benefits/lumpsum/oweing money

hi.. wondering if someone help.. currently on benefits but sold house and have a lump sum of just over 16000 going into the bank.. i know this makes me exempt but i owe money on credit cards and owe my mum some money and also need to get a reliable car.. are the benefits guys gonna see me as trying to swandle away money purposely ... is this gonna cause problems for me ??
any advice appreciated
many thanks..

cant see a problem if you make sure you have receipts for the things you have bought and bills you have payed .i dont know about the money you owe your mum though,as this could be seen as abit iffy by them .

.. thanks for that.. i do have proof i owe her money as she lent a lump sum and went through the bank etc... (if they count that as proof..) :-/

I know very little about benefits but i seem to remember 16k+ is a magic number if you have it or more it does effect entitlement i would check ASAP, if not you may end up paying money back to the agency.

My good lady has sent this.

Government rules say that if you (and your partner if you are a couple) have savings or capital of more than £16,000, you cannot get Housing or Council Tax Benefit unless you are in receipt of the Guarantee Element of Pension Credit.

If you and/or your partner have £6,000 or less, it will not affect your claim.

If you have between £6,000 and £16,000, it affects how much Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit you will get.

If you are aged under 60 for every £250 (or part of £250) you have over £6,000, we add £1.00 per week to the money we take into account as income when working out your benefit.

If you are aged 60 or over we add £1.00 per week to the money we take into account as income for every £500 you have over £6000.

For example (if you are aged under 60):

£7,000 capital would require us to add £4 to your weekly income

£7,250 would require us to add £5

£7,251 would require us to add £6

The calculation is not based on actual interest paid on savings

If your savings or that of your partner exceed £16,000 or more you will not be entitled to Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, unless this includes one or more of the special payments made to people who were imprisoned by the Japanese during World War 2 or worked as slaves and forced labourers under the Nazi regime during World War 2 or you are in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee.

hi again
i know someone that got £20.000 unfair dismissal payout .they were on benefits at the time . .paid debts off straight away..kept proof of all payouts. also had repairs to house done while waiting the 3 weeks for the release of the money .paid these as soon as the money went into the bank.they went to the social and told them they had got money of £20.000 but had paid out £x.they were actually told thanks for telling us about this payout.no problems at all regarding this for them .they had all the proof to give about what they had spent and on what they had spent it on .but you do have to tell them about it or you could find yourself in trouble and as dukey says pay back money your not entitled to ....

right, thats great everyone.. thanks for all your time in replying.. find these forums a wealth of information... was worried id b penalised as it could look like ive got rid of some money on purpose..
thanks to all