Universal credit is a shambles

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FlammableFlower
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by FlammableFlower » Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:48 pm

plodder wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 10:33 am
Well, OK, you're right to the extent that there have been loads of issues that still haven't been dealt with, and you're also right to criticise this.

I'm only pointing out that it's impossible to have a perfect plan. So then there's a matter of judgement and imperfection about when to start something up, which will often contain elements of expediency.
You'd also hope that if they'd identified particular problems - such as rent arrears and evictions - then they might have also thought up a temporary fix for it that could be in place until the system settled down.

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discovolante
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by discovolante » Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:50 pm

Like getting rid of the 5 week waiting period? That one, that everyone has known about for ages and is deliberately built into the system? There is nothing to 'settle down' as far as that policy is concerned.
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plodder
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by plodder » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:01 pm

discovolante wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 1:50 pm
Like getting rid of the 5 week waiting period? That one, that everyone has known about for ages and is deliberately built into the system? There is nothing to 'settle down' as far as that policy is concerned.
Well, OK, it was originally 6 weeks with no interim advance payments, and it's been reduced to 5 with interim loans in an attempt to improve things. So they have, in some ways, responded to need here.

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/c ... /33603.htm

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Brightonian
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Brightonian » Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:31 pm

discovolante wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:53 am
I've been waiting for a time to post this with more detail but it ain't happening so here's a link to a Scottish government report on welfare reform. Note that rent arrears had increased by an average of 14.1% in UC areas compared with 4.1% in non-UC areas.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housi ... re-reform/
I've a friend on UC who had been in severe rent arrears so I lent him £1500. Against my own better judgment perhaps, but he was apparently about to be kicked out onto the streets imminently and he's 63 and without going into details is a bit vulnerable in some ways. He's highly intelligent (though doesn't know how to use the Internet), and pretty politically aware, so I didn't push particular avenues of further help/advice other than suggesting his MP and Citizens' Advice (and being clueless myself). He thanked me profusely for getting him out of the rent arrears hole, then told me he's since gone to the Salvation Army for advice. Not really sure how the Sally Army can help, and I have a feeling I'll have to have a serious talk with him as I can't pay his rent forever.

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discovolante
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by discovolante » Thu Feb 13, 2020 5:52 pm

Brightonian wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 2:31 pm
discovolante wrote:
Thu Feb 13, 2020 9:53 am
I've been waiting for a time to post this with more detail but it ain't happening so here's a link to a Scottish government report on welfare reform. Note that rent arrears had increased by an average of 14.1% in UC areas compared with 4.1% in non-UC areas.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/housi ... re-reform/
I've a friend on UC who had been in severe rent arrears so I lent him £1500. Against my own better judgment perhaps, but he was apparently about to be kicked out onto the streets imminently and he's 63 and without going into details is a bit vulnerable in some ways. He's highly intelligent (though doesn't know how to use the Internet), and pretty politically aware, so I didn't push particular avenues of further help/advice other than suggesting his MP and Citizens' Advice (and being clueless myself). He thanked me profusely for getting him out of the rent arrears hole, then told me he's since gone to the Salvation Army for advice. Not really sure how the Sally Army can help, and I have a feeling I'll have to have a serious talk with him as I can't pay his rent forever.
If they do right they could try and refer him somewhere else and get him connected. To be honest, his prospects of getting help are fairly highly dependent on where in the country he is. I'm happy to see if I can help out with pointers in the right direction but can't say I will necessarily know much more than you, it often depends on local knowledge :?

I might try and respond to the other stuff over the weekend, maybe. But suffice to say that a reduction from 6 week to 5 (when the premise for making it 6 weeks in the first place is entirely flawed) and insufficient loans which eat into people's meagre spending money once they finally do get it is pretty paltry.
To defy the laws of tradition is a crusade only of the brave.

