Can you tippex payee details out on bank statements during a benefits review?
*Thanks to everyone who replied but I should have said there was a lot of bad feeling from that office when I won my tribunal and when I put my confirm your claim details in a while back there was a section at the bottom for any back payments, and that should have been enough for them to realise that there was nothing to see here. People must have little to do when it’s clear that the money over £6k includes a very recent back payment*
I’ve been asked to provide bank statements as part of a benefits review after a sizeable backdated LCWRA payment a month or so ago. I’ve £7k in my account of which £3k of it is the recent back payment. Surely they know that as they paid me???
I’m fully willing to provide balances, incoming payments and anything genuinely relevant to UC entitlement, but I’m uncomfortable with unrelated personal spending being looked through when it has nothing to do with the review.
I’ve got nothing to hide, but I also don’t really see why somebody needs to know whether I bought £200 worth of groceries for my parents from M&S, collectibles from America or spent money on eBay months ago just to verify a backdated payment and current balances.
My understanding is that they are entitled to information reasonably necessary to verify entitlement, not a full fishing expedition into unrelated private spending habits.
I’ve already had extensions to the appointment and honestly have been putting this off because I’m quite a shy and private person, and the idea of strangers going through unrelated spending makes me uncomfortable.
Has anyone dealt with this before?
Did they let you blank names of places I’ve bought stuff at while still leaving dates, amounts and balances visible, or did they insist on fully unedited statements?
Just trying to understand where the line usually sits in practice.
Thanks.