Unable to manage your Universal Credit claim by yourself

If you need help to manage your claim

If you’re having difficulty managing your claim, you can speak to your work coach who can help you arrange for someone else to manage your claim.

Depending on what your needs are, this could be:

• a representative – you can ask another person or organisation to deal with your claim for you
• an appointee – you can ask a friend, relative or organisation
• Power of attorney – you can appoint a friend, a relative or professional person

Help from a representative

If you can’t find the information you need, or you need help to understand things about your claim, you can ask another person or organisation to deal with your Universal Credit claim for you. That person or organisation would be your ‘representative’.

You can tell Universal Credit about your representative through your Universal Credit online account, face to face at your local Jobs & Benefits office or by phoning the Universal Credit Service Centre at any time during your Universal Credit claim.

Messages to your online account will be answered as soon as possible during business hours.

Sharing your information with your representative

• you must give your permission before your information can be shared with a representative
• you can withdraw your permission at any time
• your permission only lasts until the specific request is completed or until the end of the Assessment Period after the one when you gave your permission

Universal Credit will never give your representative the following information, even if you have given permission.

• your address
• your date of birth
• your National Insurance number
• your bank details (sort code, account number, account holder name)
• your phone numbers
• the names of people who live in your home
• the names of your employers or former employers

An appointee

If you can’t manage your own affairs, another person or organisation – referred to as an appointee – can ask to deal with your Universal Credit claim for you.

This could be a friend or relative, or an organisation or representative of an organisation (for example, a solicitor, Health and Social Care Trust or nursing home).  For more information, phone the Universal Credit Service Centre.

Power of attorney

If you can’t manage your own affairs you can appoint a friend, relative or professional to have ‘power of attorney’ to allow them to act for you.

They will be able to look after your Universal Credit claim for you. For more information see managing your affairs and enduring power of attorney.