Urgent advice needed please - I have messed up big time

matt82

Hi,

I am claiming UC and I am in the LCWRA group and with PIP element.

I am in real need of some advice as I have made a huge mistake and now I am spiralling and I cant find a way to stop the worry without thinking about the extreme.

I know this falls completely on me and its all my fault for not doing a simple search online which would have saved me all this horrible torture of not knowing and I so wish it had crossed my mind at the time but it was just something that didnt occur to me.

My issue is is that I have always been quite creative and I would make things for people or for friends and family and found it was actually one of very few things which distracted my mind from racing at 1000 mph  and they would always tell me that they think it is really good and that I should look into seeing if I can sell what I make. Never having the confidence or even believing what I was making was any good I would always shrug it off and think they are just saying it to be kind but eventually as my confidence grew a little and I weighed up the pros and cons of feeling the possible rejection (which is not something I deal well with) I decided to check online and see where people sell handmade items and that's when I found Etsy.

Long story short I have been selling on Etsy and it was by chance I came across someone asking for advice online about claiming and selling as a hobby and if it was allowed and that's when it suddenly hit me, am I allowed to have even been doing this.

This is where I am so angry with myself because for me although It was a great way for me to distract my mind and give me a purpose I never looked at it as paid work, I know that might sound stupid now because now I have checked online for myself it obviously is as I am being paid for items I sell online It just never entered into my mind that it should be declared.

I am so at a loss now, I feel suicidal because I think im going to be done for benefit fraud and have my home taken away from me. If I knew at the beginning that this would meant having to possibly speak to someone and show what I was doing I would have completely backed out, the fact I didnt have to leave my home or speak to anyone was perfect as I find both of those things very hard but I dont not want to own up to my mistake.

Nothing has happened which has triggered this post other than I am an honest person and need things to be done right and when I found out this should have been discussed with DWP before starting, everything has just fallen from underneath my feet and I cant get myself out of this hole I have put myself in.

Please is there anyone who can advise me on what my next step should be, who should I contact to advise them of this as I dont want to be hiding it and hoping it will go away as I know it wont, I am not selling anymore just due to the stress this has put on me and If i were to start again then I would need it to be done right I just dont know if I am going to face any punishments for not declaring it.

Should I put this as a note in my journal and wait for them to advise on what I should do next? I just dont know what to do or who to turn to, I feel so incredibly stupid for not even doing the proper research into this 

poppy123456

You should report a change of circumstances and then click "work and earnings." Then tell them that you're working. You will be classed as self employed. You will need to attend a gateway appointment at your local job centre, which is standard procedure for those that are self employed.

When you attend the appointment you will need to be honest and tell them how long you've been working for. They will highly likely want to know what your earnings and expenses have been since you started work.

As self employed you will need to report your earnings and expenses on your journal on the last day of each assessment period.

As you have LCWRA then you will have the work allowance. It means you can receive a certain amount of earning each month before the 55% deductions apply. If you claim for help with your rent then it will be £379/month, if you don't then it will be £631/month.

You may have a small fine of about £50 for not reporting the changes when you started working but it's always better to be honest and tell them exactly what's happened, rather than them finding out theirself.

If you're earnings more than £1,000/year are you also aware that you need to register as self employed with HMRC? https://www.gov.uk/working-for-yourself

Hannah_Alumni

Hello @matt82

Welcome to the community I see Poppy has been able to advise but I am going to pop and email over to you  

carbow32

I would just be honest with and sort it out.  You won't be the first or last to not realise (they hardly know the rules themselves)

I am selling craft items online but I did tell them straight away.

I didn't have to go to the job centre for a meeting it was just sorted with someone on my journal.

I have to declare income/expenses on the last day of my assessment period.

However I am getting increasingly worried about it affecting my LCWRA when I am reassessed.  I am thinking of not doing it anymore.  Substantial Risk.

I would also be entitled to LCWRA on continence (but can't think of anything more embarrassing to write down and go into detail).

The worry around that has taken away the pleasure of making things.