Cost of Living disregard

Hmmm that still doesn't clear it up for me i'm afraid.

Are you saying if i had left the money where it was, it would be disregarded or moved it to his savings account, it would be disregarded?

But because it was spent on energy, it will be viewed as deliberated deprivation of capital?!

That hardly seems fair but i do see what you're saying, although i made such a hash of dealing with his account, i think it's probably pretty obvious to them that i didn't have any clue what i was doing!

My son has sufficient capital to pay back what's owed (unless it is more than 15k) so i just wish they'd hurry up with their processes.

His claim was closed in January.


I told them right away they'd need to pull in all statements going back to claim start because i had never declared current acc savings.

The claim actually should have closed in October 24 if what you say is right and the COL is not going to be disregarded.

His account shows it closed as of December 24 but i expect they will adjust that date when they get to it.

He doesn't need UC (though his NI contributions have stopped and for reasons i won't go into he cannot pay voluntary ones)

But obviously, the overpayment due will be higher if COL is not going to be disregarded on his claim.

The only reason i put in the MR was so they could apply that and get the overpayments right!!! That's very annoying that welfare rights misinformed me. Grrrrrrr!!!!


It looks like his claim was correctly closed after all. Though there was never any intention to deliberately reduce capital. I had never heard of such a thing til recently!

We were facing a 4k energy bill as we are a large household. My son's benefit money is all kept seperately for him as it should be but he doesn't spend it. We are all non disabled working people who have less money than him, so when these COL payments came, it was yet more money he didn't need and paying the household energy seemed a very good use of the extra payments.

I already went to the job centre in january but it wasn't a compliance interview. They just checked the past 3 months' statements and closed the claim.

I only found out about COL subsequent to that. That's when i put in the MR.
Wish i hadn't now. It must have slowed things down!

Thanks for your advice.

Aw no it is just totally confusing!

I am not getting this at all.

So -what is clear is this. He has £13 600 in savings accounts all declared.

For his current account, i need to look at his balance on AP day?

And whenever that balance first hit £2400, that is the date his account should have closed?

In which case, October 2024.


Because, with the COL payments having been spent on energy (not saved in the energy account but spent)

they are not going to be disregarded.


Am i understanding that right?

Yes - i think that must be it. The COL payments are not in any account because they have been spent.


Even though my son's always had a lot more total capital than the COLs, it is not total capital that counts - they will want to trace where those payments went to?

I think i am grasping that . . . .finally !!!!

I don't hold any money at all for my son.

The COL was taken out by me and spent on energy. It is not in the energy account. It has gone.


If his total capital is added together, it never dipped below 13k in the lifetime of the claim.

It first rose above 16k in oct 24.


If the £1850 was deducted, it never rose above 16k.

But, as i spent the COL, it cannot count as a disregard and the balance of his account as of 24th oct 2024 is above 16k if no disregards apply.

Therefore the claim was correctly closed and i just need to wait for them to pull in the statements (and me!) to calculate the overpayment.

Obvs it will be more than i was thinking.


That is my understanding of what you are saying. Hope i have that right!