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 ??

Perhaps see if the charity Surviving Economic Abuse can help you?

Depends where the house is. House prices in my location have been stagnant for years.

The cash won’t be in a house if she needed it to live on. Which she does hence she’s requires UC. She didn’t take the cash out of the property and didn’t have enough to live on from her wage so she needed UC. If she took the cash to live on and not require UC it would have depleted to the point she could apply for UC

@MapleHazelLatte- I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, but please try not to panic. Yes, there’s been an overpayment but it sounds like genuine error on your part and not deliberate fraud, so the process to recover the money will be different. Bear in mind even fraud cases that have been proven and prosecuted usually only end up with a suspended sentence and slap on the wrist (people have played the system for 10 times the ££ you owe).

Your parent’s home insurance might offer ‘free legal advice’ as a benefit, most contents insurance policies do. You’d be covered because you live there. Look in to this and get advice. Failing that many solicitors will offer a free 30min consultation which would help you understand what your options are and the cost to follow up.

If, and only if, bailiffs turned up at your parents they DO NOT have a right of entry - they need to state who they are and what they are doing there, and cannot force their way in. They cannot take anything that doesn’t belong to you - no children’s stuff, nothing of your parents, nothing essential to day to day living and your ability to earn a living. Their powers are limited, but their attitude frightens people. I don’t think UC would use them as a first step, but don’t know, it just seems very unlikely.

A court can force a sale of the family home or your ex can buy you out. You can get a good idea of value looking on Zoopla and local estate agents for similar properties nearby that have sold and are up for sale. You should know the amount of mortgage outstanding so the equity due to you is 50% of what’s left when the mortgage is settled (and that would be the amount your ex would have to pay you to buy you out and get your name removed).

Right now it all feels terrifying and overwhelming but it’s ok, there are solutions. Talk to UC, explain and keep the lines of communication open. Take advice and make a plan and just take one step - and one day - at a time. You’ve got this, you can sort it out.

It is fraud as when she competed the online for for UC she wasnt honest and didnt tell them she owned a house, benefits are for people in need ie those on the bones of their arse not people who own property she lied that is fraud

She didn't lie. She told them and they disregarded the property for 6 months. Reading the thread normally helps people not make glaring errors like this.

They can give you longer if they think it's reasonable. The important thing is to start taking steps to sell. If your partner was a husband that would mean getting the divorce process started. If not a husband then an application to court to order the sale of the property will be needed.

You don't want to implicate your parents. I would move out and use savings for a few months.to rent basic accommodation.

There is absolutely no need to do this.

UC will see the OP as an independent adult, and assess her as a single person, without any reference to her parents.
Her parents have absolutely nothing to do with her UC claim, no matter how wealthy (or poor) they are.
UC will be calculated on the basis that OP is paying something to her parents for "lodging" (whether she is or not).

Likewise, if a parent is on UC and has an adult child at home, the parent's UC will not include the adult child, and will be calculated assuming that that adult is paying the parents some "lodgings" or "keep" - whether they are or not.

They don't care how people feel. Best to get a lawyer I think. One that deals with benefits etc

She would have been asked about property on her initial application. Sounds like maybe she wasn't completely honest.

The OP's best hope would be to make sure UC apply a reasonable reduction to the bill based on the idea of her using her capital. So if she has 25k equity then it may be reasonable to assume she would use that at a rate of 1k per month which would mean only being ineligible for UC 9 months and then having a tapered rate. She shouldn't have to pay back the full amount she claimed unless she has a lot more equity than she thinks.

That's right - you have an asset and that's why you aren't entitled to UC

Your parent’s home insurance might offer ‘free legal advice’ as a benefit, most contents insurance policies do.

Great idea.

It won't be calculated on whether the OP is paying lodging. They will get a set personal amount but no housing element because they are living at home.

How has your ex determined that you’re only entitled to $16K-$20K if he were to buy you out?

