UC want all my money back…

[MapleHazelLatte]

I applied for UC when I separated from DC’s father 3 years ago. I have since been living with my parents and he stayed in the house we bought together. I’ve been asking him to take my name of the mortgage to give me my share but he just has been dragging his heels about it. I applied for UC when we split up.

i then got a notification to say I was having a review phone call. Apparently someone had accused me of still being with DC’s father. I had to send all my bank statements for the last 3 years and fill out forms regarding the house. Originally I vaguely remember they did say they would disregard the house for 6 months then I heard no more.

a couple of months later I was told I had been overpaid but it was only slightly and a manageable amount to pay back.

I’ve not got another letter saying I shouldn’t have got UC since 2022 and they want ALL the money back other than the first 6 months. It’s “disallowed” I’ve worked this out to be around £30k. I have no idea what I’m going to do. Anyone else been in this situation ??

This appears to cover it.

@MapleHazelLatte

The 'entitled to' website says this:

If you split up with your partner
Your former home is ignored in these situations:

Sorry, posting error there...

In particular cases the value of property can be disregarded (ignored) on a long term basis. For example, the capital value of your former home can be disregarded from a means tested benefit calculation if:

• your former home is occupied by a relative who is incapacitated or over Pension Credit qualifying age
• your former home is occupied by your former partner who is a lone parent,

In the cases above the capital value is disregarded for as long as it is occupied by the relative or former partner (while they are a lone parent).

So, according to the 'entitled to' website, this has nothing to do with the 6 months rule.

For as long as your partner is living there as a lone parent. I don't know if that means that they count as a lone parent sharing custody or the kids must live there full time.

I would seek.advice on this from an independent benefits advisor (not DWP) in the first instance.

You need to see if you can be put through to the Universal Credit Review team, ring the standard number then ask to be put through to the review team see if you can break it down, and sort it out that way, explain your situation and tell them you believe the decision they have come to is wrong, you can appeal it without going to court first

Op’s dh would hardly be classed as a lone parent when the kids live with her.

They will ask the capital depreciation team to calculate what your savings (equity) would have decreased if you had to use it for living costs at the 6 months so it may not be that you have to pay the full amount back. It often means 10k - 15k is wiped off the overpayment.

The 6 months can be extended if the claimant is taking "reasonable steps" to enforce a sale.

I've no idea what the DWP would consider "reasonable" though. My clients are mostly too poor to have ever owned property, couldn't afford legal fees even if they did and I doubt if legal aid covers this sort of thing any more.

Doing nothing for 3 years doesn’t feel inherently reasonable…….

I would seek.advice on this from an independent benefits advisor (not DWP) in the first instance.

Totally agree. They will be able to look at the whole picture and tell the OP if there are circumstances that mean the OP has taken the "reasonable steps" that will satisfy the DWP.

If, for example, someone had been to see a solicitor and been told that they had no chance of getting an order for sale while it was the home of their dependent child, I'd say that they had done all that could reasonably be expected of them, but fuck knows what position the DWP would take.

After six months they would expect the house to be sold and the equity due paid to OP. If the amount is more than £6000 it would affect her UC. If she's due more than £16000 it would wipe out any UC entitlement at all. As far as UC are concerned she's had £20000 since 2022.
It was her responsibility to ensure the house was sold and she was paid her money by the 6 month mark. Benefits aren't paid to those who have capital they can live on just because they haven't accessed the money.

What if a woman worked the weekend and the father had the kids (in this case in the former family home) from Fri-Sun? Would they disregard it in those circumstances? (though knowing DWP, they'd probably want an in-depth investigation into why she had to work Sat and Sun and why she couldn't change her working pattern to something else.)

That's why it's always best to do the clean financial break at the time of separation. Leaving it 9 years just benefits your ex.

I think if they’d put child benefit for 1dc in his name and called it 50/50 care it’d be disregarded. There’s an exception for former partners who have care of a child. Of course OP would of been down £350 or so a month though.

Morally in these specific circumstances I agree she should be entitled to UC. The comment I was responding to is factually incorrect though. So no, I’m not wrong.

Was your ex abusive? Womens Aid can help you. You can sometimes apply to have over-payments reduced or removed due to financial hardship.

A Mackenzies friend, such as BH Support, can provide help with some legal matters such as getting joint assets cheaper than a solicitor, but it is unregulated.

You need to get proper advice and challenge this decision. Off the top of my head there are couple of possible challenges. One is that the 6 months isn’t a definitive cut off and can be extended in exceptional circumstances. Another is that any deduction from your UC would be based on the actual capital you were entitled to. From what you’ve said you’d have been just over the capital limit. So this wouldn’t have lasted very long before it was depleted and you’d have been entitled to UC again. So it MIGHT be possible to offset UC you would have been entitled to against what they are saying you owe.

That’s all just off the top of my head but both, and possibly other challenges you could make, need to be looked into. This is a complex area, so try CAB and ask them to refer the query to their Expert Advice Team if they don’t seem sure, or are just telling you you owe it and have to pay etc. All challenges should be explored before you accept such a large amount owed.

You should be able to force a sale of the property via the courts. You don’t have to accept your ex saying No.

Hi op did you get a joint mortgage or just put your name on the deeds. You need to claim maintenance from him he can’t just pay for clothes. Why do men think they no longer have to pay towards a roof over their kids head and all the things that go along with this. You might not need UC if he paid his way.

You can’t “just put your name on the deeds” if there’s a mortgage and haven’t been able to for decades. If a lender is going to lend thousands of pounds secured on a property, then they’re not going to have someone named on the mortgage but not the deeds and visa versa. If someone defaults on the mortgage they need to be able to repossess the property. So the borrowers and owners have to be the same.

It just didn’t sound like she’s on the mortgage with her ex saying she’s only entitled to a set amount and not half of it this is why I asked the op the question.

The name(s) mortgage is not the issue. It's who owns the property that counts though as already noted being an owner while not on the mortgage or vice versa is difficult/very unusual.

Forget Citizens Advice..Your problem. sounds quite complex..Go and talk.to a proper qualified Solicitor for advice for sn hour

Hope you can get something sorted

Best Wishes
🌻🤞

Call UC / whichever department sent the letter - & talk to them - ask for a mandatory reconsideration if you think the wrong decision has been made. It may take a while, provide all documentation that you can, ask for an appointment at local your jobcentre & ask for all your documents to be uploaded to a mandatory reconsideration, which will be sent to a 'decision maker'. (Unfortunately there is no time frame for this, so may take a while). Consult with CAB for assistance. Keep records of everything. Ask for names from whoever you speak to (they only have to give first names though).
(Sorry, but the 'vaguely ' bit doesn't go in your favour xx) Good luck.
There are Facebook groups with experts who may be able to advise further?? (look up Universal Credit help etc on Facebook) - they are not from UC but have very good knowledge of the processes.

Did they declare it when making the claim?? A Review may ask that question - please be aware, if not declared and then its found to be not declared, it may be considered fraudulent, or non compliance - if your don't tell them how would they know? So many claims (over 2 million+ & most made during 'Covid' time) are currently being reviewed - best to be upfront or ask advice?? May be innocent, but when making the claim, the question is asked eg - property that you own? May be OK, but maybe best to check?? Depends on whether its considered as 'asset' or not. (or whether she lives in the house etc). (eg - You are allowed to own a house when on UC if living there).xx

She doesn’t have the money to pay a solicitor and CAB usually have qualified solicitors working for them. A friend a highly regarded solicitor volunteered for them for years and law students often use it as work experience, they always have access to qualified people and are motivated to get results as getting into law training courses are so competitive.