Cash withdrawals

kingston

I have posted about this before but am still worried about withdrawing cash whilst on UC? Is this allowed and is there a weekly limit you can draw out?

WhatThe

It's your money. I withdraw cash because what I spend mine on is none of their business!

Ross1975

Just out of curiosity WhatThe, when you have a bank review if they asked you why you're withdrawing money, what would you tell them?

I'm thinking of starting to withdraw money myself for the same reason, that it's none of their business what I spend my money on, but I would feel awkward telling them this.

Albus_Scope

Hi @kingston there's no limit on taking out cash, other than that set by your bank. As WhatThe said, it's your money to do with as you please. They won't tell you off for wanting to use cash where possible, many people do it.

Chris75_

I pay everything on my credit cards, I believe they have no powers to demand credit card statements.

durhamjaide2001

for god sake it's your money they shouldn't have you worrying about that

Santosha12

When I had my UC review recently I was asked why I'd withdrew 30.00 cash in February 🙄🙄. My response was "I haven't got the foggiest, it could have been for a cab, or my gardener but he doesn't start back until the end of March or a takeaway or to tip the scaffolders who came back and cleared all my garden or for my dogs nails to be cut, and what a ridiculous question anyway". I suspect she wished she'd not asked.

OverlyAnxious

This is more about you own ability to manage stress and potential confrontation if UC question you about it in future.

It is allowed to withdraw cash. But if you're regularly withdrawing large amounts, and can't explain where that's going, they could investigate further with reason to believe you're hiding cash away from bank accounts.

If you can cope with the stress and confrontation of dealing with UC staff, as some posters above clearly can, then it's not a problem. But for me, as I can't manage that sort of interaction, I try to keep my banking as clear as possible for if & when I get reviewed.

kingston

I withdraw 50 here maybe 100 there, when you say large amounts do you think this would raise questions?

66Mustang

It's not black and white, to some extent it depends on your situation and habits, and sudden or unexplainable changes in these

If you regularly withdrew like £1,000 a week for 6 months they'd probably suspect something i.e. you're hiding it to stay under the savings limit but the amount you say I absolutely am with @WhatThe and others who said similar

That said, just because "if you're doing no wrong, don't need to worry" is entirely what should be the case, it doesn't mean an assessor will necessarily act with fairness… I'd say @OverlyAnxious has a point in trying to mitigate risk

OverlyAnxious

£50-£100 'here and there' could easily take you down through another £250 bracket in a month. So if you already have over £6000 then I would say they could be interested to know where that cash is going. If you're under £6000 then it doesn't matter as you wouldn't be getting overpaid UC anyway, so they have no financial incentive to investigate further.

WhatThe

Hi kingston, savings and capital is what UC is mainly interested in rather than spending.

If you were to change your habits and start withdrawing large amounts of cash, they would probably notice. However, if you need a new appliance, for example, buy it because that's what your money is for.

kingston

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1055218#Comment_1055218

I have declared savings of £7k, taking it down by 250 is normal as what I spend during the month means my savings go down automatically, surely they shouldn’t question money withdrawn for day to day living

OverlyAnxious

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1055362#Comment_1055362

If you've read other threads about UC reviews, they can question anything and everything on the statements. Right down to £12 for a window cleaner in one instance…

Kimi87

That was me.

Although technically, the £12 was paid monthly as a bank transfer not a cash withdrawal 🤣

I didn't get asked about any cash withdrawals but know others have been.

WhatThe

Just out of curiosity WhatThe, when you have a bank review if they asked you why you're withdrawing money, what would you tell them?

I've never been asked about withdrawing cash in a UC review and I've had three to date.

kingston

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1055727#Comment_1055727

can I ask rough how much you take out?

Chris75_

I've got a little over £100 to my name. I'm hardly Bill Gates! They can come and look under my mattress as well for all I care!

WhatThe

kingston, I only receive the basic UC allowance which is not difficult to spend in any month using cash or debit card! They're not interested in me or my transactions because they don't amount to much.

Moving large amounts of money around or money spent abroad if you've not told them you're abroad is what they're looking for.

pereto

My friend withdraws their full lcwra soon as its paid and when asked they just say well i like to pay in cash for everything shopping, taxis, clothes, haicut, top up oyster etc etc. Then will never reach the 6000 limit. As they dont go out at all to eat or travel or buy stuff for themselves like dvds or games etc otherwise in like 8 months theyd reach the limit and then get less money and be penalised for not buying stuff.

OverlyAnxious

If they are hiding cash instead of spending it, that is fraudulent. Their choice of course, but not to be recommended on a public forum.