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Universal credit review not declaring savings

sophie2002

Hi again I'm totally stressed out today when I went online last night and cos I didn't declare savings in my universal credit account when i opened it I could be in a lot of trouble my savings and benefits combined have never been over 6k but now I'm reading I could get in to loads of trouble for not doing this and it's no excuse but I have really bad mental health depression ocd and intrusive thoughts so you can imagine how bad i am now and I don't think I will cope getting in trouble ive nothing to hide ive always put my benefits money in if you get me as I was nearly scammed so don't trust my bank not getting hacked ,I know I may get a penalty for not declaring but how much trouble could I be in, does or has anyone else gone through something similar I'm only 22 years and frightened now

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Rosie_Scope

Hi @sophie2002, sorry to hear you're feeling stressed out about this. Was it just that you didn't declare your savings when you first claimed your Universal Credit, or have you had a review and not told them about your savings? A review would mean that they wanted to look at your bank statements and see if everything was okay and that you were receiving the right payments.

As your savings have always been below £6k, I don't think you'd get into lots of trouble for not declaring what you have. They would be more concerned if you'd gone over the £6k limit and not told them, as that would affect your payments. Anything below £6k shouldn't affect what you're paid 😊

sophie2002

I didn't have any savings account when I claimed universal credit at the beginning I was told by my bank to open a savings as I got scared I nearly got scammed i didnt feel safe with all money in my normal account so started putting it in my savings they said its a safer place, I have bad mental health so just genuinely didn't realise I had to declare any savings on my account I've always been below 6k I have 3k in there now and I have a call on Tues about a review and what's needed of me etc , I know they ask for bank statements should I send my savings too as I know they will ask as I put money in and take it out as it shows on my bank statements I also use paypal a lot to buy things so if I send everything I will try explain why I didn't declare it as i know they will ask me but I honestly didn't realise and people on one hand were saying u don't unless it's over 6k and others said I should declare all my savings I'm really worried now I've been told I could get fined for not declaring this it's so stressful

OverlyAnxious

Hi,

You won't get fined or get in trouble for this. There's no need to declare savings below £6000.

You should give them statements for all of your accounts, including the savings account. They will usually ask for a PayPal statement as well.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @sophie2002, sorry I don't think my first post was very clear! As OverlyAnxious mentioned, you won't get in trouble for this. When they say you need to declare savings, this is usually only if you've gone over the £6k so they can adjust the payments.

If you're able to be open about all your accounts and provide the statements that they ask for it should all go through okay ☺️ hope it all goes alright!

sophie2002

I will send everything that they ask me will they say what they need or do u mention paypal etc to them when they first call does anyone know what they will say when they phone me I know they will ask details of name security questions and things

sophie2002

When I did open my saving I put my backpack of lwrca in and would that amount be disregarded and the col payments obviously didn't want to draw all that money out cos they definitely would be asking questions I just kept saving bits and bats in it but it's never ever been over or near 6k

Rosie_Scope

Hi @sophie2002, benefits back pay is usually disregarded for 12 months after it was paid. If your savings have never gone above £6k there shouldn't be any issues.

On the first call they might ask you some questions about what accounts you use, like your current account or savings account. They might also ask whether you use any other online services where money moves through like PayPal, Monzo, or eBay. They'll tell you what kind of evidence they'd like to see, like screenshots or statements and how you can send these in.

Hope it all goes okay ☺️

sophie2002

I have a savings account my normal bank account and pay pal account I've purchased items online like etsy and amazon ans Ebay but never sold anything on them and pay through my bank account that's all I have I know how to get the statements for my bank and savings and paypal as people have said paypal is like a bank and I use it a lot but the other stuff is just purchases like presents and books for my kindle it's all clear to see on my bank statements and paypal tatments when ive used that to purchase and send money to my mum never really recieved money on paypal ,I'm just hoping this is enough just been stressing so much it's making me ill it's basically the savings that's worrying that I never declared it ive looked though the col payments and I was told they won't use them as a total in your savings is this correct please

Rosie_Scope

Hi @sophie2002, yes the cost of living payments are usually disregarded too. Fingers crossed it all goes through nice and quickly without too much stress 😊

sophie2002

I've requested my statements from December to today on purchase on eBay to show I don't sell and just buy I'm not sure if amazon do the same if they require this I will see if I can get them put I just purchase things I hope I'm doing everything correct ive nothing to hide at all but all the statements will tally just got to wait till Tues now for them to talk to me to see what they want from me ive been told they want pictures of you holding your passport outside your front door too

Rosie_Scope

That should all be fine @sophie2002, I haven't heard anyone say they've had to provide anything from Amazon before. They'd mostly be interested in websites where you might be selling things like eBay, not ones that you only use for buying. They should be able to tell you what they'd like to see on the call so try not to worry too much about gathering it all now if they haven't already asked for anything.

Sometimes they will ask for a photo of you outside your door to confirm your ID, but not always. So while I know it's difficult not to stress out about it, it's best to wait until the call to see what they'll want you to provide ☺️

sophie2002

Thanks so much I can't help but stress about this plus do u know if it's easy to download my pdfs to them I know I'm probably best asking them but I don't have access to a computer just my phone which is a galaxy android one