Benefits Integrity Centre

Hi all,

I have just been sent an Income Support form to fill in. It is called a Review claim form and I have to send it to the Benefits Integrity Centre Southern England Group.

Does this mean that I am under investigation for fraud or that I am likely be be tested to see if I need to be moved to ESA?

It is the first one of its kind that I have ever seen and I have been on Income Support due to disability for about thirteen years now.

I would appreciate any help that anyone could give.

Many thanks

Avalon

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for your answer. Yes it is an A2 form.

I have just checked the finance section where it asks if a person has ever had savings of over £5,500. Well I have checked my bank balances and I see that for a few days in the last month I was over the £6,000 saving limit for Income Support by about £700.

The problem is that I cannot walk, cannot drive and am agoraphobic and my carers buy things for me. However to make things simple we only balance the books once a month and by then I often owe them hundred of pounds.

Do you think this may have generated the Benefits check and what penalty am I going to suffer for being £700 over the limit for a few days?

Yesterday for example before I got this letter we balanced the books and I paid my carers what I owed them which was about £1200.

Now I am back below the £6,000 saving limits.

I am now worried about what will happen.

Any answers gratefully received.

Thanks,

Avalon

PS I also owe one carer a £10,000 loan which I am paying off bit by bit. The reason I have so much money is that I am saving up to buy a good mobility scooter.

Savings are a minefield with the DWP. Even on the A2 review form, it state's you must notify them of savings over £5,500 ( this reason I assume is because you're nearing the £6k limit ).

Further down the form it asks about any child's savings of £2,500 or more, which suggests your ok for £5,499 and your child is ok for £2,499 before you have to notify them,. But that breaks the £6k rule which is cited as law on all other DWP information.

I suspect if you have £5500 in the bank, the DWP would be interested in how much cash you have, in case it's over £500.

Or perhaps if you have £5500 in total they might look at when your next benefit payment is due, ready to nab you for having more than £6000.