A woman on Universal Credit says she is left with just £143 to live on and can only afford to eat two or three meals a week because of automatic deductions being taken from her benefits. River Olivia Rose is one of millions of people having their benefits automatically deducted to pay off debts.
River, 41, has been claiming Universal Credit for 18 months and her allowance should be £324.84 a month. However she says she has never received this full amount due to deductions.
She told the Mirror she receives between £90 and £260, with the amount fluctuating each month. The deductions are linked to an advance loan she took when she first signed up to the six-in-one benefit to cover the five week wait for her first payment.
