DAD-OF-FOUR Chris Mann was left with no cash and had to ration gas and electricity at home when his Universal Credit payment didn’t arrive just before Christmas.
The 33-year-old, who works for a home security firm, usually gets £400 a month on average in benefits.
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But when his Universal Credit payments didn’t arrive, Chris, who lives with his wife Helen, 37, in Jarrow, near Newcastle, had to rely on emergency credit on their prepayment meter.
He said: “Christmas and New Year was a very happy time for our children but not for myself and my wife.
“We’ve been worrying for weeks over an issue that isn’t our fault and we needed it corrected before we had to start making excuses to our children as to why we couldn’t put on the heating.”
“I’m at the end of my tether – this has been going on since November.”
The dad is still owed two months’ worth of his Universal Credit allowance and it remains unpaid because his employer failed to report his earnings to HMRC correctly in November 2022.
Chris and his wife Helen from Jarrow were left with just £2 on their electricity meter and £7 on their gas meter over the Christmas period.
And both meters were on emergency credit which means that he was left with no option but to take on debt with his supplier, which will have to be paid back at later date.
He took out an £1,400 advance from his firm, but this was used to pay their rent, council tax and insurance bills.
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Right now, the 33-year-old has £18 left in the bank until his next payday to feed his wife and four children while he waits for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC to sort out his Universal Credit payments.
Universal Credit is usually paid monthly and is based on your circumstances each month.
If you work, how much Universal Credit you get will depend on how much you earn.
Most employers should report your earnings to the HMRC and this data is then shared with the DWP to calculate what you’re owed.
Despite flagging to his employer and the DWP in November that there was an error with his payments, Chris was left without any cash just before the festive period.
Initially, his employer made a mistake and it told HMRC that his earnings were £0 rather than £2,400 in November.
This meant that his Universal Credit payment was £800, which Chris knew was incorrect and would end up paying back a chunk of it to the DWP.
Then in December, his earnings were reported as £4,200 – which was an incorrect figure taking November and December into account.
This triggered a change in the Universal Credit system, wrongly changing his payment to £0.
But Mr Mann had actually earnt £2,400 in the November assessment period and £1,800 in December – which meant that on paper he was still very much entitled to his usual Universal Credit allowance of around £400 a month.
At this point, on December 15 and with Christmas just days away, Mr Mann complained directly to HMRC but to no avail.
In fact, immediate action wasn’t taken until The Sun contacted HMRC on Mr Mann’s behalf on Wednesday, January 4 to get his situation looked at.
A spokesperson for HMRC said: “We are trying to make contact with Mr Mann’s employer so they are fully aware of what needs updating.
“Once his employer has done this the issue can be resolved.”
The HMRC has ensured that Chris Mann’s payments should resume within three working days.
But hundreds of households have posted online about being in similar situations at different points in time.
Sadly if employers don’t report pay dates correctly, those on the benefit could still end up out of pocket.
The problem affects thousands of workers who are paid by their employers more regularly causing their benefits to drop to £0 in some cases.
The Sun has previously called on the government to fix errors in the system, as part of our Make Universal Credit Work campaign.
If you’ve received less Universal Credit than you were expecting or your payments have been hit by unexplained deductions, then you should make a complaint as soon as possible to get the error fixed.
How do I make a complaint?
You can make a complaint to the DWP if you think a mistake has been made with your payment.
You can also complain if there have been unreasonable delays in the Universal Credit process, or if you’ve not been kept informed about any changes made to your case.
You should also complain if you’re not happy about the way you have been treated by the system.
You will need to make a formal complaint about Universal Credit to the DWP either over the phone between 8am and 6pm, online, in person or in writing.
If you have an online Universal Credit account you should call 0800 328 5644.
Letters should be sent to DWP Complaints, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton, WV99 2GY.
Make sure you have the following details at the ready as you will need to provide them when making your complaint. These are:
- National insurance number – unless you’re an employer
- Full name, address and contact numbers
- Which benefit your complaint is about
- What happened, when and how it affected you
- And what you want them to do about it
The DWP will investigate your complaint to see if it has made a mistake.
If it finds an error it will contact you to let you know how they plan to put things right.
In some extreme cases, you may be offered compensation if a mistake has caused you financial hardship or if you’ve been treated unfairly.
If you’re unhappy with the outcome of your complaint or how it was handled then you can ask for it to be referred.
You can do this when you get the initial feedback from your original complaint.
The next stage for those who are unhappy with the results of the investigation is to ask for it to be be passed on to a complaints resolution manger.
Someone from the team will be in contact with you within 15 working days to tell you the outcome or when to expect an answer if they need more time.
How is my Universal Credit calculated?
Universal Credit is paid monthly and is based on your circumstances each month.
This is called your “assessment period” and it starts the day you make your claim.
The Department for Work and Pensions works out how much your household is entitled but this could be affected by deductions or sanctions.
Everyone who is accepted on Universal Credit will be entitled to a Standard Allowance:
- Single and aged under 25: £265.31 per month
- Single and aged 25 or over: £334.91 per month
- Joint claimants both aged under 25: £416.45 per month
- Joint claimants where one is aged 25 or over: £525.72 per month
Once your household allowance is calculated, the DWP will take into account any additional claim elements such as children, housing, or disabilities.
Here’s a list of all the other elements you may be entitled to:
- Child element – up to £290 per month per child plus up to £414.88 per month if your child has a disability
- Childcare costs element – up to £646.35 for one child each month or up to £1,108.04 a month for two or more children
- Housing costs element – can help you pay your rent, or part of it, as well as some service charges
- Disability element – up to £354.28 per month
- Carer element – those caring for a severely disabled person for at least 35 hours a week will get £168.81 a month
How do my earnings reduce my allowance?
If you or your partner are employed, how much Universal Credit you get will depend on how much you earn.
Your Universal Credit payment will reduce as you earn more.
Most employers will report your earnings for you. You will normally only need to report monthly earnings if you’re self-employed.
For every £1 you or your partner earns your payment goes down by 55p.
There’s no limit to how many hours you can work and your Universal Credit does not stop if you work more than 16 hours a week.
You can also earn a certain amount before your Universal Credit is reduced if you or your partner are either:
- Responsible for a child or young person
- Living with a disability or health condition that affects your ability to work
This is called a “work allowance” and you’ll be guaranteed at least £344 a month if you get help with housing costs.
Those that don’t get help with housing costs will get £573 a month without housing costs.
But as you or your partner’s income increases, your payment will reduce until you’re earning enough to no longer claim Universal Credit. Your payment will then be stopped.
You’ll be told when this happens.
If your earnings decrease after this, you can claim Universal Credit again.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]
