Hi, my name is kingston! Gone over the savings limit and worried sick.

kingston

hi I’ve made a bit of a mess with my benefits I am on universal credit and have declared savings of 7k I have just received a tax rebate which will take me over £7k which I will have to report. When checking my bank statements I have gone above £7k without realising and have not reported it. They will request to see bank statements as they did when I reported my savings in the first instance so I am worried about reporting changes and them going through my statements. I have received money off family as a gift as I moved into a new council flat and had to furnish it top to bottom even new carpets. I have mental health issues and am on limited capability to work. I am worried sick they will sanction me or stop my benefits. My mental health support worker advised me to spend some savings on household items but I am worried it will be seen as deprivation of capital

vikingqueen

Poppy isn't a volunteer at all@vikki66. She will answer questions if she has the time but is under obligation to do so.

noman

Poppy is not a volunteer nor is she an employee of scope!

She gives advice freely in her own time whilst dealing with her own disabilities.

MW123

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/910553#Comment_910553

Although Poppy may not hold an official "volunteer" title, her actions exemplify the true spirit of volunteerism. Referring to her as a volunteer is entirely accurate, as she willingly dedicates her time without any obligation. Poppy selflessly guides her fellow Scope community members through the complex landscape of the DWP and benefits system, making her an invaluable member of our community.

Albus_Scope

Heya @kingston and a very warm welcome to the community. 😊

I can see Biblioklept has already answered your question, but I just wanted to stop in and say a quick hi and please try not to worry. 😊

kingston

thank you I’m extremely anxious about them going all through my statements and questioning every transaction I don’t understand how they calculate savings during the assessment period as savings fluctuate month by month all very confusing thanks everyone for taking the time to read through my post ❤️

chiarieds

You weren't entirely incorrect @vikki66 in that poppy used to be a volunteer for this community, however we were asked not to mention this, & she didn't. That role finished some time ago, but thankfully, as MW123 says, poppy still volunteers her time as an ordinary member to help other members with their benefit queries 😊

poppy123456

I've only just seen this thread as was away from the forum for 12 days. I haven't been able to catch up on every single thread so I'll just go with the flow and read what ever pops up towards the top of each section lol.

Thank you for everyone's kind words, I'm always blown away by so much kindness at times.

I agree with my dear friend @chiarieds and the thread you read @vikki66 was likely quite an old one from a long time ago in the days where I was known as "community champion volunteer"

In a strange sort of way I guess I still volunteer my time but changed the wording to "advise freely in my own spare time" for the reason mentioned by @chiarieds

Though I have been accused of working for DWP many times in the past here but it's not something I've ever done, nor ever would.

Now to give more information to @kingston the tax rebate you received is treated as income and not capital. For this reason it will not be treated as capital until the end of the following assessment period after you received it. You must report it to UC due to it being treated as income.

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned, if you received any of the cost of living payments and your capital hasn't dropped below the total amount you received then that capital is disregarded indefinitely so will not be counted. Depending on how much you received in total this may mean your total capital is less than £6,000.

I hope this helps a little.

kingston

thank you poppy I feel like I’m going to lose everything flat etc as I’ve not Spent all the Benefits I have paid even though some of my friends spend absolutely everything on material things like clothes etc I’ve been out this evening and even scared to use my card in the pub in case they think I’m frittering away money I’m trying to stay calm but the whole thing is stressing me 😳

poppy123456

I think you're worrying needlessly. I don't see any reason why you would lose your home at all. If you don't have more than £16,000 your benefits will not stop.

kingston

yes thank you poppy you are a great adviser and I appreciate all your support can you let me know what uc will likely do as I have not declared savings on a month by month basis I declared them a year ago and they have fluctuated around the same amount but have gone over sometime will they just recalculate the overpayment made? ❤️