Sorry I’ve been at work. I moved out as my ex said there was no means of me paying the mortgage alone and he has no family local, where as I do. So that meant I left. He doesn’t pay maintenance just sent money if I asked for clothes etc.

it’s probably pretty obvious I have absolutely no idea about legal rights, how to go to court, etc. I’m pretty sure I’m also on the deeds and the house is 50/50 but he just says my share is around 16k.

That would be deprivation of capital

The fact is though that it’s an asset.

It means she is currently worth a certain amount of money, more than would entitle her to universal credit. The fact that money is tied up in the house is irrelevant. In the same way that e.g. the CEO of a business is worth x amount but most of it is in stocks and shares and tied up in a business portfolio. We don’t discount that fact when talking about someone who is e.g. in a higher position of financial wealth.

Completely opposite ends of the spectrum but Elon Musk for instance is the richest man in the world (actually he’s just been overtaken but you get the gist) and is worth $480bn. But he doesn’t actually have that money, it’s tied up. We don’t say that though. We acknowledge the fact.

It’s not your money.

I'm in this position exactly OP with a financially abusive ex - don't claim UC though because I'm not allowed.

I've been to see 4 solicitors and they've all said that the cost of forcing a sale (would take ages too) and wipe out anything I'd gain - no guarantee that the order for costs would be made against him. It's an atrocious predicament to be in. He's already stood up one estate agent and gone NC with us.

But if you've been upfront with UC, can you prove that - entries in your journal where you've stated that you have an interest in a house? It really does sound like their error, and they should be more understanding because of that.

The law really needs to change to protect women who are locked into 'joint tenant' arrangements like this; some are victims of DV and they and their children are being penalised because these benefit rules are applied so rigidly.

You must get whatever you are legally entitled to from the house. You need to let go of any notion that you shouldn't be owed much because you were a sahm. By being a sahm you saved your family a lot in childcare fees. If you weren't doing that your ex would have been paying half childcare fees plus half mortgage. He is already benefitting from you two not marrying so he doesn't have to share the rest of his assets. Don't allow him more of the house than he is legally entitled to.

You need to know what type of house deed you two have so you can know what % of the house you own. You also need to get estate agent valuations and find out the outstanding mortgage balance. This will help you work out the likely equity and your %. You will then know if your ex is taking the piss when he says you are owed about 16k - my bet is he may be trying to steal from you/put you off forcing a sale by claiming you are owed only a small amount.

You dont need a lawyer to handle a benefits overpayment. If you do need advice, then call Citizens Advice.
You will need a lawyer to deal with the house sale.
You dont need to worry about bailiffs. You should probably talk to the DWP debt management team - they may be able to suspend recovery until you manage to get things sorted out.
In the meantime, what are you doing for money? Please speak to Citizens Advice. They may be able to source grants or at the least point you towards food banks etc.

It's not up to him to say what your share is. You need to get some proper advice re this matter - both the issue with the house and your UC. Particularly because you are going to need money from the sale of the house as income going forward.

100% this. There's absolutely no reason why she can't work 30 hours a week.

We don’t know if OP owns 50% of the property, she ‘thinks’ it is jointly owned. It could be owned as tenants in common in unequal shares. Who knows.

she needs official copies of the title register and the trust deeds asap. As well as a lawyer who can advise on tolata matters and forcing a sale.

for obvious reasons, you can’t sit on an asset whilst claiming UC. There are ways of forcing ex-partners to leave and sounds like OP had three years to do so but didn’t bother.

I wouldn't take your ex partners word for it that your share of the equity is only around 16k. If your name is on the mortgage, you should be entitled to find out how much is outstanding by asking the bank or building society. Then you can look on Zoopla to get an idea of how much similar properties hae sold for recently. This will then give you an idea of the equity. You might find that if you force your ex to either buy you our or sell the property, you have enough to pay the whole £30k back.

There are exemptions and adjustments for victims of domestic abuse.