Universal credit overpayment scared
Hi ive been reading morning to savings etc and since u started claiming uc ive had back payments of pip and lwrca col ,cwp, i didn't know anything about the money I was getting and it looks like it built up a lot back in 2022 no idea what I was doing only ever told about savings I thought it was 6k or over I can't even bare to look at my statements right now im shaking I let my normal bank money build up as I had mental health problems I didn't spend that much now obviously I have my review 3 years later im terrified I haven't intentionally not told them I just thought it was if it was over 6k didn't realise I had to add my unspent money over every month ,only just been told this what will happen to me if review lady asks how long I've had my savings account I didn't open it till July 22 ive been on uc since Sept 21 but then obviously got lwrca back pay in July 2022 and pip back pay in 2022 im actually feeling sick now I think I could owe well over 6k if I was just letting it build up every month I just honestly didn't know I was just totally oblivious to what was going on i was 19 im so scared now even more than before what will happen to me will they stop my uc
Looking now at my 4 months it looks under 6k but back in 2022 its really messed up im so confused with it all now will the review people ask about why I didn't declare my savings when they look at my bank statements I dont know what to do im genuinely scared now i dont understand uc at all I hate money as I dont spend a lot I live with my parents so have no bills only bowled its getting complicated now please can anyone help me i dont know what im going to do, I dont want to go to prison
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Meant board spelling mistake I didn't want this money I just wanted to be told I didn't have to look for work till I was better now I feel so low and helpless will they take my illness and age in to consideration and I genuinely didn't know about any of this stuff honestly its over my head i have my review friday I am so scared I dont want to bring it up if they don'tplease any advise 😭😭😭
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Nothing will happen.
As long as you never had more than £6000 in the last 4 months, then that's all they will look at. They won't go back to 2022.
As for prison, there isn't enough space in prisons for actual criminals now, they certainly aren't putting anyone in there for benefits, even if you had done anything wrong, which you haven't!
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I'm so scared can you or anyone good with maths work this out for me please
31dec,£64 left in bank unspent +£3103 jn savings account
7th jan £727 uc, 31st jan £148 unspent +£3150 in savings
7th feb £727 uc ,31st feb £56.57 unspent +£3200 in savings
7th March £727uc ,31st March £78 unspent +£3203 in savings
7th April 727 uc ,31st April £367 unspent +£2950 in savings Can anyone tell me if im under the 6k in these months please x
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Don't add the £727.
31 Dec = £3167
31 Jan = £3298
31st Feb = £3256
31st March = 3281
31st April = £3317You were never even close to £6000 in those months. You really don't have anything to worry about there. 🙂
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I was told on them group sites a totally different figure and they straight away told me i was getting done for benefit fraud prison fines everything they even said I wwould get told I would need to send all bank statements from fiest claim and I would owe them over 10k cos u hadn't spent my benefits I just hate this process and why dont they explain to people with mental health how this all works there should be people to help you but no instead you dont have a work coach and to do is turned off so i was just plodding along unaware I was doing anything wrong at all and the money in my bank kept building up xx
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Again, you are being told absolute nonsense on those social media benefits pages.
Here on Scope you've been told multiple times by multiple people the exact same thing, that UC are not interested in your savings unless you are over £6k.
Here is a screenshot from gov.uk which is the official Government information page.
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Hi Sophie, overly anxious is right they won't look at your savings going back to 2022 and you are certainly not over the 6k for those months. Please try not to worry . Please don't read too much into what people tell you on those sites as some are there just make things worse,and not strictly true. You have nothing to worry about Sophie xx
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I know everybody scope is really helpful and I appreciate that I really do its just my anxiety and overthinking is taking over now I honestly dont understand how uc work things out money just kept going in my bank and I didn't spend it some months I won't leave the house the past 5 months ive maybe left my house 10 times its horrible I can be coping for a bit then something triggers me im very triggered by this whole review that i have on Friday ive been honest ive sent what they have asked for anyway they can see what I spend my money on and I will answer truthfully as I have nothing to hide it with people saying I should of declared my savings in the box on my journal I never did as I didn't think I needed to that's worrying me most then if that happens then wanting bank statement that's when its going to go wrong for me im just upset im sorry I have no friends right now just my mum and dad xx
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Hi Sophie, please as you have said you have nothing to hide . You have nothing to worry about . Just tell them truthfully. They won't send you to prison.i understand your anxiety and overthinking things. As this happens to myself in certain situations. When you speak to them explain to them before you start about your mental health situation. They will understand. Try and do something in the meantime to distract yourself. Let us know how it goes Friday for you xx
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I will 100% let you know how it goes Friday my review is at 12pm I just need to stop overthinking and if i do owe them money I will be honest i made a mistake dont understand how any of this works im 22 with bad mental health i am not hiding anything never worked had to be home schooled was bullied had bad stuff happen in my life its just a mess , I only pay my mum board and my phone top up a few bits and bats so they can take what they want to get it back I'm scared if they stop my money as I don't have anything like my bank statements said back them years ago ,if I did owe a lot would it go to debt people with dwp and would I get a fine , I have read a little on uc but as it would of been years back not sure what they do I know my mums friend got a child tax bill for 10k and she pays it back out of her benefits would it be the same if they did check back I know it's only 4 months they look at but it's really scary sorry to go on you people are so nice xx
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Every person's situation, could be very different from your own . I highly doubt they would check back on those statements your most worried about.it definitely will only be about your most recent. Everyone has to have this done at some point in thier claim so you won't be on your own.
