Bank taking your Benefit? Quote this

A question about : Bank taking your Benefit? Quote this

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Please note this thread was originally started in 2006 and may no longer apply.

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Social Security Administration Act 1992
Miscellaneous
Certain benefit to be inalienable **

187- Subject to the provisions of this Act, every assignment of, or charge on-
(a)benefit as defined in section 122 of the Contributions and Benefits Act;
(b)any income-related benefit; or
(c)child benefit,
and every agreement to assign or charge such benefit shall be void; and, on the bancrupcy of the beneficiary, such benefit shall not pass to any trustee or other person acting on behalf of his creditors.

** inaliable = not to be forfeited.
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Basically they can't take you benefit money for overdrafts or debts, and if they have you can ask for it back !

Best answers:

• Intresting...Seeing as i've just been forced by Halifax to make a payment for my overdraft. They really wernt helpful at all
• This information was sourced by someone at the DWP due to customers concerns following the cessation of order books and the move to Direct Payment. I beleive it to be accurate although i haven't actually looked at the act in it's entirety.
  Glad you found it useful, and i hope it gets you something back.
• :-D Ben-e-fit, any details or a link on how to access the 'Blue Book' online, that 'Tome' contains very useful & helpful information on benefit legislation for claimants but is not openly publicised as being available to the public. Had access to it once upon a time in the early 90s but no longer working in that area myself. :-)
• Hi ben-e-fitt,
  Presumably, by the Act's name that only refers to IS, JSA, etc. administered by central Government, and not Housing and Council Tax Benefits administered by local authorities. Is there anything similar referring to those benefits, do you know?
• thanks alot for this post they are doing it all the time around the 18th of each month taking my child benefit money out leaving me with nothing!!
• an extremely elusive "tome" as you say. a good starting point would have to be: https://www.opsi.gov.uk and take it from there. Thousands of pages which, as you say, could help many, but i'd get lost in there.
  With regards to banks knowing if you receive benefit, if your money is paid into a bank. course they know ! look at your statement- your national insurance number usually followed by DWP then the benefit identifier such as IB (incap) IS (income support), then theres DLA, RP, PC CB and a host of others.
  Thanks to all comments.
• I fully understand your comments peter999.
  On a day to day basis they are not likely to look at individual accounts. However, they have access to everyones account and if you owe them something they are going to look at ways of recouping that money. The DWP has access to loads of information about it's customers, and the banks i think would have access to a lot regarding each of their customers. They have to monitor and report transactions if needed, to prevent fraud,money laundering an such. I may be wrong but i would consider it likely that they could run a "trawl" at any time to establish where credits appear from.
  I accept they may not scour each customers account daily, but they would certainly look at an account if it was in default. If they didn't how could they operate? Perhaps an experienced Banker could tell us how it works.
• I know of several people who have got banks to refund chargesd as they were taken from benefit. Always handy to know.
• Ben-e-fit,
  Have posted the URL's for the Blue Volumes below, (sorry if links don't work but I have'nt perfected that process yet )
  Hope they will be of some help to anyone who needs to know more than their local DWP employees can tell them.
  https://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/docs/...ol/bvintro.asp
  https://www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/docs/lawvols/bluevol/
• Thanks for the links Kinnairdy, many may find them useful.
  It seems not everyone likes this thread, but hey, everyones entitled to their own thoughts.
  Responses from people who have had a positive result using this Social Security Act are more worthwhile than any number of people who doubt its validity. I would not post it if i didn't think it might help someone.
  Can't understand what the banks would have against anyone on benefit anyway, rich or poor, you cut your cloth accordingly, if you don't, you can't blame the banks or the government for your own mistakes. People do get into financial difficulties, but you can't run up debts and not be accountable for them.
  This is simply a peice of legislation to help out some of the less fortunate, it is there to be used. If the banks aren't aware, then they should be held accountable.
• delete please
• I would like to say a big thanks to Peter999 for this fab post I was charged 28.00 unauthorised overdraft fee and was left with 2.00 when my 30.00 benefits got paid in.I called the bank today and said your not allowed to take my money social security act 1992,the advisor said yes that is correct if you go down to the branch today there is a note on allowing you to take out your 30.00.Luckily Im back to work next week after maternity leave.
  Thanks Again Lucy
• was it nat west by any chance