Should I be truthful about my savings?
I am starting the uc migration claim from ir esa. I have £4000 in my bank. Should I mention this on my claim or downplay it. Will this amount affect how much I get in uc?
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Legally you have to declare all money you have, bank accounts, cash at home, property etc.
To do otherwise would be fraud.
Anything under £6000 won't impact your claim.
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You need to be honest.
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Yes always be truthful.
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It will be discovered and cause you unnecessary stress. The banks pay tax on the interest and these amounts show how much you have to HMRC. £4000 is not going to reduce your payment, so be up front. Best wishes.
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Not sure how to edit the above.... the Bank’s report the interest paid to HMRC.. for tax purposes.
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Ah so I don't even need to be untruthful anyway because I'm within the limit.
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I'm not sure what you are saying. Like, how would that alert them to my savings?
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IMHO you should never lie, we're having to go through hell because of fraudsters, apparently & to even think to lie to cover up finances when asked, is fraud.
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If you have an ISA, I know that DWP automatically get notified via your NI number. I'm not sure how they find out about other savings.
But - even if you were over 6k, the deductions aren't huge. On 7k, you would lose £17.40/month. That is because you are assumed to be 'earning' £4.35 for every £250 of savings.(in interest)
So, should you be truthful about your savings?
Well, if you care about integrity and value yourself as a human being, yes. Otherwise, you become a liar and a cheat.
If that sits well with you, there is the very real possibility that, when you have been 'getting away with it' for years, that is the very time they'll catch up with you and cancel your claim right back to the start.
Plus you could be up on a fraud charge in court.
If you really do only have 4k, you're not going to have any deduction anyway.
But, for goodness' sake, promptly report anything above that. You can still get UC with savings up to 16k. But you need to pay the relatively small monthly deduction.
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Who is we? Do you work for the dwp?
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My money is just in a current account if this means anything?
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I don't know jessieJ but I would doubt she works for DWP.
I guess you didn't know that the Labour government has boosted its UC review team to 6000 staff working full time reviewing all UC claims to crack down on fraud?
The sole purpose of the Swindon team is to find hidden capital.
Honest claimants find these reviews very intrusive and some claimants are becoming mentally unwell at the thought of having DWP comb through their banking transactions.
It's because so much money designed to go to honest claimants who are in desperate need of it is being lost through deliberate fraud and genuine mistake type fraud that this massive crackdown has begun.
I should think this is what Jessie is referring to - no doubt she will clarify it for you in due course.
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At the moment DWP can only see current accounts you declare but 4k is a high balance for a current account so you'd probably be best advised to move it somewhere it can earn a bit of interest for you.
There are plans afoot for DWP to put bank accounts under suveillance. So far, banks have refused to co operate but that could change.
Honesty is always the best policy. And, with UC, anything you owe is not written off after 6 years - they can chase you for ever.
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"Advised" because it will look bad on my claim to have this amount in a current account, or you just think it's a waste to not have it in a savings account?
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I was just thinking your money could be working harder for you in a savings account.
It doesn't look bad in a current account if that's where you want to keep it - dwp won't be interested in 4k wherever it is.
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I have another question. If I was to move some of this money to an account of a family member (for personal reasons) to hold for me, and do so before I submit my claim, and not mention this amount on my claim (e.g. Shift 1000 pounds to their account) would this be classed as a Depravation of Capital? Even though it's
a. Before the migration
b. I'm still under the 6k limit
c. It's an account not in my name.
What do you think?
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In the digital age the system is able to flag up discrepancies. The HMRC and DWP are both government agencies. You have nothing to gain by withholding the information. It is below 6k and will not lower payments. Obviously, you have to decide. You will be asked to provide bank statements going back 4 months… and explain any discrepancies.
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@hughie1 . Legally, the position is that any and all capital belonging to you - whether that is held as cash under your mattress, stashed in someone else's account, or spread thinly across a number of accounts held with different providers - if it belongs to you it must be declared.
No one on Scope is going to tell you any different.
We have already told you 4k is absolutely fine. There won't be any deductions at all.
And up to 16k you will still get UC with deductions. It is really easy now in the UC journal to report capital - so, say one month you did have £6499, reported it and had £8.70 deducted. Then the next month your capital drops to £5800. Report that and your full amount of UC is restored. So there really is no need to try to hide anything.
Even if you have over 16k and aren't eligible just now for UC, you will become eligible once your capital drops.
If your capital never drops under 16k, you do not need UC. It is a fair system in this regard if you think about it.
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