DWP claim I owe them money from a social loan!

lordtrumpington

The DWP have sent me a letter claiming I owe them £217.79 from a social loan I received in 2004 when on benefits.
I have had no previous communication from them regarding any money I owe them, although they claim they have previously written to me.
It was around 2005 / 2006 when I went back to employment, which I am assuming is when my repayments stopped, so they must have known as far back as 5 years ago that I owed them money.
Are they legally allowed to demand this money from me or should they have to follow a certain protocol for dealing with this type of situation? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

missbunbury

As long as the debt is owed, they can recover it, they're not like banks where there's a time limit. However, if you will struggle to pay, you should be able to negotiate payments over a few months to clear the balance without paying interest or anything.

NASA_2

You declared that you were willing to pay them back so I would assume they are entitled to ask for it back at any point.

real1314

lordtrumpington wrote: »

The DWP have sent me a letter claiming I owe them £217.79 from a social loan I received in 2004 when on benefits. So, you agree you had the money.
I have had no previous communication from them regarding any money I owe them, although they claim they have previously written to me. You're getting communication NOW, wouldn't you have posted this same message 2/3/4 years ago if they'd written to you then?
It was around 2005 / 2006 when I went back to employment, which I am assuming is when my repayments stopped, so they must have known as far back as 5 years ago that I owed them money. They knew you owed them money, as did you. Did you do anything to arrange to repay it?
Are they legally allowed to demand this money from me or should they have to follow a certain protocol for dealing with this type of situation? Yes, they are allowed, and given the timescales you've quoted they could probably take you to court for it. As for the protocol, it probably starts with sending you a letter, which is what they have done. What other form of protocol were you expecting?

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

You had the money, you agreed to pay it back. It seems pretty simple really.

no-oneknowsme

Just to add that as 6 years have passed since the loan was made to you and DWP have not contacted you within this time , they are unable to enforce repayment at this point however you do need to be aware that this does not mean that you dont have to pay them back .

What is does mean is that the next time you apply for any benefits they are well within their rights to deduct the amount that you owe them from any future benefits you are entitled to.

There is no time limit on this so it extends to your pension !

real1314

no-oneknowsme wrote: »

Just to add that as 6 years have passed since the loan was made to you and DWP have not contacted you within this time , they are unable to enforce repayment at this point however you do need to be aware that this does not mean that you dont have to pay them back .

What is does mean is that the next time you apply for any benefits they are well within their rights to deduct the amount that you owe them from any future benefits you are entitled to.

There is no time limit on this so it extends to your pension !

The OP had been paying the loan back until 2005/06, iirc the 6 years would run from the date of the last payment, not the date of the loan. Therefore they may be able to enforce repayment.

carlislelass

aren`t payments taken fron weekly benefit?

Mupette

The 6 year rule does not apply to these types of debts, they can chase you till kingdom come, there is no such thing as statue barred on this kind of debt.

This debt will haunt you, better off just paying it off before the bailiffs start hammering on your door, because they can and will.