Lee Clark,.., was receiving Employment Support Allowance after injuring his back in a car crash for....but was then moved to Universal Credit.
It was then that the Lee, of..., started to experience problems and was sanctioned for not attending meetings - despite having a fit note from a doctor saying he could not make it to the office.
Lee money was then stopped and he was left with no money to live off for more than three years and had to rely on hardship payments, borrowing money from family, and going into debt.
Eventually, Lee was moved to the Low Capability Work Assessment (LWCA) category and was backdated cash to September 2017 to September 2018 - totalling £8,000.
But, the Department for Work and Pensions then told the former...that he was due the state £5,000 for hardship payments, which he has had to pay back.
He said: "I have had zero money to live off. I have had to rely on a hardship payment for 36 months I had given them fits notes and all the information for the accident through the solicitor saying I could not attend the appointments.
"I have been suffering depression and anxiety for sometime and then my back injury. It has been a stress on my mental health, fighting Universal Credit for the money they owed me.
"When I was put onto LWCA, they backdated a year's worth of money which was £8,000. Then they told me I had to pay them £5,000."
Lee said living with no money for three years forced him to borrow cash and led to him becoming homeless.
He said: "Friends and family had to support me. I had to borrow money from my mum and dad. It made me homeless and I ended up having to sofa surf."
Lee, who now has a flat in South Gosforth, added: "It has made my depression really worse and my anxiety. When you speak to them on the phone they are quite abrupt. I am on a high dosage of diazepam."
