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Universal credit and savings

BrutonStreetTailor

I have become disabled and am LCWRA, and am unable to work at all, I enjoyed outdoor hobbies which I spent a considerable amount on, cycling and golf and have possibly around £5000 worth ( potential sale price)of equipment that is now useless to me. Im virtually house bound and will not be riding a bike or playing golf anytime soon. So I was thinking of selling my gear and bike. Now so if i sell the items, I could realise from the sale a considerable sum. It would not take me above the 16k but im thinking I would like to spend that money on something I can enjoy indoors, maybe some new Hi-Fi equipment, up to around the same value, obviously, it would be a swap of hobbies but not a swap like a part exchange of a vehicle), and it may take a while to sell and then find some suitable equipment. What does anyone think Universal credit might think of my proposal, ( regarding deprivation of capital) bearing in mind I would be selling my own personal possessions, in order to spend perhaps £4k some weeks or months? Later. Kind regards.

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Comments

Kimi87

If you go over £6k in total capital, then you need to declare this on the last day of your Assessment Period.

There would be a small deduction of £4.35 for every £250 or part thereof over £6k.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @BrutonStreetTailor, Deprivation of capital can be a tricky one. It may potentially be flagged to them at review if you were approaching the savings limits and you've spent a large amount at once. But if you're always keeping under £6,000 despite the sales of your items, it shouldn't be too much of an issue as long as you can be transparent about where and why the money has come in or out. It may be worth hanging on to receipts and proofs of sale if you do decide to go ahead, just in case they ask for this.

And as Kimi87 outlined above, it's also important to declare to UC if you go over the 6k mark at any point as they'll need to adjust your payments.

I hope some other members might have some experience of doing something similar and can let you know how it went for them.

BrutonStreetTailor

Thanks for taking the time to reply, yes, I'm fully aware of the ramifications of exceeding the capital limits, what I am asking is I understand that they do not count your personal possession when considering capital, but also if, for example you had 2 cars and sold one of them, say if it was a manual and you could no longer drive it, then any monies you would get from the sale would count towards your capital, but I have also heard that they view purchasing things which they may consider an unnecessary extravagance, so how what would be their view of spending that money a while after. That was the original question, How would they consider that?

Rosie_Scope

I'm afraid it's really difficult to say @BrutonStreetTailor, it can depend who reviews your case as decisions can be done on a case-by-case basis a lot of the time.

If they're able to see the evidence tracing it back to the possessions that you've sold, it may be that they're satisfied with that as proof. But it's really tough to say how they will see it as there's not a huge amount of guidance out there for how they make their decisions. Sorry that I can't be of more help!

BrutonStreetTailor

Fair enough, and thank you for taking the time to answer. Im in this unfortunate position to be quite severely disabled now and unable to do any work due to my condition. So to go from a well paid job to the crumbs im likely to get thrown ( from the calculators online we have done) is going to be extremely difficult. No way will my savings increase on what im likely to receive, given my monthly outgoings. Thank you.

dorsetkisses

Hi there,

You do have options, you may not like any of them but you do have them 🤣

'Savings' take on a different meaning once you receive UC. For a start if you're married or cohabiting then their money is classified as savings too. And that means all cash too.

So you have the option of 1. Doing nothing and waiting for review. 2. Still doing nothing but keeping meticulous records of ins and outs with receipts etc 3. Sending in your end of assessment period figures and be willing to lose £4.34? a month for every £250 and any partial amount. 4. Ask your question using your UC journal but be prepared for no exception being made. Rules around receiving state benefits is strict and getting stricter all the time.

I think you need to do more research before you take action. The only reason you may be allowed to exceed £6000 is for home adaptations, repairs or equipment that isn't available for free e.g Disability Facility Grant, NHS prescription equipment - health aids from Adult Social Services.