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Fishnut
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Fishnut » Thu Feb 13, 2020 8:50 pm

I went to a talk by our local food bank the other week. I didn't realise until I saw the poster for the talk that we even had a local foodbank but it turns out that it's been running since 2013. My town is one of the least deprived in the county. We have the top two least deprived wards in the county and the other two aren't doing badly either. We are an affluent town and yet we not only have a food bank but it's in high demand. Just in the first 6 weeks of this year they've helped 60 people. They're only open 2 hours a week!! And one of the big causes of people needing help is switching to universal credit. There were a multitude of reasons given but the main ones I remember are,
  • benefits were paid weekly while UC is monthly, so people who aren't used to budgeting on a monthly basis are really struggling
  • rent is no longer paid directly to the landlord but to the tenant which means they are responsible for paying. And while encouraging personal responsibility is a good thing, if you're not used to seeing your bank balance in credit by such a large amount it can be difficult to handle it sensibly
  • this has led to landlords being reluctant to take on tenants who are on benefits, so people are facing higher rates of homelessness
  • the length of time that it takes to switch from their old benefits to UC leaving people without any money
It really shocked me how in demand the food bank was. If our food bank is in such high demand how are other less affluent areas coping? (Answer, they're probably not). Every time I go into Bristol it seems there's more and more homelessness. I swear it's worse than the 90s. We are a rich country, why do we have people living on the streets and unable to afford to feed themselves? That's not all down to a lack of personal responsibility, that's a sign something in our society is seriously broken.
it's okay to say "I don't know"

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Stranger Mouse
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Stranger Mouse » Mon May 24, 2021 5:08 pm

Ok I’m going to ask for advice but it all seems a bit bizarre.

I’ve been caring for someone for the last few year - living initally off some savings and then basically being subsidised by the caree and keeping my outgoings very low. No fun for me :D

I want to find a job so (without recent NI contributions) applied for UC to help me get some bus money etc (what would have been jobseekers in the old days) and get some help with CV etc.

They set me up with a Jasper Aptem adviser who was going to call and help with the CV. Alarm bells went off when they initially rang. The line went dead within the first minute so I immediately returned the call. The line then went dead within a few seconds. On the third occasion (again immediately) I was told that they had tried to contact me three times (bollocks) and returned my file to the Jobcentre Plus. I managed to get them to recall it and make a phone appointment for the CV thing.

When they phoned for the appointment I cocked up the second security question * - instead of saying they couldn’t deal with it at that time they said I would have to start my application from scratch with the job centre. Surely I can’t be the only person who has done this?

Errr. Any ideas?


* I have to make up answers for most security questions because I don’t go on holiday, never had a pet ( :cry: ) don’t have a partner, don’t have a favourite colour etc. In this case I did a brain fart and forgot one of my fictitious answers but there was no option to get round this
I’ve decided I should be on the pardon list if that’s still in the works

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discovolante
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by discovolante » Mon May 24, 2021 5:34 pm

I don't know, but speak to a CAB or local council benefit service to see if they know anyone who has operational knowledge of how the system works (it can be hit and miss, there are some people who know the system inside out and some who don't, unfortunately). There are all sorts of weird things that happen, like if you make a claim that ends, and need to make a new one but have forgotten certain login credentials, they say you need to create a new claim with a new email address because they can't create a new password or number or whatever. Not entirely sure how lawful all that is tbh but if nobody here knows the answer a specialist might be able to help you. Hopefully someone here is a bit more clued up than me though.
To defy the laws of tradition is a crusade only of the brave.

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Stranger Mouse
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Stranger Mouse » Mon May 24, 2021 5:45 pm

discovolante wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 5:34 pm
I don't know, but speak to a CAB or local council benefit service to see if they know anyone who has operational knowledge of how the system works (it can be hit and miss, there are some people who know the system inside out and some who don't, unfortunately). There are all sorts of weird things that happen, like if you make a claim that ends, and need to make a new one but have forgotten certain login credentials, they say you need to create a new claim with a new email address because they can't create a new password or number or whatever. Not entirely sure how lawful all that is tbh but if nobody here knows the answer a specialist might be able to help you. Hopefully someone here is a bit more clued up than me though.

Thanks Disco

I’ve always taken with a pinch of salt the claims that they try to demoralise you into giving up but that seems a lot less far fetched now
I’ve decided I should be on the pardon list if that’s still in the works

Hunting Dog
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Hunting Dog » Mon May 24, 2021 6:14 pm

Stranger Mouse wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 5:08 pm

* I have to make up answers for most security questions because I don’t go on holiday, never had a pet ( :cry: ) don’t have a partner, don’t have a favourite colour etc. In this case I did a brain fart and forgot one of my fictitious answers but there was no option to get round this
Off topic, and possibly not exceptionally security conscious advice, but I write down at least some aids to memory for security questions for sites where I have to give them, as I have issues with most questions:

First Pet; one of the two guinea pigs I had as a child? or one of the two cats I first had as an adult? or first single cat after them which is the one I tend to remember?
Elementary School; which of its 3 possible names/re-names do I think I gave it?
Mother's Maiden Name; yeah, fine if spoken but there are a few different ways with gaps/caps it can be written...
etc for most of them. And people do tend to assume you're stupid/trying to hack something when you can't remember.

