Universal credit compliance interview

Bella1810

Hello,
This is my first post and I am at my wits end as I can't believe I've been so stupid.
My husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer therefore as I wasn't working I received carers allowance along with UC - I had to visit the job centre once and was told that I was in a group where I wasn't expected to look for work and that I wouldn't be contacted again.  I was told to register online and that was it.  Months later my husband sadly passed away and after around six months I noticed that I was still being paid the carers part of the allowance.  I informed UC who were lovely about this and I paid the amount back in full.  The pandemic then occurred and I have as yet to visit a job centre but have had some phone calls from my work coach mainly to check on job opportunities.  This week I have received a message to say that I am having a compliance interview to focus on capital and savings.  I don't have much but have an ISA which I didn't realise that I had to mention at the start of the claim - it wasn't mentioned to me and in all honesty I didn't check given what was going on.  I am worried sick about what could now happen and am unsure what to do.  I will of course pay any money that I've been over paid.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm not sleeping with worry.  Thank you.

poppy12345

Sorry for your loss. Any savings you have in any bank account, or at home (ISA included) counts towards the savings you're allowed before deductions apply. For every £250 (or part there of) over £6,000 there's a £4.35 per month deduction. Savings of more than £16,000 and you're excluded from claiming.

All you can do during the interview is be honest. Of course you will need to pay back any overpayment and there maybe a fine on top of the overpayment.

If you're claiming council tax reduction then all local Authorities have their owb savings limit and some have just a £6,000 maximum amount before you're not entitled to any council tax reduction. The 25% single person discount isn't affected by the savings rule. So if you're claiming CTR you also need to report any savings to them.

Bella1810

Thank you for your reply.  I've never dealt with any of this before!
Will I need to print off all the bank statements for them?  The account is under £6000 at the moment but it was over at some points during the claim period due to some payments coming in from different places.

poppy12345

Savings of under £6,000 are disregarded. For UC your savings at the end of your assessment period is what counts. So, if anytime during the past they went over the lower amount then a deduction should have been applied. Yes, they will likely ask for bank statements.

Do you have any other savings or income that you haven't told them about?

Bella1810

No nothing, thank you so much for your help

poppy12345

I wouldn't worry too much about it, if you were only above the lower amount slightly then the overpayment will only be small.

Bella1810

It was more the getting into trouble that was worrying me - I've never been in trouble for anything in my life!

calcotti

Bella1810 said:

Thank you for your reply.  I've never dealt with any of this before!
Will I need to print off all the bank statements for them?  The account is under £6000 at the moment but it was over at some points during the claim period due to some payments coming in from different places.

Assembling statements for all your accounts throughout your claim would be sensible. 

Alice_Holt

    You may want to check if you could be eligible for any bereavement benefits:

     https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/claiming-bereavement-support-payment/

    https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/benefits-entitlements/bereavement-benefits/


    Citizens Advice or Macmillan may be able to help with a benefits check.

    https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/get-help/financial-help


   

NedS

Bella1810 said:

It was more the getting into trouble that was worrying me - I've never been in trouble for anything in my life!

Don't worry, you will likely not get into any serious trouble.

UC will likely ask for full statements for the period. They will calculate any overpayment, which obviously you will be required to repay. You can arrange monthly direct debit repayment of this or they can deduct it from future UC payments if you can not aford to repay in full.

You will likely also incur a £50 civil penalty for failure to notify UC correctly at the time of your savings. You are unlikely to face any further action, based on the information you have provided.

Bella1810

Thank you so much for your replies.