Soo... benefits want to charge me £3000? help.

cit_k

Mehman wrote: »

Hi,

So.. i was getting benefits, incapacity benefit and income support through the jobcentre because i had some surgeries done back in 2009...

Anyway the jobcentre got me a placement at a job around feb 2010 i started fulltime at a place working... It didnt work out, i was still a bit ill, but my point is, the job centre got me the job and it lasted for months...

If your on Incapacity benefit the job center wont just 'get you a job', so something does not make sense here.
Incapacity benefit means your not expected to work.
You can choose to do permitted/supported work, but that is of your own bat, and not something the jobcenter would just give you..

Mehman wrote: »

At that time i also stopped sending in doctors certificates and dealing with benefits because i assumed (as i had been going fortnightly to 'prove' i was still disabled to the job centre) that them getting me a job would in turn lead to them stopping my benefits.

That also makes no sense, as you had been on Incap from 2009, till feb 2010, and once claiming IB, you dont need to send in sicknotes anymore, you only do that during any initial assessment phase (on esa, cant recal if IB did the same), and perhaps (cant recall) if appealing, but you normally do not need to send in sick notes.
You certainly dont need to go to the jobcenter on Incapacity benefit every fortnight to prove your disabled.
The only time you would have any involvment with benefits people, would be if you were called for an assessment, which would never be every two weeks.

So again, this makes no sense.

Mehman wrote: »

So, since then i'm better, i've started work full time self employed...

I take it you informed them you had started full time employment?
And that you no longer required the other benefits? (ie sickness benefit)?

Mehman wrote: »

Back in June 2011 i was curious what the DWP payments were on my bank statements, i was getting back to work money for a while.. Working tax credit but these were for something else and i had already rang up to query it but got nowhere..

So again i persued it, worst mistake i have ever made.. Apparently i -was- still sending in certificates and i have failed to disclose that i started fulltime work, even though the job centre got me the job... and i wasnt sending in certificates which should have alone made them stop the benefits and furthermore i was the one to bring the whole thing to their attention...

You say you were still sending in certificates, then you say you were not sending in certificates? Which is the case?
Why would you assume its up to them to 'stop' incapacity benefit etc, that sounds like you know you never informed them in the first place, and were relying on them to figure it all out...

Mehman wrote: »

I mean, if my benefits would have carried on forever without my input... why was i literally limping my !!!, painkillered up to my eyeballs every fortnight to meet with the jobcentre people to show that i was still ill and handing in doctors certificates?

You should not have been, this makes no sense at all.
And why again, would you not inform them of changes in your health and employment situation as you are supposed to do?

shegirl

cit_k wrote: »

If your on Incapacity benefit the job center wont just 'get you a job', so something does not make sense here.
Incapacity benefit means your not expected to work.
You can choose to do permitted/supported work, but that is of your own bat, and not something the jobcenter would just give you..



That also makes no sense, as you had been on Incap from 2009, till feb 2010, and once claiming IB, you dont need to send in sicknotes anymore, you only do that during any initial assessment phase (on esa, cant recal if IB did the same), and perhaps (cant recall) if appealing, but you normally do not need to send in sick notes.
You certainly dont need to go to the jobcenter on Incapacity benefit every fortnight to prove your disabled.
The only time you would have any involvment with benefits people, would be if you were called for an assessment, which would never be every two weeks.

So again, this makes no sense.



I take it you informed them you had started full time employment?
And that you no longer required the other benefits? (ie sickness benefit)?



You say you were still sending in certificates, then you say you were not sending in certificates? Which is the case?
Why would you assume its up to them to 'stop' incapacity benefit etc, that sounds like you know you never informed them in the first place, and were relying on them to figure it all out...




You should not have been, this makes no sense at all.
And why again, would you not inform them of changes in your health and employment situation as you are supposed to do?

For once,I actually agree with you Cit.There are a lot of things in this that don't add up!

whitelabel

the other conflicting information is the fact you state you were claiming IB

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) was introduced on 27 October 2008. It replaced a range of incapacity benefits with immediate effect for customers making a new claim for financial support on the grounds of illness or incapacity.

You do not have to attend weekly or fortnightly or any time at all to the job centre. The only appointments you must attend are for the medical ATOS appointments and an usual 6 month review which may be at a job centre or an external agency. GP notes are needed during initial stage but not once you have been for a claim

So when did you start claiming IB >?

FBaby

Regardless of whether you knew what you were doing or didn't know, but didn't try very hard to find out, or whether you really were honestly completely clueless makes no difference to the fact that you've been overpaid. I don't understand why you think that because you didn't know what the money coming in was for, you shouldn't have to repay. Yes, I do feel sympathy that it must now be a shock to find out you have to repay that much, it can't have been a pleasant surprise, but since you are not disputing that they made a mistake with the amount, that indeed, you did receive money you were not suppose to receive, why can't you just accept you will need to repay it in time? Why wanting to go to appeal when you don't disagree with them?

I sincerely hope you can enter some arrangement so you can repay in a way that won't ruin you, but you need to accept that it is money you owe back to the DWP.

