DWP chasing 16 year old debt?

Benjo74

Hi there, Hope all are well and this is in the right place. I recieved a letter from DWP demanding a repayment of an overpayment (£861.70) made to me by the DWP. I recieved the letter in the first week of August 2010. TBH i did not have a clue what this related to so i called them. They stated that they had made an over payment of income support to me for the period of October 1994 to March 1995. The over payment was due to being in full time employment at the time.
I stated that around that time i was taken to court for claiming income support whilst in part time employment (2 hours cleaning after college) and obviously pleaded guilty, found guilty, sentenced and fined but they were adamant that i was in full time employment and that they wrote to me in 1995 to demand i repay. I was in my late teens and my record keeping was not that great at the time so i have no recollection or evidence of this demand.
Any way whilst speaking to the DWP i asked what would happen as the debt was older than 6 years and that between the 'letter' in 1995 and the letter received in August 2010 there had been no contact or attempt to collect the debt. The DWP stated that they were just giving me a chance to pay before they pass it on to a private DCA who would be "more rigorous" in their collection.
I have searched on the net but seem to get differing answers; I just want to know where i stand legally with the DWP and the DCA (i have not been referred to a DCA yet but was warned that things would "speed up" from now on! How can i get the DWP to prove where i was employed and i thought that the fact that i was found guilty in a court (if it is indeed the same case) meant that the judgemnent had been made and for want of a better phrase i had served my punishment (fined and 2 year conditional discharge).
Not trying to avoid this but the whole thing seems a little odd to me.

Thanks for any advice given.


B

Jinx

Hi Benjo

Since noone has responded - I'll give you my thoughts...

I always thought if you had been convicted of anything the punishment mooted the crime.... ie time inside wipes out the money nicked from your employer (not you obviously).

Also I believe that any monies owing to Government departments do not expire, its always owing until paid. Although Im not sure of the law that supports this.

So really my only advice is speak with a Solicitor or if cash is an issue (isnt it always) see if you can speak to a CAB solicitor. I'm sorry its not more inspiring....

julie03

DWP depts are not statute barred and even if you are convicted of benefit fraud you still have to pay it back

GeorgeUK

I agree - the money owed to any government agency will never become statute barred. My understanding of it is that as the debt is more than 6 years old, they cannot pursue you through the courts, but can withhold other money/benefits due to you until they have taken up to the amount owed.

I agree though that if a court stated that you were working part time then this should be taken into account. No government agency is more powerful than a court and they are basically saying that the court is wrong. You may be able to appeal the DWP decision, which would be best to do in writing, but i would also contact the nationaldebtline for confirmation of what i have written and to see if they can advise how to take this forward.

nandj_2

Also send them the prove it letter asking how they came to the figure that they are claiming.
NandJ

jayn_3

I used to work for the DWP years ago,and my understanding at the time was that if the debt remained unpaid, it would ultimatlely be factored in at a later date if you needed to claim state benefits, it can even be factored in (ie debited) from your state pension. I have to stress I have not worked for DWP for many years, and it may have changed................:undecided

fatbelly

From National Debtline:

Benefit Overpayments & Social Fund Loans
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has six years to take action through the courts to recover benefit overpayments and social fund loans. This time starts running from the date of the final decision made on the overpayment and from when the social fund loan was due to be paid. But the DWP are still allowed to make deductions from your benefit for a debt over six years old as they don't need to go to court to do this. This applies to overpayments of benefit such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and paying back social fund loans.

toe71

I also have recently recieved a letter from DWP stating I owed them £165. I also phoned wondering what it was all about and they said i had over claimed benfits by a couple of weeks in 1994.

They also said they had contacted me by letter (which i didnt recieve) and that there was a note stating that i had refused to pay in 2008. I know that I have never been contacted or spoke to anyone about this, so was quite shocked.

I sent a letter requesting proof of where i was working and they sent me the original letter back from 1994 which said i worked for some agency which i dont recall as im pretty sure i was working for a different company and also sure i wasnt claiming benefit. A guy i spoke to at the DWP said they cant take it to court cause its over 6 years and theyll just take it from my state pension, but at the end of the day I dont think they're right but i have no way of proving it either way.

Im debating CAB but at the end of the day i dont see what they can do. My other option would be to offer them a small monthly payment for the next zillion years so it doesnt affect my finances greatly or to stick it out and hope i dont get charged interest or charged for some 3rd party heavy mob to start sending me letters.

Very annoying but i reckon im gonna just offer them a few quid a month repayment.

How did it go for you Benjo?

Chrisblue1962

As far as I'm aware, DWP can even claim monies from your estate when you die as I used to know somebody who worked in that department of the DHSS as it was then