Is this wise

jailhouse_2

After recently having been made redundant i no longer have the spending power i used to have.

Problem £3000+ on Barclays Credit Card

Possible Solution:

Virgin (MBNA) have offered to transfer over this sum from my BCard account direct to my Bank Account as available cash + upto another £3000 interest free for 9 months.

Q1. I have read through the terms and conditions, and (i think) as long as i pay it off after 9 months there is no charge (i am hoping to get back to work well before then) but if i don't can i transfer to another card?

Q2. Can anyone recommend the best acount to put this £6000 into for 6 - 8 months to earn interest, and gain XX day(s) access to pay off the card.

Q3. Having never been unemployed before, i am really concerned that the DHSS can class this as expendable capitol (i do not want to, or, can afford to spend it), even though i am, in reality taking out a loan. Can anyone tell me how i stand on this.

Please can anyone help? I have read all of Martin's articles, i think ah-ah, there is the answer, i read further on and find something else different to my situation.

I do not want to land in trouble with the DHSS, but my situation is i need a plain english solution.

Thanking you all in advance.
JH

Sub_2

If you are going to make a claim for unemployment benefit (and you bloody well should, you pay tax and NI for just this eventuality, you are entitled to claim) then you need to be careful.

I *believe* the situation is still as it was last time I checked... if you have been paying suffiecient NI contributions over the last year or two then you are entitlted to 6 months unemployment benefit regardless of any money you may have in the bank. Once you claim past 6 months you will switch to income based Job Seekers Allowance, and if you've got thousands in a bank account (even if it's a loan) then this will cause difficulties. They will perhaps stop your benefit altogether or at least reduce it.

Money in the bank may also affect other benefits like council tax and housing benefit.

Now this kind of depends how honest you want to be with the DSS people. Generally they don't check bank accounts, they just ask you to give details of any accounts and balances on the claim forms. If you just give em details of one bank account which is empty then you shouldn't have any trouble, but of course you are being a bit naughty

In your position, I'd make my claim for benefits first, then after it is set up and benefit is sorted *then* take the credit card cash and just keep schtum.

Fran

If you get to the stage of claiming income-based benefits, you can have:

(Quote from Citizens Advice website)

"Capital

A claimant must not have more than £8,000 in capital in order to be entitled to income support, unless s/he is in a residential care or nursing home.

Capital includes savings, property and land (but not personal possessions or the claimant’s home while s/he is living there). Capital of more than £3,000 will affect a claimant’s income support because s/he will be assumed to have £1 a week in income for every £250 (or part of £250) above the £3,000 limit.

If a claimant or her/his partner is aged 60 or over (but not in a residential care or nursing home), s/he must not have more than £12,000 in capital. S/he will be assumed to have an income from any capital over £6,000.If a claimant is in a residential care or nursing home, s/he must not have more than £16,000 in capital. S/he will be assumed to have an income from any capital over £10,000. If the claimant owns property where s/he used to live or normally lives, this may be included in her/his capital.

The following on the Citizens Advice website shows what the DWP can have access to in order to check your claim.

Citizens Advice - Adviceguide

If you don't declare your savings you could be up for fraud, which is a criminal offence. Any interest you make on your savings will count as income.

deemy2004

Unlike another poster

Don't lie or attempt to defraud the DHSS

For if they find out you will have to repay your benefits and dependign on the size of the fraud, go to jail, without passing go and collecting the stoozed cash

Seriously, you think the DHSS is dumb ? Inland revenue ? When the institution informs the inland revenue that this person earned so and so interest and x amount was deducted for tax, and it goes on their computer which is linked to the DHSS,

HELLO !!

8)

Robert_Sterling_3

Now this kind of depends how honest you want to be with the DSS people. [/qote]

There is no suggestion in the original post that Jailhouse wishes to inhabit one

Robert_Sterling_3

Don't lie or attempt to defraud the DHSS

I agree.

Tim_L

Just as an aside to this, does anyone know what the treatment of savings held in an offset mortgage is for the purposes of claiming means tested benefits?

Robert_Sterling_3

Excuse the mixed metaphor but you may have unleashed a gaping loophole.
It looks as if when you consider it appropriate you have no saving whatever.
On the other hand it may be that you have savings and they are, in a sense, earning a high rate of tax free interest. I think this later interpretation is the more likely.

Unbelievable_2

Virgin (MBNA) have offered to transfer over this sum from my BCard account direct to my Bank Account as available cash + upto another £3000 interest free for 9 months.

Excuse me if I'm being a bit dense (it wouldn't be the first time), but I don't understand the figures here.

It sounds like Virgin have offered you a £6000+ credit limit - aren't you going to pay the Barclaycard off with some of this, then you'll only have £3000 in cash to worry about. Have I misunderstood? ???

jailhouse_2

Excuse me if I'm being a bit dense (it wouldn't be the first time), but I don't understand the figures here.

It sounds like Virgin have offered you a £6000+ credit limit - aren't you going to pay the Barclaycard off with some of this, then you'll only have £3000 in cash to worry about. Have I misunderstood? ???

May i first point out that i do not wish to defraud or lie to anyone, that is why i have asked for advice on here, to learn from the combined experience(s) within the forum, and to seek guidance.

Unbelieveable,  you are correct, it is my error.  They have offered to pay the £3000 off the card and transfer £3000 to my account as cash - totalling £6000.  

Glad you picked up on that, thank you, and to everyone else who has commented, a big thank you.

I think after seeing the views here, i am better just having the £3000 transferred from my Barclaycard and forget about the money offer of £3000 going into my account.  At least i have 9 months grace to sort out a new job and arrange different finance.

Never been in trouble before, never want to and hopefully never will.  Life is too short to spend it locked up away from wife and family.

Once again,  thanks everyone.

JH

Martinslovechild

Could you put the £3000 savings into a savings account in your wife's name??