DWP, Universal Credit and means testing

Law and practice Other
1

Dear all, I have arrived back in the UK after an accident at sea and was repatriated to the UK after living abroad for the last 12 years. The accident rendered me homeless and destitute, since the vessel was my home. I am therefore reliant upon the help of the local authority and state for support to get back on my feet. I’d like to to get back to work but the stress of the past two years have taken a terrible toll on my mental health. It seems I am going through the throes of Post traumatic Stress Disorder.

I have been dealing with the Department of Work and Pensions, claiming Universal Credit to sustain me until I can recover. Unfortunately, this January past, they decided to conduct a ‘review’ of my claim, saying it was a routine exercise. They demanded photo ID and three months’ bank statements from me. I gave them the ID but refused the statements as I feel it is an unwarranted intrusion into my life. I was happy to give them a first page copy of a statement, with headings etc and showing final current balance, but I feel aggrieved to provide further information and my mental state makes it extremely difficult to deal with these people.

The department have therefore cut me off from funding. Leaving me destitute.

In anger I have blocked the DWP from contacting me as I cannot cope with their demanding attitudes.

I have claimed social security payments but I now hear that in order to receive those I must have Universal Credit

this is taking a huge toll on my health and apart from managing to get hold of a foodbank parcel, I am starving to death and will soon be without electricity.
frankly, I find this an inhumane way to treat citizens.

Can someone help?

Post Script. When claiming Universal Credit, I signed a legal declaration that my circumstances were within the remit of the benefit. Why they feel a need to suddenly pry into my life is the problem. I feel it is an intrusion into my personal financial activities (lifestyle). Not that I have anything to hid, it’s the principle and the attitude of entitlement to my personal documents that aggrieves me. As far as I’m concerned, only a court order should make me give up such information. I feel I am being extorted to surrender my personal information by government.

2

Sorry to read your circumstances but didn’t your insurance company pay out to replace your home/vessel??

Why fail to provide statements when you are asking for benefits?? It is not an intrusion at all. This is to make sure you have not got a secret stash of a lottery win that you transferred out, to show destitution for the time being and are trying to defraud the Public’s money,

Not sure this page is the right medium for you to get assistance. I would recommend the Citizens Advice Bureau and charity MIND

3

Hi Dave and thanks for your response.
No to the insurance situation. The circumstances were that my ex partner was supposed to be with me as crew, she managed the boat accounts and left me in a situation where I had no choice but to handle the boat alone and leave Canada. Altogether a screwed up situation. Turns out she wasn’t paying the insurance. Ces’t la vie.

I object because it’s intrusive and i have already made a legal declaration as to my circumstances. They were already paying me benefit for six months and this came out of the blue at a time when I was suffering the worst of the trauma response.

I ‘get’ that we don’t want fraud in the benefits system, but they KNOW my unusual circumstances and state of health. This sudden arbitrary change of attitude when the declaration stands and there no accusation of impropriety is unwarranted. It seems just willfully difficult. And the worse of it is that they deal within these things by phone… all off the record. So that smacks of a wilfull targetting. Especially when others i know who claim the same benefit have not heard of any “review.”