Social Welfare bank statements

GoodMonson

Hi,

I'm applying for Jobseeker's and they are requesting 3 months bank statement. Is it ok to redact the transactions names etc and just leave the balance visible? I would rather keep my individual transactions private.

Thanks.

houseyhouse

I don't know but you could call and ask SW or even citizens info. I'm assuming this is for Jobseeker's Allowance not Benefit. I'd say they definitely want the source for any money coming into your account so they can see if you have earnings. I would think they're less concerned with outgoings but, like I said, I don't know the rules on this. You could just do it for the outgoings and if they're not happy with it they'll get back to you and tell you to send the originals. If you need the money in a hurry though, I wouldn't.

Dempo1

GoodMonson wrote: »

Hi,

I'm applying for Jobseeker's and they are requesting 3 months bank statement. Is it ok to redact the transactions names etc and just leave the balance visible? I would rather keep my individual transactions private.

Thanks.

I don't think so, there's two primary reason they want a bank statement.

A. Balance to determine means, basically they'll determine your eligibility based on savings etc.

B. To determine any potential income, if you redact transactions they can determine fully any potential income. It may sound silly, for example a tiny transaction of a few euro but who determines what to redact? So at a guess redactting anything coukd raise a red flag.

POBox19

GoodMonson wrote: »

Hi,

I'm applying for Jobseeker's and they are requesting 3 months bank statement. Is it ok to redact the transactions names etc and just leave the balance visible? I would rather keep my individual transactions private.

Thanks.

The person dealing with you in the SW office is going to scan your documents and return them to you. They send the file to the Deciding Officer for your claim.
You could hedge your bet and bring both the full statement and a redacted one. They will tell you which they need and it may delay your claim if they have to go back to you for further information. They process dozens of these bank statements every day and they're not interested in who you give money to, but in the income side.

148multi

POBox19 wrote: »

The person dealing with you in the SW office is going to scan your documents and return them to you. They send the file to the Deciding Officer for your claim.
You could hedge your bet and bring both the full statement and a redacted one. They will tell you which they need and it may delay your claim if they have to go back to you for further information. They process dozens of these bank statements every day and they're not interested in who you give money to, but in the income side.

They might be interested if you bought 5000 disposable dinner box's.
But otherwise I'd say it's same s**t different day.

cee_jay

GoodMonson wrote: »

Hi,

I'm applying for Jobseeker's and they are requesting 3 months bank statement. Is it ok to redact the transactions names etc and just leave the balance visible? I would rather keep my individual transactions private.

Thanks.

They will want to see the sources of income coming in, and also out - for example if you are sending money to a savings account... in which case they will request the statement for the savings etc.

GoodMonson

Thanks all. I'll just send the original.

Another thing is I sold a number of items on Adverts.ie in March when having a clearout, so my balance is higher that month and there are 6 different payments coming in via PayPal, would that be considered income that might affect my claim? It amounts to €1000 which I then used to pay my rent which can be seen on the statement.

Atlantic Dawn

Generally they are only interested in if you have over €20k to assess means or if there's actual untaxed income coming in, other than that they will not care.

houseyhouse

GoodMonson wrote: »

Thanks all. I'll just send the original.

Another thing is I sold a number of items on Adverts.ie in March when having a clearout, so my balance is higher that month and there are 6 different payments coming in via PayPal, would that be considered income that might affect my claim? It amounts to €1000 which I then used to pay my rent which can be seen on the statement.

I would try to include evidence of where they money came from. I don't think the proceeds of selling things on counts as income if you don't do it as a business but that's a lot of money for a few sales on adverts so they'll want some proof that's where it came from

antix80

GoodMonson wrote: »

Thanks all. I'll just send the original.

Another thing is I sold a number of items on Adverts.ie in March when having a clearout, so my balance is higher that month and there are 6 different payments coming in via PayPal, would that be considered income that might affect my claim? It amounts to €1000 which I then used to pay my rent which can be seen on the statement.

Dont redact lines relating to paypal. It's income
In fact, you should treat your paypal account like any other bank account and provide statements for it, and backup for the corresponding transactions (adverts.ie listing)

You'll need to show you were just clearing out your attic and that you don't have a small online business.
If you sold 5 of the same item you bought just the week before you'll have a problem

GoodMonson

Hi,

So I sent the original bank statement and I got this letter:

Your claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance has been awarded. Your weekly rate is made up as follows:
Personal Rate €203.00
Increase for Qualified Adult €0
Increase for 0 child(ren) €0
Less Means** €372.00
**Any income which you or your spouse/civil partner/cohabitant may have, or any property (except
your home) or assets which provide you with an income (see Note 5).
Your weekly rate is €-169.00 payable from 28/04/2021.
If you are fully unemployed your first payment will be on 18/05/2021 and every
Friday after that.
Arrears, if any due, not included in your first payment will issue to you shortly.



