Universal credit want to see the last 6 months worth of statements for my savings account but...

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

There are no statements 😬

I've been on live chat with the building society who say that because there was no account activity in any of the last 6 months, statements cannot be produced. There was no account activity because it's my emergency car repair fund that I do not touch unless the car breaks or needs replacing!

How do I explain this in a way UC will understand? There is just nothing I can print out to send them. I can't even screenshot because of the website security settings!

(Before anyone comes at me for claiming benefits whilst having savings, it's £2k as an emergency car repairs/replacement fund. I've got a disabled child, I work, and we live rurally, so having no car is Not An Option. Us having no car would cost the taxpayer more than £2k in a matter of months because I'd lose my job and have to claim more benefits!)

I had this exact issue with Nationwide and UC.

I couldn't get statements due to no activity. So I logged into my Nationwide account on my computer and on the overview of that account screen, I put in the 6 month dates that UC wanted.

The screen then showed an account summary for the start and end date UC credit wanted.

I printed that screen off (right clicked and print) and gave that printout in at my UC appointment. All was fine. Accepted.

Nationwide are a pain for this.

I have never formatted anything in my life, I wouldn't even know where to start Can I do that on a chromebook? We don't have a PC...

Oh brilliant I knew someone on MN would have been there done that. It's not just me is it, Nationwide don't make it easy to do this thing that really should be easy!

I know people have said go into the branch but that's a 22 mile round trip and would mean either taking half a day off work or taking an autistic child with me...neither are sparking joy tbh.

I only get annual interest on two of my savings accounts, Yorkshire BS and West Bromwich - and on my ISAs. It's not unusual at all, even if you think it is.

Once you sort out the statements please go see Martin Lewis site about best savings accounts. Even if you don't have much it's better to have it in an account which pays you interest otherwise it's losing value all the time.

OP said it’s not a savings account.

I was going to suggest the same as @LaunchingTeabag. I've got a few Nationwide savings accounts that don't get touched very often. I've just checked and I can easily get all the details for the last 6 months up on screen for each of them. That's all you need.

@TeaKitten I'm guessing it's Halifax. I use my savings account regularly but they still do not produce statements. Also, Halifax online blocks screenshots! If I try to screenshot ANY part of the Halifax app or website, the screen goes black and.... If I start a video screenshot, then open the Halifax app or website the screen goes white! Not lying, yes I'm being serious, yes this is the possible. I too, was shocked. It's bloody annoying tbh because I had an issue recently whereby I needed to prove a charge whilst on live chat to my credit card company and they demanded a screenshot. They didn't believe me either!

Lots of websites and apps block screenshots now. Most (but not all) online banking, plus PayPal, for a start. The website I have to use to manage DS's direct payments does it too which is a massive PITA.

Hope you get it sorted. When we did our last mortgage application, I remember having to go in because as you say, lots of banking apps etc now stop you from screenshotting and taking photos. If you have a PC, using the snipping tool might work?

I'm not sure you're helping @TeaKitten

The op has a genuine problem, it is stressful having to supply evidence.

Go on a laptop. Open statements and use the snipping tool to take a copy of the statements. Save in word then save as PDFs.

There are apps that will take screenshots that might override the 'no screenshot security setting'. I've had to use one myself on my android phone.

I have lots of savings accounts, including some with Nationwide. They all pay interest annually.

OP, have you tried just being on the browser version of the website, rather than using the app? More options will appear including looking at statements going back ages.

All my nationwide accounts pay interest annually. This isn’t unusual.

op I hope you manage to get it sorted.

As an aside, nationwide have a savings account (flex instant access 2) that pays 3.25% which you can open on the app. Interest is payable annually, but assuming no change in rates or car emergencies, would pay £65 interest after the year… There’s other banks paying better rates, but if you’re strapped for time it’s an easier way for your emergency fund to work harder for you.

I don't really understand interest rates but £65 sounds much better than £3.50 so I'll look into that, thanks!

My building society account is interest once a year, lots of savings account have interest paid annually

That only works if there are statements to take a screenshot of! I can only get statements for the two months in which interest was paid.

Thanks to advice on this thread I've now worked out how to get a 6 months activity/transaction log via the website, which isn't really what UC want because it's not a month by month record. When UC say statements what they mean is an actual statement per month with opening and closing balance etc. But it'll have to do. I got the live chat transcript emailed to me which does explain why there are no statements so I can send that as well.

Noooooo it's ever so unlikely that you'd only get interest paid once a year, are you sure about that <head tilt>

Just for anyone else thinking they have to screenshot and then can't. If there's no obvious save option, try the print option, but then click 'PDF' or 'print to PDF'.
Instead of actually printing it out it saves a copy. And it will usually do it in a nicely laid out format too.

I am with nationwide. You can definitely get a statement. Make sure to select the pdf rather than html option. You need to be on a desktop so if you don’t have a laptop maybe go to the library and do it but it is possible.

Can you not get it up on your computer and then take a photo with your phone?

Easy fix

We had this issue when we were buying oir flat. Our deposit (proceeds of a property sale) were in a building society savings account. The mortgage underwriters wanted a 6 month statement, Building Society computer said no.

In the end we paid a small fee to the building society for them to write a letter to the underwriters confirming that the money was with them, when it was paid in and from where.