UC Review Meltdown

TG0601

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/976334#Comment_976334

Yes, I had nothing to hide & gave them my bank statements. But I know people who haven’t & they have been sanctioned. That’s why it’s best to comply but never stop asking questions & raise complaints whilst complying. Having the review etc gives more evidence to the person being reviewed. I don’t mean you in these points, I’m just talking about people in general.

TG0601

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/976364#Comment_976364

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/976364#Comment_976364

That’s great news, congratulations & I wish you well in your new job. Yes, the DWP will always sanction for non compliance. Sometimes sanctions are overturned however.

michael57

i believe you can come off uc but closing your claim does not stop the review process and failure to comply could lead to a more in depth investigation just something to be mindful of

ToonLass66

@Danny123 from what I gather, and I could be wrong, it's if they see PayPal payments showing up on your statements. I've got 3 so am prepared if they ask for it.

apple85

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/976326#Comment_976326

thanks for posting that

I thought that most of us migrating over to uc were going to get a uc review/bank statement check pretty soon after

Didn’t realise there would be a phonecall - that will end up with me in fight or flight mode (scared to speak if I think I’m being accused of something or lash out verbally the panic attacks off the phone and my ocd going in overdrive thinking I’m going to be done for fraud and driving my family nuts in the process - hope I can get someone to take that call on my behalf and I write notes on the bank statements)

I’ve reported myself every time I’ve accidently gone over (which I make sure I’m never go over now as it was a total mess the first and only time I did it), to double check they haven’t overspent and even when I thought my pip award was mistaken too high - I think one of the ladies on the dwp phone line said I was too honest for my own good

the capital deprivation rule has always bothered me as surely it’s an unwritten rule amongst many claimants that has been fortunate in getting a good award thats it’s more trouble than it’s worth going over the initial £6k (did it accidentally the once, reported it straight away, dwp demanded years bank statements and grilled like a criminal over the phone then ended up taking repayments for a year longer than they said paying £200 more than I owed - I vowed never again) - the thing is that I grew up in a family of very sensible savers which is not a great thing to be on the system ironically - I don’t smoke, drink, gamble, go out, drive and at the back of my mind I’m so aware that I could lose my award at any point and to never forgot how to live on a budget and I don’t want to do anything now that I get use to/rely on then can no longer afford it down the line). I’ve think I’ve told this forum before that I don’t think it’s right for myself going on holiday if I don’t work so you can imagine I had a bit of a nervous breakdown when my last awards went significantly better than expected as my instinct is to be a sensible spender and the systems punishes you for that. I worry every day about the capital deprivation rule and spoken to a few local disability organisations about it (I’ll be getting them to run by my bank statements in the next month to see if theirs any accidental red flags) - honestly the past few years I’ve been furnishing my home, investing in things that may enable me to do a wfh job in the future if I can ever get my health under control (impossible with the dwp/labours current mission to panic claimants to death), stocking up on essentials in advance such as clothes and lean into my autism magpie nature of collecting (the last 3-4 years has been the first time I’ve ever had enough incoming for hobbies to do in my safe space at home which would be really good for my mental health if I wasn’t feeling guilty of those worse off than me and frightened of accidentally committing fraud)

Honestly before tories and labour started talking about reforming pip and making criteria tighter my last award had opened the possibility of just about managing financially on pip alone and being able to ditch the stress of feeling like a criminal all the time on esa/uc and hopefully (as pip is not means tested) removing the feeling of the dwp watching 24/7 perhaps my MH could finally improve and I could actually try some freelance wfh without so much pressure (I like affording luxuries and hobbies but I feel like my life is owned by someone else and I want to be in the position to afford my ‘freedom’ if that makes sense

why would the dwp and mps think any ‘decent’ person wants to be on the system and enjoys being so

Treating disabled as criminals and with contempt will always have the opposite effect

crazy12

I am seeing a lot about these reviews I applied and got uc when it first come out around 2018 I went into the job centre for interview and took id then it was all confirmed while I was there will I have to do all that again soon then ?

ToonLass66

@apple85 I hear you! I'm making myself ill just trying to get these statements together, which I'm told are a shambles as I constantly move money between them for no other reason than because I can. Waiting a full week now for a message to be answered in my journal just adds to the joy.

If that wasn't bad enough, the phone call is looming somewhere in the near future and I'm ticking and stimming like a good 'un just thinking about it. The wicked autism and anxiety combo pretty much guarantees it won't go well 🙈

I wonder what it feels like to be calm and chilled and your brain not constantly doing gymnastics floor exercises?

ToonLass66

@crazy12 I've been on UC since 2018 as well, and this is my first review. Chances are you'll get one at some point.

charlie72

When I reported a change in my savings as I'm now over the 6k limit I was unsure how often I had to report any changes. I didn't know if you did it each month like you do if your working or self employed to calculate your payments each month. When I looked on gov.uk site it's actually a bit vague about when you should report anymore changes to your savings, apart from saying savings can flucuate, sometimes less, sometimes more, and to only report them again if it's significant. Does that mean if say you had just over 7k in savings and had reported that amount, how much more would warrent you telling them again, £250, £500, £1000, more than last time? It makes me very anxious as I'm terrified of making a mistake by not informing them properly and accused of lying or fraud, I'm unsure if I should leave a message in my UC journal to ask them, but I'm scared they'll think I'm up to something and want to investigate me, not that I'm doing wrong or anything. When do other people that reported their savings tell them again when it increases, and by how much?