UC review of £6K savings - a couple of questions please

jtlpbrighton

I am under review for UC because they have seen that I have more than £6K spread across savings (£5K) and bank account (wages of £1,200 every 4 weeks). Once I pay my rent from my wages, the amount across all accounts drops below £6K. I did not think to consider my wages as savings because the money goes out of my account the same month (UC can see this from the financial statements I've given them from my ISA (£4K), Bank savings account (£1K) and Current account where my wages are paid into.  

I know that ignorance is no defence in law and if if I have to pay anything back I will do so from the savings I have. Will there be a fine as well? Today, I have read a message from UC confirming they have received all the financial statements and ID info they requested and to look out for more messages. Do you know how long the review process could take?

Also, how can I turn on notifications for messages on the UC platform? I found the message from UC because I was checking the August payment (it's zero).

Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post. 

teaselMay

Is it not a routine review? If the 1200 coming in is spent within the month that doesn't count as savings.

Spoonie_Turtle

teaselMay said:

Is it not a routine review? If the 1200 coming in is spent within the month that doesn't count as savings.

That is correct (partially, as income is not capital unless it remains unspent at the end of the next assessment period), but my current experience is that the review team may apparently not even know this.  So be prepared you may need to challenge any incorrect decision, OP.

Relevant guidance quoted in this post here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81515043/#Comment_81515043

peteuk

Capital is what is left in your accounts at the end of the AP.  Any income or benefits received during the AP are not classed as capital until the end of the next AP
For example you have £5K savings and paid £1200 income on 29 July.  You AP is 30 Jul - Capital is £5k
You spend £1000 on Iiving and then get paid £1200 29 Aug.  
On 30 Aug although you have £6,400 your capital is £5200.

jtlpbrighton

Thank you for your replies and explaining things. I got a phone call from UC who said the account was under review because they wanted to check I didn't have more than £6K in savings. A relief to know that I'm not potentially facing a criminal case for defrauding the government. I don't have enough money to live on this month as they have suspended any payment for August, so I will dip into savings which has the weird "benefit" of keeping me well under the £6K limit!

Taffy9264

I thought you were allowed to have 16K in savings? Did that change? or Have I just been badly misinformed?

Muttleythefrog

Taffy9264 said:

I thought you were allowed to have 16K in savings? Did that change? or Have I just been badly misinformed?

You're allowed to have as much savings as you like... but capital between £6k and £16k will affect the amount of Universal Credit you get. Over £16k and no UC. Any capital over £6k should be reported each month.

There has been no change.

jtlpbrighton

UPDATE: I have received a message to say that I will receive a phone call on Friday 5 September as part of the UC review.  I have been told I'll be expected to answer questions. The call is listed for 30 minutes. 

In light of your earlier replies, I've looked at my bank figures in 2025 and what the amount was on the last date of the Assessment Period in my current account (I have £5K in savings).

For this year, on the last date of the Assessment Period (26th of the month) I have been under £1K. However, in July I got paid on 25th and my current account total was £1469 at the end of the AP the following day. In August I got paid on 22nd and on 26 August I had £1222.48 in my current account. In both months rent and bills left the account a couple of weeks later.

So, I can see why the review was flagged because I have exceeded £6K, but it seems no consideration has been made for the timing of my salary payment (I get paid 4 weekly) and the later reduction of rent and bills, which are shown on the bank statements I sent as soon as the UC request was made. 

What can I expect from the phone call on Friday? I'm OK with being fined and repaying an overpayment but am scared that I might not understand what the person on the phone may be asking me as I need time to process things (more time than most people).

Sorry for the essay. If anyone has any words of wisdom or advice, I would very much appreciate it. Thanks in advance. 

Muttleythefrog

The questions may be tailored to the specifics here but if standard they'll just ask about the odd transaction to justify their existence... ask you to explain it.... 'this payment of £100 to Freddy what is that for?' They tend to be looking for..yes.. undeclared savings.. and undeclared incomes which can affect entitlement. In terms of savings limits... they may be looking at that as you advise... and gosh we've had a lot of posting on calculations of capital at end assessment phases and how the DWP are treating such. I don't wish to indulge (you can see the whopping thread about it ongoing and the battles users have had getting UC to accept their figures) but the reality is regardless you're not facing major issues as any overpayment they could argue is going to be minimal and easily repayable I imagine. I would take the precaution of preparing some numbers.... for the months in question calculate what you see as the capital total at end assessment periods... and then if they ask.. you can say '(I did not report change of savings as) my capital in June assessment period I calculate at £x)'. Get familiar with your submitted statements (and have them ideally in front of you in some form for the call) so you are able to better answer what any transactions relate to.... and don't rule out them asking stupid questions like 'what is this Direct Debit to Octopus energy for?' They will ask if you have any other accounts including paypal (even if you've already supplied statements for such in my experience!) or investments etc. After the call they'll either close the matter with no change to benefits or they'll ask for more documents or carry out more scrutiny.

jtlpbrighton

Thank you again for all your replies. Muttleythefrog had some fine advice that fitted the call on 5 September. I was worried about the call because I couldn't understand where there might be a flaw in the information I sent as my finances are simple - two current accounts and an ISA. It turns out that the reviewer was questioning two transactions where I transferred money to myself. He said there was no record of the account this money was sent to - implying that I had another undeclared account. It turns out that the two accounts have different statement periods so all he needed was a prior statement to the four already sent, which I sent one minute after our call.  Yesterday, I recieved a message to say the case is now closed and the amount of UC offered is accurate and will continue. 

As Muttleythefrog suggested, there is a vast spiel at the start of the call to tell you of your rights and then questions about what accounts you have across a broad range of financial services, includingPayPal and asking if you have a second house!

Thanks again to all and I hope my experience is helpful to those under investigation who have been entirely honest but may be scared witless, as I was. For me, this was due to having memory problems (which is why my finances are so simple) and word finding difficulties (which makes conversation with strangers a strain).