Overpayments of benefits from 1994?

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niallmitch
niallmitch Posts: 78 Forumite
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in Benefits & tax credits
My wife had had a letter claiming an overpayment of benefits - just called and told this is from 1994? Surely this can't be right?

She has no way of knowing whether this is right or not, it predates the time when we met and she can not recall having ever claimed benefits. Presumably the 6 year cut off doesn't apply?
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  • IAmWales
    IAmWales Posts: 2,024 Forumite
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    They cannot pursue the debt through the courts, but they can still do an attachment to her wages. Can she recall what she was doing in 1994, was she on a liveable income, did she move and need help with costs?

    How much is the debt for?
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,479 Forumite
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    The first thing she needs to do is ask for all the evidence they have of the debt.
  • Darksparkle
    Darksparkle Posts: 5,465 Forumite
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    What benefit?
  • McKneff
    McKneff Posts: 38,823 Forumite
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    I would think they would have to provide evidence of the drbt
    make the most of it, we are only here for the weekend.
    and we will never, ever return.
  • trigger_fish
    trigger_fish Posts: 3,172 Forumite
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    In historical terms on these pages 1994 is the oldest I've seen.

    I make that 23 years ago-almost a quarter of a century.

    Force them to take you to court.

    It'll never get there and even if it did it would only give the judge a laugh.
  • TELLIT01
    TELLIT01 Posts: 16,479 Forumite
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    trigger_fish wrote: »
    In historical terms on these pages 1994 is the oldest I've seen.

    I make that 23 years ago-almost a quarter of a century.

    Force them to take you to court.

    It'll never get there and even if it did it would only give the judge a laugh.

    It won't need to go to court. Unless it's challenged, the debt will be recovered from any other benefit they are in receipt of.
  • trigger_fish
    trigger_fish Posts: 3,172 Forumite
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    TELLIT01 wrote: »
    It won't need to go to court. Unless it's challenged, the debt will be recovered from any other benefit they are in receipt of.

    I'd be challenging it.

    Wouldn't you?
  • Nick_C
    Nick_C Posts: 7,459 Forumite
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    IAmWales wrote: »
    They cannot pursue the debt through the courts

    Wouldn't that depend on when the debt was identified? If information has only recently come to light to show that someone was not entitled to benefit they were receiving 25 years ago, surely it is recoverable? Isn't the six year limit a limit on taking action?

    I know it's unlikely, but surely they can go back more than six years to recover a debt they have only just identified. Of course, they would have to prove that there is a debt.
  • niallmitch
    niallmitch Posts: 78 Forumite
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    So a bit more information after my wife called them today.

    The letter is from contact centre Trafford debt management who are trying to claim social fund loans £40 from March 1994, £34.83 and £33.50 from October 94 and 39.50 from May 95. After having to call them, then DWP and then the contact centre again (with an extra helping of rudeness from the CC worker on the third call) it is now o hold pending us writing formally disputing and asking for evidence.

    This alleged debt is from when she was 24 and working so doesn't make sense. She can't recall ever needing or asking for such a loan.

    However the major irony is that she actually worked for the dwp social fund for a few months around 2001! She seems to remember that there were rules around the frequency of loans and repaying them so doesnt understand the frequency of these. She also recalls the systems were chaos and in 1994 I'm sure they wouldn't have been fully electronic.

    The letter states on the rear that they can enforce the Direct Earnings Attachment without applying to a civil court - extraordinary.

    Will update when get a formal response. Thanks
  • teddysmum
    teddysmum Posts: 9,471 Forumite
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    A number of years before the 90s, I worked in a tax office,along with other school leavers waiting to go to college etc.


    This was when people's details were kept on cards which were manually filed. A card covered 5? years and our job was to copy the last entries on cards onto the front of another 5 year card.


    The work was very repetitive, extremely boring and seemingly endless, because as soon as the end of a box was in sight, you were presented with another. I'll bet many a mistake was made as your brain went into auto mode.
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