DWP Overpayment

SteveMetal

I think it includes all benefits, and unfortunately there is nothing you can do about it.
I have sent a letter off requesting the details of my wife's overpayment and have asked them to provide proof of this. As until I get this information they won't be getting a penny, but I know that if my wife should start claiming any kind of benefits in the future they will start deducting it the money owed from those benefits.
You could try asking them to send you proof of these overpayments, but even if they can't do this they will probably still take the money out of your benefits.

pipsi_2

I recently agreed a repayment plan for of £15 per month on an 'overpayment' of £366. i disputed the figure to begin with because at the time i received the money I was told it was a grant that i wouldn't need to pay back. Now they claim it is a social fund payment, i'm still not entirely sure what the social fund is and stil not convinced that i received money from it. I didn't have any of the paperwork from when i received the money (although i do remember receiving it) because it was some time ago although not as long as the 8 years the OP mentioned probably nearly two or three. I decided to pay it back because at the end of the day the money will then be there for those who need it.

They didn't ask me for any proof of earnings. When i called to arrange to pay it back they asked if i was paying the full amount, i said no, i then offered £5 per month, they turned this down because apparently the computer said they couldn't accept less that £30 per month. We had a little negotiation until we agreed on £15 per month (so much for the computer saying no), which was in fact the figure i had decided on before picking up the phone to call them but thought if i went in straight away with this offer they would try to increase. I did stress that i had a number of other financial commitments, money was tight already etc etc. I have a credit and a store card, which don't have huge balances and i want to pay these off first before paying stuff off that isn't accruing interest.

I hope you manage to get it sorted out, at least it hasn't been accruing interest over the last eight years, i'm not even sure if it would have increased with inflation, so your wife could find herself paying back less in real terms than she originally received, although i could be wrong on that point. Whether they ask to see proof of income could be dependant on the amount owed. But like you said i can't see them making a fuss if you over £50 per month and refuse to show them proof of income, at leas they'll be getting something even if it is less than they might decide you can afford to pay if they saw what you and your wife earn.

SteveMetal

Thanks for your reply Pipsi, at least I know that if we do end up arranging a payment plan then they are willing to negotiate, if they don't accept what we offer then i'll add in some extra debts that don't exist and tell them how much we are struggling! We don't earn much anyway but I would rather decide how much we can afford to repay rather than them.

SteveMetal

I received another letter from the DWP today, totally ignoring the letter which I sent out to them.
It states

DO NOT IGNORE
About the £*** still owed
We have contacted you about paying back this money.
You must make a payment by 17/8/2010
Please do not ignore this letter. This will not mean you can avoid paying back this money, and you need to contact us to stop any further action being taken. If you cannot afford to pay this money you still need to contact us. We are willing to discuss the amount you pay each month.
You must send any payments to:
Depart for Work and Pensions
PO Box address
What happens next
If we do not hear from you by the above date we will consider taking one of the following actions:
a) Recovering this money through the courts b) Referring your case to a private company for repayment collection.
You may have to pay additional costs if this happens, and your furture credit rating may be affected.

In the letter which I sent to them I asked them for details of how this debt came about, including a breakdown of the dates and payments my wife is supposed to owe this money for, and also for proof that she has wrongly received this money by providing copies of any forms which she have supposed to have signed with my signature on.

They have not provided any of that information.

Does this mean that they do not have any of this information?

So what next, shall I just send another copy of the letter to them again stating that they have not provided the information which I asked for and once again ask for proof.

mardatha

My husband was seemingly overpaid (but wasnt aware of it ) during a strike in 1985. In 2000 he got a letter asking for it back. After a lot of arguing, I wrote a letter saying we were very hard up, and told them we would pay them £4 a month, take it or leave it. Which they accepted.

SteveMetal

It has been suggested to me that I should send a request for a SAR.
I've also read elsewhere that to send a request for an SAR you also need to send a cheque for £10. Would this apply?

SteveMetal

My wife sent a SAR request off 3 weeks ago which they have acknowledged.

She received a letter from the DWP yesterday which was replying to the first letter which she sent out. They have enclosed a copy of a letter which was sent to her on 24 August 2005 at an old address which she was no longer living at, so she never received this letter.

This letter states:
The Carer's Allowance (CA) Unit was notified on 29/03/04 that you were not engaged in caring for (her father) for at least 35 hours per week. This means that you have been overpaid by £*** from 05/11/01 to 17/03/02 and you now have to pay this money back.

On Page 3 of this letter 'Decision Maker's Decision' it states:
As a result of the decision dated 10/12/04 an overpayment has been made from 05/11/01 to 17/03/02 amounting to £***.
The Decision Maker has decided that this overpayment is recoverable from (my wife) because she failed to disclose to the Carer's Allowance Unit the material fact that she stopped caring for (her father) on 29/10/01 or as soon as possible afterwards.

Now, we think they have got their facts mixed up as she was still living with and caring for her father up until March 2002, her Mum passed away on 01/11/01 (who her sister was receiving Carer's Allowance for), now we are wondering if they they have got her mother and father mixed up.

We shall write a letter to the DWP trying to explain this but will they believe her? And how do we prove it? She is also unable to get in contact with her father as they have not spoken since 2003 and she does not know his address or phone number.

She is yet to receive the information from the SAR request.

So where does she stand now, does she stand any hope of this matter being sorted out or is she going to have to pay it even thou she was entitled to this money?

chancer13

a) Benefit debt is not time barred.

Complete load of tosh - yes they are - i have recently spoke with a senior manager from the DMT at DWP and they agreed after a very short conversation that the 6 year rule does apply, and then went on to advised that I have a morral obligation!!! This debt was 1996!

BUT - They can still take any payments due from future benefits.

SteveMetal

We now know for sure that she does not owe this money, as at the end of September 2010 my wife received the information from the SAR request. Amongst the mountains of paperwork received is evidence proving she was still living with and caring for her Father in the dates stated, including signed & dated statements from her Father back in February 2002 confirming this.

Unfortunately it was my wife's own fault to why they think she owe's this money as she replied to a letter she received from them back in 2003 stating that she she stopped caring for her Father from 1st November 2001. Why she said this we do not know, all we can think of was that she got the dates mixed up with her Mother having passed away on the same date.

Hopefully the evidence she received will sort this problem out.

We wrote to them beginning of October, providing copies of this evidence and are still waiting for their reply.

The question is, considering the age of the debt, and the fact that my wife wrongly admitted to cease caring for her Father from 1st November 2001, but with copies of the new evidence sent to them, can they write the debt off or at least review it?

SteveMetal

RESULT !!!

My wife has just received a letter from the DWP.

They say:

We have looked again at the facts and evidence we used to make our decision and as a result we have changed the decision.

The overpayment has been recalculated as follows:

It now stands at around about £60 ! I'm sure we can pay that off no problem!

So for anyone else who is certain they have been wrongly accused of owing money to the DWP, put the debt in dispute and send for an SAR request, and if you receive evidence proving your innocence, then send copies of it to them, and they just might change their decision.

Thanks to everyone on this board for your help in resolving this.