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Hi ladies ive just looked on an old posts about capital u put up so basically if I want to do this differently my balance on my account on the 31st I should ignore instead I should add any benefits in my assessment period 1st to 31st then add all my out goings so let's say back in 2021 I had 257 in uc and my outgoings were 207 does this mean I have 50 left which would be counted as savings so the month after I add 50 to my 257 which gives me 307 then minus what I spend in that month like 250 out of the 307 I have 57 pound I add that to my next ap so 257+ 57=314 then minus what I spend and so on in the nxt app so I have 107 saved so far is this correct x
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No. Sorry but that is completely wrong.
That is only one small part of the more complicated calculation for people who have over £6000. That is used to calculate the income, which can then be taken away from the balance on the 31st.
You absolutely do not need to go through all the hassle of that. And it is much more complicated than in your post. We know that you have roughly £3000 in savings. A lot more than £107!
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Ive put another post on in really worried now im scared im going to prison as it looks like I have deliberately not added the left over money to my journal I didn't know j didn't understand i feel sick to my stomach now
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You're not going to prison for this.
You got it right a few days ago, just add your normal account and savings account on the 31st. As long as that doesn't add up to more than £6000 then it's fine.
We know that you have around £3000 in savings, nowhere near £6000. So you haven't done anything wrong. You haven't been overpaid any money. There isn't anything to pay back. And you definitely aren't going to prison.
I understand it's part of your conditions to worry and obsess over things but honestly you haven't done anything wrong. 🙂
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It's the unspent money benefits that's stressing me out i didn't know it had to be declared in my journal I had no work coach and no commitments so I didn't fully understand what I was meant to even do I 100% know im goingvto get in trouble and I think im going owe thousands to them im in a right mess now ive tried working it out be can't cos there's back payments cost of living payments but I think even with them im over 6k maybe even more over last few years if I'd of known I would of declared my unspent money but I genuinely didn't i dont know what's going to happen as if i owe thousands ive basically nothing to give them if that makes sense ive got under 3k in my bank and just my benefits which is uc lwrca nothing else im stressed upset angry at my self and im only 22 I djnt understand any of this x
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The unspent money is just part of the balance on the 31st. It doesn't get added separately.
We know you only have £3000 in the bank now. And only had £3000 in the bank across the past 4 months. So that is all they will look at.
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So what does that mean if u go back to 2022 one month u have 700 left I my bank do savings account obviously I didn't realise u had to put my unspent in to journal every month and the month after u have 600 left in my bank were am I going wrong please I fully dont understand this at all
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You don't have to put unspent money into your journal every month because you have less than £6000.
All you have to do is add the balance from your savings account and the balance from your normal account on the 31st. If the total is less than £6000 then you don't need to do anything.
It sounds like you had around £4000 in 2022. £4000 + £700 is only £4700. Much less than £6000. So you still weren't over the limit. That means you can't have been overpaid. So there is nothing to pay back now.
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Obviously I will get in trouble for not putting my bank balance in to my journal at the end of my ap on the 31st of everymonth I accept I have not understood it all all so basically on the 31st of everymonth I would of originally put what I had left unspent in my journal then the following month do the same Obviously when it got to 4000 I opened a savings account and just thought if that got to 6k to then declare it I was so stupid when you do put your amount in at the end of your ap is there options to add your remaining bank balance and savings do uc add these together to give your total savings of all account at the end of my ap xx
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