UC want bank statements

zedonk

Hi all, 

I still have a UC claim open but due to a pay rise, I haven't actually received any UC since August, and I'm therefore expecting my claim to be closed next month.

Earlier this month I received a £4K gift from a relative. As this took me over £6K in savings, I did the right thing and reported it (even though I'm not receiving any money for them to reduce).

They've just given me an appointment at the Jobcentre with 48 hours notice and told me I need to bring statements for all my current and savings accounts. In one place it says they need to cover the last three months and in another place it says since the start of my claim.

I don't have anything to hide but given that I get no UC either way, I'd rather not do this. All my statements are digital and that's a LOT of printing. It's not easy for me to get into the Jobcentre as a single parent who works full time, and I don't like the idea of someone going through my bank statements and seeing what I spend money on - it feels really intrusive. 

Can I ask them to close my claim instead? I suspect I know the answer to this and it will look suspicious but this is a lot of hassle when I don't even get any UC and my claim is due to be closed soon anyway. 

TheShape

You can ask them to close the claim and they should do so.  

If you had an Award of UC I could see how there might be a suspicion but given you are not receiving any UC there can be no reason to believe you are receiving any more UC than you are entitled to receive.

Closing your claim saves you and them the bother of reviewing your statements.

huckster

Is this part of UC review team work or just to verify money savings and investments information following you reporting change?

If UC review team work which they will say in journal that your claim is subject to review, they will not close down your claim.  And if you failed to supply Bank statements, there is possibility of action being taken, which could mean you owing a debt or causing you issues if you needed to reclaim UC in the future.

If purely to verify recent reported change to savings, you could simply ask to close the claim.

You can ask for an upload to do action to be added to your claim, so you can upload digital copies of Bank statements. 

TheShape

The above is a good point.

You can probably get an idea by the name of the appointment booked.

If it's a claim review, it's likely to be a Claim Review Appointment (or similar title).

If not, it's likely to be a Further Evidence appointment.

zedonk

Thanks all. It says it's a further evidence appointment, so does that mean I can close the claim? And if not I will definitely ask to upload the statements. 

TheShape

You can always ask for a claim to be closed.

There was a thought that if you had a UC Claim Review they may not close it and still expect the evidence from you.

That it's a Further Evidence appointment (very strongly) suggests it's not a Claim Review.

I think that if you were to ask to close the Claim, they will do so.

Do bear in mind that you are relying on someone to notice to see the request and action it so if they don't close it quickly (tomorrow) you may want to give them a nudge.

zedonk

They've closed my claim. Thank you both for the advice.