Universal credit checking statements

[Noahsark4]

I have a question about universal credit and checking bank statements.

Today they have requested for me to give bank statements dating back to 4 months and child care statements for nursery bills etc.

Do they check all of our bank accounts or only the ones you declare? I’m asking as I have my normal RBS bank account which everything goes into but I also have a Monzo account which my sons father transfers money into which he owes me, for child maintenance and debt he accumulated on my credit card before we split. I have only declared my RBS for the meantime as this is my main bank account which I use and my wage etc is paid into it.

We have also booked a holiday that he transfers me for as he is coming as my son is only 2 years old and I’m nervous about travelling alone abroad with him and we did end on civil terms.

If they ask for my Monzo statements are they going to question thoroughly about the money I have been receiving from him?

You need to declare all bank accounts in your name. So yes you’ll need to upload your Monzo as well as your RBS. They will question the money going in and what it’s for, but as long as you explain and it doesn’t go over the capital threshold (£6k before it affects your payments and £16k before your entitlement stops) then you’ll be fine.

It’s best to tell them.. as long as u don’t have over 6 grand saved u will be fine. They will
ask questions and just be honest and tell them the truth like u did here.. I had a review recently and was so worried but was fine. They asked about a few transactions and transfers/monies in I had and I just told them what it’s for. The main thing is u don’t have 6 grand saved anywhere

They do want to know all of your accounts and all of your capital so I would be honest and let them know.
Child maintenance payments don't count towards it.

You shouldn’t have any undeclared bank accounts.
if you have deliberately failed to declare an account they can prosecute for fraud!
You need to provide all bank statements, hope they believe you ‘forgot’ to add that one onto you claim, and pray it doesn’t mean you’ve been overpaid, leaving you with a load to pay back. Child maintenance doesn’t count, but the rest will.

I have messaged them to request upload further documents and will attach my Monzo statements.

My Monzo account doesn’t have any savings and neither does my main bank account, I don’t have anything to hide so hopefully it will be okay

There’s a very long road between not declaring a bank account when applying for UC and being charged with fraud! OP won’t be accused or charged with fraud. Stop scaremongering!

Thank you. I wasn’t sure how it worked entirely as I’ve never been through this situation before and haven’t claimed universal credit for that long really.

I have messaged them and asked to upload further documents

Okay thank you. I don’t have anything saved.

My main worry is that they will question why he sends me so much, are they allowed to dig into this? It is because of debt he accumulated and for my son but I’m worried they will think. Otherwise

Yes they can ask you what payments are for. I'm an appointee for a family member and have been through the UC review and they do ask even obvious ones e.g. rent
Everyone I have dealt with has been nice and fair and if there's a genuine mistake they have been fine.

The reviews they're doing are aimed at two things. Undisclosed capital or work, the latter most likely cash in hand or self employment.

Maintenance for your children is not treated as income so does not affect UC at all.

There are some disregards for capital in including potentially money beneficially vested in minor children. They do not however extend to money you're given to pay down debt accumulated by your ex.

Once you conceal accounts you're on a slippery slope. If they find out later by whatever route you could be in deep/hot water. Disclose the Monzo account now and apologise /explain the oversight that lead you to not add it sooner.

If you’ve transferred money from your monzo account to your RBS account, this may have been flagged by Uc on previous statements shown ( I know that happens sometimes, possibly not in your case)and thus you’ve been asked for statements

Thanks for the information. I contacted them to disclose it and send the documents across which they have responded to

They’ve never asked me for anything like this before that’s why I was unsure what it was for. I have contacted them back to disclose Monzo

Don’t be so dramatic

as long as the OP hasn’t got over 6k in her accounts she is fine
when you sign up for UC you just give the account you want the money paid into

they don’t initially ask you about any other accounts

even if the op has got more than 6k
it will be a £50 civil penalty and paying back any overpayment

OP if you want proper info head over to the dwp / UC pages on Reddit
you have several dwp workers that run those chats and will tell you exactly what you want

the only time you might need to worry is if it’s from the enhanced review team who check for fraud and mistakes

I sat with my niece when she had hers a few weeks ago on the phone
she hadn’t given them her business account when she signed up for UC or her Revoult’s account just the one she had her benefits paid into

she uploaded them and the whole phone call took 15 mins

@Noahsark4 expect if take a few months
my niece had her first request in Jan and her phone call in May

you will still get paid while going through the review and they can do them every 6 months

they aren’t interested in child payments or even cash taken out
my niece often takes out cash of 200 week and they didn’t even mention it

Thanks so much, this is really helpful and has put my mind at ease

Thank you, this is really helpful to know :)

I would be careful to not mention the going on holiday together and him giving you money.

Why?

Isn't holidaying together one of the things they ( DWP ) look at when deciding if you are a couple ? And receiving money on a regular basis from an ex partner ( for the debts )that is not child maintenance could surely need to be explained? I mean if the ex is just living with parents and does not have own address etc it could look suspicious if holidaying together. It may not be a problem I just think op needs to be careful here.

You've now declared it so you've taken out the 'non disclosure' problem. They may ask for clarity as to what the money is for, if it's for debt payments, why isn't he just paying the debt himself (or is this to ensure they still get paid) maintenance needs to be declared but isn't counted in the calculations for universal credit.

The test for living together as (though) a married couple is whether you are treated as a household.

DWP have extensive guidance for their Decision Makers on the subject:

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7575a740f0b6397f35e96f/adme4.pdf

If you have separate homes and separate lives then you're clearly two households unless you're both at the same home most of the time e.g. are in a relationship that's moving into being an established couple.

Holidaying with an estranged partner so as to give your kids some stability would not, of itself, be an issue.

Child maintenance is always disregarded for UC.

Income, whether earned or otherwise, only counts if the UC Regs say it does. If @Noahsark4's ex is paying her for a debt he owes that should be OK but it needs to be declared/explained as already outlined.

Maintenance paid from one estranged partner to another counts as income but would normally occur as part of a divorce settlement through the courts.

Which makes me think they have seen transfers by you between the accounts - which has alerted them to your monzo account

since you have been truthful then it’s probably nothing to be concerned about

I’ve know HB ask for 2 years worth of statements and the benefits stopped until the statements appear in full

They can take ages
sometimes you get a call first just to put you at ease
then a few months later you get the proper call.

its useful if you have the statements you provided but honestly they have got a lot better as they are more experienced on what to do and look for

They are mainly looking for undisclosed earnings - only fans 😂 or eBay

or undeclared capital

Presumably they can check using NI numbers.