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Ray212
Ray212 Online Community Member Posts: 699 Empowering
in Universal Credit (UC)

Hi,

Writing this as concerned for a family member.

They receive uc, pip daily living and lcwra

They have been asked to do a uc review and send in 4 months of bank statements

That is not a problem but they have a gambling problem and their son has been gifting them money to pay for it. Any winnings if there are any are sent back to their son. But we were shocked to notice the last 3 months bank statements showed £8500 on gambling. Most of that money won back and sent back to their son.

What’s the situation here ? Absolutely worried sick they will be in trouble for something.

Comments

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 6,325 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Hi @Ray212

    It's probably best to be as honest as possible in this situation. If they explain that they have a gambling addiction and that's what the money is being used for then they should be able to take that into account during the review.

    Has their account gone over £6,000 over the months on the bank statements?

  • Ray212
    Ray212 Online Community Member Posts: 699 Empowering

    Thanks for replying

    No the money literally got transferred into their bank. Mainly £10s and £20s and then went to several betting sites, any money won was returned back to their son. Should add their son works full time and doesn’t claim any benefits

    The balance in the account has always been £1. And the most that was ever won was £400 and that was made up of several wins that day. End of the day anything in the account was returned to the son.

    I tried to do some checking but was getting confused. As far as I can work out they should be ok. Even though the amounts are quite high but I am so worried they could get into trouble.

    The gambling problem is something that we recently learnt about and are trying to help them combat that addiction. Hence the questions and trying to get them on track. Their son bless him was helping him out and was worried that he would waste his own money and have nothing or end up severely depressed and do something silly. It was him that let us know what was going on as was worried.

  • Rosie_Scope
    Rosie_Scope Posts: 6,325 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Sounds like they've got some supportive people around them @Ray212. As long as it doesn't look like they're sending money away to keep themselves below the £6,000 limit, then it should all get taken into account. They may ask a few questions but hopefully it all goes through okay.

    Gambleaware have some support and resources available if your relative would like some extra help:

    GambleAware®: Gambling Help & Gambling Addiction

  • Ray212
    Ray212 Online Community Member Posts: 699 Empowering

    Thank you. Will take a look at the website

  • Ray212
    Ray212 Online Community Member Posts: 699 Empowering

    Are these checks quite common? He is freaking out a bit. They are asking for 4 months bank statements, ID with photo and copy of rent agreement/letter

  • Holly_Scope
    Holly_Scope Posts: 3,187 Scope Online Community Coordinator

    Hi @Ray212 these reviews are normal and it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. We have a discussion here which might be helpful - Universal Credit Bank Reviews: Frequently Asked Questions. You can also see comments on the post from other members who have experienced this review which might be helpful. 🙂

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