A disabled mum whose Universal Credit was cut said the stress of not being able to provide for her family has made her ill. Michelle Radford from Pyle said she noticed a problem in March when her money did not appear in her bank account.
The 55-year-old said she usually gets between £695 and £795 from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) alongside the cash she earns from her jobs cleaning and supervising on a local school bus. However, she was left unable to pay her bills when no money showed up in her account.
A mum to Tianna, 11, Taylor, 22 and Luke, 17, Michelle said she had no choice but to get a loan out to cover her costs, which she will need to pay back at a later date. She said she was informed by the DWP that her money didn't show up because her claim was sanctioned as she did not correctly complete a form. She called out the system for being difficult to use particularly for the elderly and people diagnosed with certain conditions.