The payment is in the minus, surely I should be receiving a rejection letter? Also, weekly income is zero now that I am finished work, but it was never as high as 372 unless I am misunderstanding something?

antix80

Tough break op

I'd like to make a small contribution to your plight
How does minus 50 euro sound?

POBox19

GoodMonson wrote: »

Hi,

So I sent the original bank statement and I got this letter:

Your claim for Jobseeker’s Allowance has been awarded. Your weekly rate is made up as follows:
Personal Rate €203.00
Increase for Qualified Adult €0
Increase for 0 child(ren) €0
Less Means** €372.00
**Any income which you or your spouse/civil partner/cohabitant may have, or any property (except
your home) or assets which provide you with an income (see Note 5).
Your weekly rate is €-169.00 payable from 28/04/2021.
If you are fully unemployed your first payment will be on 18/05/2021 and every
Friday after that.
Arrears, if any due, not included in your first payment will issue to you shortly.



The payment is in the minus, surely I should be receiving a rejection letter? Also, weekly income is zero now that I am finished work, but it was never as high as 372 unless I am misunderstanding something?

Hold your breath until Tuesday 18th.

It's a very odd way to state it i.e. you have to pay €169 per week. I'd wait and see at this stage. Could be they didn't understand your PayPal income in which case you'll have to go back to them again and explain the one off nature of it.

houseyhouse

To be honest, it sounds like a mistake. Like they put the wrong amount in for means and it automatically calculated the balance, maybe? My husband was refused jobseekers allowance a few months ago because of my income (so because his means were too high) and I think the letter just said he didn't qualify.

Do they not say how they calculated your means in the letter?

GoodMonson

houseyhouse wrote: »

To be honest, it sounds like a mistake. Like they put the wrong amount in for means and it automatically calculated the balance, maybe? My husband was refused jobseekers allowance a few months ago because of my income (so because his means were too high) and I think the letter just said he didn't qualify.

Do they not say how they calculated your means in the letter?

No it was one page and at the bottom it had a date to go sign on. I rang but couldn't get through and emailed but have had no reply yet.

mystic

GoodMonson wrote: »

No it was one page and at the bottom it had a date to go sign on. I rang but couldn't get through and emailed but have had no reply yet.

That letter doesn't make sense. They have applied means of €372 for a spouse/partner without including the Increase for a Qualified Adult rate.

A decision letter usually shows the calculations

JustAThought

mystic wrote: »

That letter doesn't make sense. They have applied means of €372 for a spouse/partner without including the Increase for a Qualified Adult rate.

A decision letter usually shows the calculations

Maybe they’re saying they’ve been in contact with revenue and you owe them for undeclared sales transactions/vat/penalties etc. or a clawback on other services you recieved when you had what looks like an income on your bank statements eg medical card, medical card drugs or services recieved during this time, education course now back- charged for etc

pelluci

OP, are you working part time? If so, the €372 is 6 times the means they take for every day worked (I e. they'll take €62 off each day you work). You should also have received a letter explaining the means.

Dempo1

Perhaps the OP has been awarded €169 and the minus sign misplaced, €169 seems to take account partners income?? It makes absolutely no sense to be awarded a minus figure, that's not how it works, you either qualify or don't. You certainly don't sign on if not awarded a payment that would just be absurd and letter also mentions arrears if owed, this wouldn't even be mentioned on a declined decision. Also worth pointing out when refused, this letter would include details of how to appeal etc.

The letter has all the hallmarks of a payment being awarded. Call them 1st thing Monday for clarification.

GoodMonson

pelluci wrote: »

OP, are you working part time? If so, the €372 is 6 times the means they take for every day worked (I e. they'll take €62 off each day you work). You should also have received a letter explaining the means.

So I'm being laid off from full-time work but there is a two-week transition period where I have 2 days per week. This is my last week then unemployed next week.

They called me anyway and yes this was the case, minus 62 per each day worked. Then after this week I have to notify them of a change in circumstances.