A former NHS worker from Gateshead lived on vegetable juice and refused to use his oven after experiencing cuts to his benefits, as Chronicle Live reports. However, Errol Livingstone successfully won an appeal to get his money back, although that didn’t stop him hitting out at the Job Centre for docking his Universal Credit and making the whole process arduous.
From his monthly payment of £319.84, the 57-year-old lost £11 per day for eight days - resulting in an overall loss of £88. The 57-year-old claimed this shortfall caused him great hardship at a time when the cost of living crisis was straining his budget even before the sanction.
Errol previously revealed to Chronicle Live how he has, at times, lived on cartons of pure vegetable juice, fresh orange juice and fruit. He also detailed how he has taken food from his elderly mother, while often scouring the supermarket shelves for reduced items.
While he was pleased when his appeal was upheld, Errol was left disappointed by a lack of apology from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for what he considers to be their mistake. He said: "At the end of the day, I didn't do anything wrong, so they should not have taken the money away from me in the first place."
The cuts were imposed due to his absence from attending a course about interview techniques, although he was under the impression he didn’t have to attend courtesy of his experience in recruitment. After later being told he should have been there, Errol slammed the whole process: "The sanctions don't give you any right to reply or respond to the accusations, they are just imposed on you.
"I go on my Universal Credit journal every day and one day I noticed that the sanction had been imposed. There's no communication or no way you can defend yourself. It's an awful system.
“I appealed and then noticed some weeks later that there was an update that my appeal had been upheld and the money would be repaid. There was no apology or explanation.”
Errol continued: "I had to get a short-term loan to tide me over, which I will have to pay back through my Universal Credit. I was already struggling to pay my bills and buy food on the full amount. Sometimes I feel like giving up.
"It's not right. I feel they are always making excuses to take the money away from me. I have lost trust with them.
“There are different levels of sanctions they can impose on you and it's really quite easy to lose your money altogether, again without any means to dispute their decision. I'm pleased my complaint was upheld and I got my money back, but I had to wait quite some time to get the money back and I am annoyed the DWP has not apologised for their error."
Although he owns his own property, Errol admitted to struggling to pay for all of his bills, including water, phone and building insurance. As a result, he cut his usage of everyday household items, including his oven, to reduce his gas and electricity bill, generally buying ready-cooked food where possible.
"I don't think the Government has got an understanding of what it's all about and what it's like to survive,” he added. “They haven't got a clue what people have to go through if they lose a job or they are made redundant.
“They're not helping people at all, they are making it worse all the time. I don't think they understand the extent of how people are living.
"They have counters in Tesco which have reduced items and the first thing I look at is how long does it take to cook. I find there's more and more people waiting around the reduced shelves and sometimes you can't even get to the shelf because there's too many people."
Errol has argued that claiming Universal Credit is more stressful than his job as an NHS calls handler during the Covid-19 pandemic. He continued: "When I worked for the NHS I was helping people and it was very, very difficult because people were dying.
“I spent two-and-a-half years doing that and I was taking over 100 calls a day. Because of all the stress I burnt out and I had to go to see my doctor. Despite that, I feel signing on to Universal Credit is the most stressful thing I have ever taken on and I feel this Government is to blame.
"I feel the whole situation now is depressing - it's diabolical and it's managed poorly. The people at the top are not helping. It's like they have forgotten the people who are really vulnerable.
“Your desperation causes more stress and anxiety and it starts to affect the way you do everyday things. It gives you less incentive to participate with the rest of the community. I feel useless, I don't feel they are helping me at all. I feel they are making me worse."
A spokesman from the DWP said: "Sanctions are only used in a small number of cases. If a claimant disagrees with a decision to impose a sanction, they can ask for this to be reconsidered.
“Mr Livingstone’s appeal found in his favour and we have paid all benefits due to him. We continue to support him with his job search.”
