Family confused by Universal Credit gain £1.6K extra a month after contacting TPO Benefits Advice Centre

A dad-of-five confused by tax and Universal Credit has been helped to gain an extra £1.6K a month to support his family. Self-employed barber Shahid Qurbani contacted The People’s Orchestra’s(TPO) Benefits Advice Centre after a letter arrived about his tax.

Shahid has spent over 15 years working as a barber so didn’t understand the benefits system.  When the government wrote a letter saying his tax credits were ending and he’d need to make a claim for Universal Credit, he was left confused and worried.

That’s when Shahid got in touch the TPO for a benefit check.

Run by expert Imran Tarajia, who spent 20 years at the Department for Work and Pensions before joining the TPO, it offers friendly support on how to make a suitable and successful claim. That ranges from PIP to Universal Credit.

It’s already providing a financial lifeline to many residents. The benefit advice team’s work over just three months managed to secure back payments of over £20,000 for claimants who have contacted them. On top of that, they secured ongoing monthly payments of just over £6,000 for those most in need.

When it came to Shahid, Imran explained how the TPO gave support. “We discussed Universal Credit(UC) regulations and how Shahid’s earnings from self-employment would affect his UC payments,” said Imran.

“Looking at his first statement for UC, I noticed he had a benefit cap applied to his claim which reduced the amount of benefits he was able to claim.

“We looked at ways to increase his earnings from his self-employment and made recommendations so that his income and expenses where above the £800 limit to avoid the benefit cap being imposed on his joint claim.”

Shahid was encouraged to re-report his income and expenses with the changes, which led to the household receiving increased monthly award of £1621 in Universal Credit.

Of the residents the TPO has been assisting with benefits to date, 69% of them have either had an increase in their monthly benefits or a back payment following our recommendations.

The remaining 31% are awaiting a decision following a new application for benefits.

If you need support with a benefits claim, send a message through the TPO’s Benefits Advice Centre Facebook page or contact Imran by emailing: [email protected].