Joanne Davis, 37, whose husband left her earlier this year, has been living a “nightmare” trying to claim for the new benefits system.
The mum-of-two, who has long-term health conditions including MS, OCD and depression had waited five for her benefits money to come through after making a claim – and has been threatened with eviction too.
She told The Sun Online: “I couldn’t even afford a loaf of bread this week – my family had to give me money and cook for us.
“It was my daughter’s birthday and I had to borrow the £50 she was given.
“I feel so guilty, I haven’t got another option.”
Joanne, who can’t walk far because of her illnesses, has had to go down to her job centre several times to provide reams of proof before she got help – and has to beg for lifts from family and friends to get there.
Her husband previously sorted out her finances, but has now moved out of their family home leaving her and their two kids Hannah, 6, and Zoe, 9, behind.
Joanne, who lives in the West Midlands is just one of hundreds of Brits who say that going onto Universal Credit has pushed them into debt.
In last month’s Budget the Chancellor announced a raft of measures to help ease their struggle – but they won’t come in for months.
New DWP Secretary Amber Rudd has vowed to “fix” the problems with the flagship benefits system, which rolls six payments into one.
Last week she even hinted she could slash the five week wait down to try and help those who are desperate waiting for their first payment.
Joanne’s got letters and phonecalls saying she is almost £400 in debt on her rent alone – and could face eviction from her house if she doesn’t pay soon.
She opted for a £100 advance to help her while she waited, but soon struggled with making ends meet.
“I’m struggling to pay for anything including food for my girls,” she added.
“I’ve been worried to death, I haven’t had anything to eat some days.
“I’ve been going around to my family to get good – it makes me feel so bad.
“Dad paid for us all to come over with a taxi so we could have a meal.”
After waiting five weeks for her benefits to come through, she is now set to get around £1000 a month from UC – and her PIP disability payments are paid on top of
that, which should ease the burden on her.
But it was the “huge struggle” to wait for it all to come through which really put a strain on the family, she said.
Joanne’s former partner used to do everything beforehand for her, adding: “I never really did any shopping – or even had a bank account.”
She’s slashed her bills to the minimum amount she feels is possible but still is struggling to pay the bills.
“Universal Credit has been a nightmare, the benefits system should have been left how it is,” she added.
“It’s caused me so much trouble and stress.”
A DWP spokeswoman said: “We offer advances of up to 100% of the first Universal Credit payment to help people who need extra support, and we’ve announced a £39m partnership with Citizens Advice to support vulnerable people with their claims.
“Other benefits, such as Personal Independence Payments, are available for people with mental and physical health conditions to help with additional costs.”
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