Worried

Frank69

Am I in trouble for never declaring savings to universal credit

I’ve claimed for 4 years and now under review

my statement will show I’m well over£16k for a few years

scared this is fraud

DE_612183

Yes you are - you should tell them straight away.

You will probably have to pay back the UC you have claimed.

Did you do this without knowing or did you think you would get away with it?

Muttleythefrog

It is fraud if you've knowingly done this to receive money you're not entitled to. I would disclose full details and offer to pay back monies you should not have received.

elsien

It is much better if the information comes from you, with a plan as to how to repay any money owed, rather than them discovering it during investigation. You need to be proactive with this before they start investigating - see below - and get advice if you need to.

From the DWP overpayment recovery guidance -  

Fraud by the claimant 1.6. The claimant deliberately misrepresents their circumstances or fails to disclose material facts in order to obtain benefit to which they are not entitled. DWP only classifies an overpayment as fraud where there is either admission by the claimant after “caution”, upon conviction in court or acceptance of an Administrative Penalty.

Benefit overpayment recovery guide - GOV.UK

Baldytyke88

AI Overview

For Universal Credit, savings are considered as "capital" and affect your monthly payment if they exceed £6,000. If your total capital is £16,000 or more, you are generally not entitled to receive Universal Credit. However, if you've been receiving Tax Credits and have over £16,000 in savings, you may still be eligible for Universal Credit for up to a year

Frank69

I don’t know how this happened I’m sure I was under 16k when I made the claim
then my savings slowly went over this
it says I didn’t report ANY savings 
I hope they except me paying every penny back and leave it at that

TimeLord1

Frank69 said:

I don’t know how this happened I’m sure I was under 16k when I made the claim
then my savings slowly went over this
it says I didn’t report ANY savings 
I hope they except me paying every penny back and leave it at that

Visit your local Citizen Advice. Do you know how much you reported in savings on opening the claim?

And when did you go above the 16k from the start or during the claim? Have you received any inheritance, cost-of-living payments, or personal injury payments ?

Frank69

This all came about because they were doing a review
i started to research things and discovered my savings being high
i ve sent them the bank statements so they will know
im waiting to hear back
but all I’m reading online is this can lead to court
I’m careful with money so I can pay every penny back
going to prison scares me

TimeLord1

I think they will possibly stop the claim and recover any overpaymentayment. Do you rent or own your own property?

Frank69

I work on a zero hours contract as much as I can
i rent property
so my claim is £1400 ish a month which goes towards rent
obviously if I earn over the amount I receive nothing
ive looked at my online UC statement and it says I receive this amount because I have £0.00 savings
this is my concerns because I’ve declared no savings?
don’t know why I’ve done this 
really worried

DE_612183

Don't worry - too much.

You won't go to prison, but you'll be expected to pay back any money due.

Do you know how much savings you had when the claim started and how and when it passed the threasholds.

As long as you communicate and cooperate you'll be ok.