Plus also for non-critical sites like Facebook I tend to lie slightly about date of birth because I don't want to give them all the real info, so I managed initially to lock myself out of a few accounts because I couldn't remember when I was born!

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Fishnut
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Fishnut » Mon May 24, 2021 6:18 pm

Hunting Dog wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 6:14 pm
Stranger Mouse wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 5:08 pm

* I have to make up answers for most security questions because I don’t go on holiday, never had a pet ( :cry: ) don’t have a partner, don’t have a favourite colour etc. In this case I did a brain fart and forgot one of my fictitious answers but there was no option to get round this
Off topic, and possibly not exceptionally security conscious advice, but I write down at least some aids to memory for security questions for sites where I have to give them, as I have issues with most questions:

First Pet; one of the two guinea pigs I had as a child? or one of the two cats I first had as an adult? or first single cat after them which is the one I tend to remember?
Elementary School; which of its 3 possible names/re-names do I think I gave it?
Mother's Maiden Name; yeah, fine if spoken but there are a few different ways with gaps/caps it can be written...
etc for most of them. And people do tend to assume you're stupid/trying to hack something when you can't remember.

Plus also for non-critical sites like Facebook I tend to lie slightly about date of birth because I don't want to give them all the real info, so I managed initially to lock myself out of a few accounts because I couldn't remember when I was born!
I refuse to give the correct answers to these questions as they are often easily answerable by people other than me which seems to render them rather insecure. Instead I pick questions I have no answer to, pick a random word as my answer then record it in my password manager.
it's okay to say "I don't know"

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Stranger Mouse
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Stranger Mouse » Mon May 24, 2021 7:55 pm

I think I was given the option of putting in mother’s maiden name but the site looked like it was designed by a 12 year old so I didn’t want to risk hacking. Then when the problem arose I was f.cked.

I can’t believe it meant that a human being decided as a result that the entire closed down with no f.cking leeway
I’ve decided I should be on the pardon list if that’s still in the works

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Fishnut
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Fishnut » Mon May 24, 2021 8:27 pm

Stranger Mouse wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 7:55 pm
I think I was given the option of putting in mother’s maiden name but the site looked like it was designed by a 12 year old so I didn’t want to risk hacking. Then when the problem arose I was f.cked.

I can’t believe it meant that a human being decided as a result that the entire closed down with no f.cking leeway
I think "human being" is be being generous to the demons who are behind Universal Credit
it's okay to say "I don't know"

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Cardinal Fang
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Re: Universal credit is a shambles

Post by Cardinal Fang » Wed May 26, 2021 7:51 pm

Hunting Dog wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 6:14 pm
Stranger Mouse wrote:
Mon May 24, 2021 5:08 pm

* I have to make up answers for most security questions because I don’t go on holiday, never had a pet ( :cry: ) don’t have a partner, don’t have a favourite colour etc. In this case I did a brain fart and forgot one of my fictitious answers but there was no option to get round this
Off topic, and possibly not exceptionally security conscious advice, but I write down at least some aids to memory for security questions for sites where I have to give them, as I have issues with most questions:

First Pet; one of the two guinea pigs I had as a child? or one of the two cats I first had as an adult? or first single cat after them which is the one I tend to remember?
Elementary School; which of its 3 possible names/re-names do I think I gave it?
Mother's Maiden Name; yeah, fine if spoken but there are a few different ways with gaps/caps it can be written...
etc for most of them. And people do tend to assume you're stupid/trying to hack something when you can't remember.

Plus also for non-critical sites like Facebook I tend to lie slightly about date of birth because I don't want to give them all the real info, so I managed initially to lock myself out of a few accounts because I couldn't remember when I was born!
Use a password vault like Keepass to write down the answers you gave, especially if you made them up.

I also give a fake birthday for things, so I've long since opted for 1st April then the correct year. Pick a "holiday" date or one you'd remember because of something else

With pets I give a fake name I know I'll remember, even though I can remember the name on my 1st pet. Headline character from your favourite movie perhaps, or character in your favourite book (I know sibling always uses "Heathcliff" for example). It's because I'm a bit paranoid that if someone really wanted to hack my accounts, then I suspect it would be easier to find out someone's first pet that people might be prepared to admit

CF

CF
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