‘A diamond’ – Success story of the month – Peter’s client

A client who had been left upset and confused about her switch to Universal Credit described Peter in our Help To Claim team as a “diamond”.

The client had been receiving Child Tax Credit but had received a migration letter saying she had to move to Universal Credit.

The client had a bad experience with Child Tax Credit – having had to pay back overpayments. She had wanted to close her claim rather than go onto Universal Credit, as she was also intending to increase her hours at work.

But she had been left “really upset” after phoning HMRC to query her case.

She later called the Help To Claim service and spoke to our Adviser Peter – who was able to tell her she would have no entitlement to Universal Credit even before taking on more hours at work.

As a result, she had the information she needed to feel confident in closing the claim.

The client is a UK citizen but her husband is a foreign national and currently has no recourse to public funds (NRPF).

Peter also advised her that her husband should add a note to his Universal Credit journal to say he had NRPF and was providing information only for the joint claim.

This is important as his immigration status could be affected if the Government believed he was trying to claim benefits he was not entitled to.

‘Peter is a diamond’

The client said: “Peter reassured me – told me everything I needed to know. He went through everything step by step.

“I was really worried – I spoke to the Child Tax Credit people and the gentleman on the phone had really upset me.

“I did not really want Universal Credit in the first place, but was told by the Child Tax Credit people I had to [make the change].

“Peter was absolutely amazing. I left the phone call feeling wonderful.

“He even phoned me back again after the call to tell me I had to confirm about my husband – or it could affect his immigration status. I wouldn’t have known. Peter is a diamond.”