Advice needed please, Income Support

Hello,

I`m hoping someone will have some advice for me, as I`m very concerned about the following.
I am in reciept of DLA and income support. In 2007 my DLA was stopped, as I didn`t provide sufficent evidence with my renewal. I appealed, and won, and it was reinstated at low mobility and middle care, and I recieved over £5000 in back dated DLA and income support.
This has remained in my bank account, which I thought was ok, as I believed that someone on income support can have up to £6000. A month ago I decided to use this money to pay off part of my mortgage, so that I wouldn`t be so dependent on benefits, as I would rather help myself where I can. My father, who is in reciept of pension credit, and is the joint mortgage holder, also paid £3000 along with the £5000 I paid. I felt proud that this would significantly reduce the amount of interest that needed to be paid on our behalf.
Today I recieved a letter from income support, demanding to know how I paid off this sum, and telling me that my benefit may be withdrawn.
Have I done the wrong thing? Will I lose my Income support? I`m really worried about this.

I tried to help myself as they say we should, maybe we just cant win. It feels that way.

As far as I am aware, as this was a benefit that was owed and paid to you as a lump sum, it should not affect your income support. Perhaps one of the mods can confirm this.

As you received arrears of both DLA and Income Support which amounted to over £5,000, these are disregarded for the lifetime of the IS award.

Furthermore, you are allowed to have up to £6,000 in savings in addition to your arrears payment of £5,000. If your capital was less than £6,000, you would be perfectly entitled to pay off your mortgage payments using this money, as both capital (below £6,000) and arrears are fully disregarded in this situation.

The Income Support section at you local JCP/BD office have no business in asking how you have spent the money, otherwise it makes the disregards totally irrelevant. They certainly don't have the authority in your particular circumstances to threaten to withdraw your IS payments/entitlement.

I would write to the office which deals with your IS claim and inform them that as the arrears payment and capital can be fully disregarded, you were free to spend the money as you liked, without any effect on your IS entitlement.

Dearest Mark,
When on Income Support you are allowed to keep up to £12,000 not £6,000 and this has been since 2006
Call DWP and ask to speak to somebody who would know.
Good Luck.

Sorry, Lulu, but the £12000 figure you cite is wrong.

The capital levels, as Crazydiamond says above, are £6000 (plus any benefits arrears over £5000) without it affecting your benefit, with £1 deducted for every £250 or part of £250 above that, up to a maximum of £16000, above which you get no means-tested benefits.

(If you are over retirement age it's £1 for every £500.)

survivor sorry if I got this wrong. I moved home 4 yrs ago and I was told by DWP I was allowed to keep £16,000 from Sale of my previous home. The balance had to be declared, possibly theres a different set of rules for this when on IS