Universal Credit

[jonah hart]

Hi I'm not sure where to post this, so hope it's OK here.
Im self employed on a low income (400 a month) so claim universal credit.
They've told me today that it's my choice to earn so little so they're going to continue to reduce my monthly payments.
I explained that I'm trying my hardest to get another job as well as the job I'm doing now.
Basically they've said to pack my job that I've worked so hard on for 15 years and told me to claim full universal credit.
surely this can't be right, any advice on this please?

[fiction-factory]

I think I've heard of this before. It may depend on terminology but I can understand them being sceptical about a self employed person running a business paying themselves a low wage if there is a lot of money being credited to the business. Not sure if that's the case here

[jonah hart]

When i started 15 years ago buisness was a lot better, never fantastic but i love it, (it's beauty therapy) then my husband and I split and that's when I had to claim universal credit.
I know I need to find more work but it's harder than I ever imagined.
And I know universal credit's are responsible for my circumstances.
It'll be so sad to let go of something that really is all I've ever know.
Thankyou for your reply

[jonah hart]

*aren't* i mean

[fiction-factory]

Is the £400 a month yo pay yourself the amount of your total takings or is it a wage you pay yourself every month, regardless of business
takings, with the rest of any takings being put into the business to pay business expenses/profit?

[EDDIE51]

Go to the CAB and make an appointment to talk to a benefits adviser .
They are VERY good and know the system inside out. The advisor will make an application or an appeal on your behalf. They are much better at it than you doing it yourself. For example my wife was refused disability benefit 3 times when we did the application ourselves. Then we got a CAB advisor to do it, this time she was awarded the full benefit within just 5 days and it was backdated 6 months!

[jonah hart]

400 is literally what i earn, in the beginning there was a business account and a profit being made, these last few years have slowed so much, but the loyalty of the clients I have, have kept me going.
I know it's my own responsibility to bring my own money in, it'll just be so sad to finish what I love x

Thankyou Eddie yes I will call the cab, I would never have thought to call them x

[EDDIE51]

Do it as soon as possible. The CAB advisors are so good they can be booked up for weeks in advance, we had to wait 5 weeks to get an appointment. But it is worth it, the CAB have direct access phone lines to the Benefit agencies that are not available to the general public.
I first tried to get through on the phone to the Benefit center but could not get through even after an hour. The CAB got straight on to the benefit agency manager in 30 seconds!
I have said this on AB previously , but other AB members suggested I was lying and there were no such direct lines. But eventually another AB member confirmed that the CAB really do have special direct access phone numbers.
(It would make their job impossible if they had to wait in the public telephone queue for hours on end)