MAKING this simple mistake could mean your Universal Credit payments are stopped.

Universal Credit is paid out monthly to people who are struggling with day-to-day living costs – but you have to provide updates on any change in your circumstances.
If you don’t, you can have your payments slashed or stopped – also known as being sanctioned.
Among the list of things you would need to give updates on is a change to your email address or mobile phone number.
It seems like a small thing but you risk missing out on your payments if you don’t share this update.
When you claim Universal Credit or any benefit, you sign yourself up for commitments that you have to meet to get the financial support.
This could be showing you’re actively looking for a job or turning up for appointments.
But if you fail to do what you promised in that agreement, you could see the benefit money taken away from you.
Exactly how much you’ll have taken off your claim depends on what you’ve done – or not done.
These are the reasons you can be sanctioned if you’re on Universal Credit:
- Not applying or looking for work
- Refusing a job offer (within reason)
- Quitting your job without good reason
- Being late to appointments and interviews
- Not updating your information.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said last month that 680,000 people on Universal Credit were sanctioned between February 2024 and January 2025.
Over 581,480 claimants were penalised for not attending mandatory interviews with work coaches at Jobcentres.
Another 16,440 had their payments cut for missing employment programmes, while 8,880 were sanctioned for not providing a valid reason for quitting a job.
What other changes in circumstances do I need to tell the DWP about?
YOU need to report any changes to your circumstances that might affect how much Universal Credit you should be getting.
The DWP says you need to report changes as soon as they happen.
Delaying could mean you receive too much money and then have to make a repayment.
If you give the wrong information or don’t provide an update on a change to your circumstances you could even be taken to court or have to pay a penalty.
The changes can include:
- Finding or finishing a job
- Having a child
- Moving in with your partner
- Starting to care for a child or disabled person
- Your child stopping or restarting education or training, if they’re aged 16 to 19
- Changing your mobile number or email address
- Moving to a new address
- Going outside Great Britain for any length of time, if you live there
- Going outside Northern Ireland for any length of time, if you live there
- Changing your bank details
- Your rent going up or down
- Changes to your health condition
- Becoming too ill to work or meet your work coach
- If a medical professional has said you’re nearing the end of life
- Changes to your earnings (only if you’re self-employed)
- Changes to your savings, investments and how much money you have
- Changes to your immigration status, if you’re not a British citizen.
How to report a change in circumstances
If you want to report a change in circumstances, the easiest way is to log in to your Universal Credit online.
Go to the “Report a change” or “Journal” section and leave a message there.
This should only take a few minutes to do.
Someone will check your online journal during business hours and you should receive a response.
Alternatively you can contact the Universal Credit helpline.
Make sure you have your National Insurance number to hand when you call.
Another option is to visit your local Jobcentre Plus and speak with your work coach.
Can I appeal a sanction?
If you think you’ve been sanctioned unfairly, you can contact the DWP and ask for a “mandatory reconsideration”.
You have one month from when you were notified about the sanction to do so.
If you’ve been sanctioned unfairly, the first thing you must do is check the level of sanction and how long your money has been reduced for.
You’ll then need to contact the DWP for a mandatory reconsideration if you think they’ve made the wrong decision.
Citizens Advice says you should have been told:
- Why you’ve received a sanction
- The level of sanction you’ve been given
- How long the sanction will last
- How much money will be taken away from your Universal Credit payment
- The date the sanction decision was made
It’s still worth applying for a mandatory reconsideration if you have missed the one-month deadline for a good reason, such as being in hospital.
You can apply for a mandatory reconsideration in several ways, but you’ll need to remember to include as much supporting evidence as possible.
If you have an online Universal Credit account, you can write a message to the DWP explaining why you disagree with the decision.
You can also print off and fill out the CRMR1 mandatory reconsideration request form on gov.uk, but remember to allow time for your letter to get to the DWP before your deadline window.
You can also call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644.
Letters should be sent to DWP Complaints, Post Handling Site B, Wolverhampton, WV99 2GY.