Mehman_2

@shegirl
What i just showed u, the HSBCnumbers was taken from online banking.. nothing on the end of it.

cit_k wrote: »

If your on Incapacity benefit the job center wont just 'get you a job', so something does not make sense here.
Incapacity benefit means your not expected to work.

Correct, but surgery means that i will eventually get better.. They were looking for work that i could do whilst recovering. Sadly if your a young person and live in essex they assume you're a chav trying to get free money.

cit_k wrote: »

once claiming IB, you dont need to send in sicknotes anymore, you only do that during any initial assessment phase ... You certainly dont need to go to the jobcenter on Incapacity benefit every fortnight to prove your disabled.

I did. Perhaps you should take this up with the job centre.

cit_k wrote: »

I take it you informed them you had started full time employment?
And that you no longer required the other benefits? (ie sickness benefit)?

They got me the job in october and i then stopped handing in doctors notes, hence i assumed with lack of evidence and the fact they had got me the job.. My benefits would stop due to lack of evidence and tbh, i assumed the woman who was handing over the evidence would close the claim, i mean she said it was all sorted.

cit_k wrote: »

You say you were still sending in certificates, then you say you were not sending in certificates? Which is the case?

I said 'apparently'
As in, they were asserting i was sending in certificates.. But i know i wasnt - as does my doctor, and the hospital.

cit_k wrote: »

And why again, would you not inform them of changes in your health and employment situation as you are supposed to do?

Because the woman overseeing my eligability to receive the benefits got me a work trial which then become a fulltime job.. Because i was no longer handing her sicknotes, because i assumed that those two in combination would be enough to assure i no longer received the benefit. I assumed that the person responsible for signing off on my benefits (to my knowledge), knowing i had a fulltime job was enough to have my benefits stopped.

I guess not.

I appreciate you might be questioning this in order to better give me advice, but again.. if you're another person simply here to accuse me of trying to fiddle the benefits system id appreciate it if you could get in line with the rest, its not the most original thought in this thread but majority opinion doesnt make it truth.

Mehman_2

FBaby wrote: »

I sincerely hope you can enter some arrangement so you can repay in a way that won't ruin you, but you need to accept that it is money you owe back to the DWP.

I guess i just really hoped that there was some way i could prove that it was there fault in part for asserting that i was providing medical certificates - that enabled me to receive the benefits, when i wasnt infact.

Since im not really in a financial position to pay out more at the moment... But i suppose the crux of the matter is ignorance on my part of the payment is not a valid excuse

I'll just bite the bullet and ring them tomorrow and see what happens.

cit_k

Do you not have any paper work, such as old claim letters, old benefit letters, that show exactly what you were claiming?

What you describe sounds more like you were on jobseekers allowance, and providing sick notes to ensure your jobseekers agreement took into consideration any disability issue.

It is not the normal course of events at all, for Incapacity benefit.
It is just way to different from any incap claim that I have ever come across that if this had happened, it would be something incredibly unusual, and worthy of official investigation, complaint, compensation etc.

And as pointed out, if the date is correct, you could not even put in a claim for Incapacity benefit after your surgery in 2009, as all new claims for IB ended in 2008.

So either you were already on IB before, or you were not on IB at all, but some other benefit, most likely jobseekers from what you describe, but 80 quid payments sounds odd, its not IB level if I recall, and its not JSA rates, so Im at a complete loss as to what is going on.

What you are describing does not sound like any benefit I can think off?

cit_k

Mehman wrote: »

I guess i just really hoped that there was some way i could prove that it was there fault in part for asserting that i was providing medical certificates - that enabled me to receive the benefits, when i wasnt infact.

Since im not really in a financial position to pay out more at the moment... But i suppose the crux of the matter is ignorance on my part of the payment is not a valid excuse

I'll just bite the bullet and ring them tomorrow and see what happens.

Ask them to send you a copy of everything they have on file, including your previous claims, and the sick notes....

Get a copy of everything, so you know what you were claiming, what they have on record, what they do and dont have, then you might have some idea how to proceed next.

von

OP - you may want to have a read of this http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldjudgmt/jd050303/hinch-1.htm

Mehman_2

@cit_k
I have piles of them. But to be frank its a bit late and i'm not really in the mood to go scouring through them.. But its very plausable that it was income support with whatever incapacity extra's you're referring to...
I'm obviously, from this thread, really not too clued up on benefits and i was just greatful at the time to have money to live on.

But again, because it was a long time recovering from surgery and i couldnt walk, talk or do anything much, due to diminished lung capacity.. i was quite put out by having to present myself at the job centre so regularily, which is why its quite memorable.

von wrote: »

OP - you may want to have a read of this http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldjudgmt/jd050303/hinch-1.htm

Thanks for that - Thats a wall of text allright!
But from scanning it i got the jist, some woman told the person at the jobcentre [as did i] they didnt pass the information on, her claim went on for 2 years more and they then sent her a bill much the same as me.. and she lost - on the grounds you cant rely on the job centre to pass information between departments.. Thats what i got from scanning it anyway..


So i guess like i said, ill just bite the bullet and ring them.
Its simply not worth the hassle of not-knowing and it hanging over my head...
Besides, if they ask me to pay it all back in a lump sum, i don't have the means... So i guess that'll be an interesting conversation.