reassured it isn’t too difficult.

However, I cannot vouch that you will be happy with the benefit after that as, following the application process, things stalled. A message appeared saying we would be told how much my friend would be getting on a certain date. The date came and went and there was no information on how much benefit my friend would receive. The payment date came and went – nothing. The original message is still there, mocking us, a couple of months on.

A query about payment brought a response that we needed to confirm my friend’s address. No mention of how. A further query elicited the information that we needed to re-enter it. Done, the taunting and out-pof-date message remained and there was still no payment. Further queries yeileded nothing.

Unable to work and self-employed, so unable to be furloughed, my friend is stuck in limbo without any money, with further queries going unanswered. Universal Ceredit is, in my opinion, utterly unfit for purpose – and, I dread the possibility that I might yet end up on it myself.