Reducing my ESA due to savings

Hello
I was hoping you could you help me please?
Yesterday I received a visit from a compliance officer, they informed me I was £3,000 over the savings allowance for my ESA ( old income support bit) I didn't know the allowance was only £6,000 and I had built the "extra" £3,000 up over a number of years as a back up for my private medical care (local NHS has nothing more to offer me) and for my future too - I'd hoped to have enough money to at least do some courses when I was well enough in the future.

I'm shocked and upset as I would never have knowingly gone over the limit and I don't recall ever having any notification of this set amount. He said I could be fined £50 along with having to payback the benefit. He also said I could spend the extra money in a big splurge, treat myself but with receipts- I felt very insulted at this point because in my mind that would be amoral, but obviously I realise I need ESA to live off long term, as I have already been living at home with my parents (now retired) for 15 years due to severe M.E/CFS. So is that what I need to do, to spend the money? He did mention seeing another Lady in the local area in a similar position i.e. working age claimant living at home "where it was easy for money to mount up because of no rent to pay" - so am I and my family being penalised because I have to live at home?

Could you advise me when the £6,000 savings limit came into effect please, and how that information was supplied to claimants? I can find it on the website but I was only directed there by the compliance officer yesterday. He also inferred that I would have had this information in my pack with my ESA form - he referred to my 2011 form not my 2013 application. I received my 2011 form back as I had to appeal and I can't see anywhere where I had to declare a specific amount of savings. Can I appeal this? And what would the likelihood be of me being successful?
I did sign a statement saying I wasn't aware of the limit and had exceeded it, yesterday, with the compliance officer.


I'm due to be moved onto PIP from DLA at some point - retrospectively I can see perhaps he was assessing me for this during the interview too, asking me questions about CFS then saying " is that the same as yuppie flu?" and then asking about my prognosis. Due to the shock I really don't feel I answered as fully as I could have.

So any advice regarding what I can do next would be very much appreciated.
Thank you in advance
Best wishes
Alison

Thanks Gordon
I fill in an ESA50 form and I thought I had a limit greater than £6,000 but I do see that will be difficult to argue.
My savings are £9,000 and have been built up over 5 years or so by the looks of things it was March last year I went over the £6,000 mark.
The stupid thing is my parents have been helping me out with bills etc so I could put money aside as they're worried about my future as I'm 36 and very dependent on them- I guess they were worried what would happen to me if anything happens to them as they're getting older If I'd have known I just would've used the money I had -feel an idiot as caused lots of distress to them too.
I have medical tests that are due that will cost quite a bit so I will pay for them out of my savings as originally planned and will definitely use the money from now on for all my bills.
The officer said it would be new Year before I heard how much I'd need to repay etc.
Thanks for the reassurance about my comments not affecting PIP and thank you for answering my post.
Best wishes