Owe thousands to dwp but leaving uk

wardende

I owe over £20,000 to DWP for an overpayment of benefit, this dates back to 2005 and have been chipping away at it at a pathetic £40 a month but now they are asking me to increase payment substantially and I cant afford it.

I am now a dual citizen of Canada and am considering just leaving this hell hole and getting a job there, in Toronto where I have family.

Could the DWP try to get the money from me if I lived abroad? I know that they cant register a CCJ against me if I;m registered as living abroad.

Is it possible to bankrupt this debt?

princessdon

Can't bankrupt them, they are unlikely to get money from you if overseas but can and do take from future benefits you may claim like a pension or if you return back.

wardende

ok so I have a pension with one company about 10 years worth would I basically just have to write that off then? its not just the dwp I owe about £35000 in total, so I may as well just chip.

IT wont affect my credit rating abroad apparently.

whitewing

Do you have friends and family here?

If you run away, then they may be contacted by debt collection agencies?

If you ever needed to come back (eg someone dying) would you be too scared to do do in case you got caught up with?

benefitbaby

DWP debts/overpayments can be written off in bankruptcy (but not if they are a result of benefit fraud).
No the DWP cannot chase you for the debt abroad, however as others have noted if/when you return to the UK they will contact you regarding the debt. If 6 years pass between your last acknowledgement/payment of the debt then the DWP cannot enforce the debt in court as it would be statute barred under the Limitation Act however they could still make direct deductions from benefits or a deduction from earnings order.

saterkey

wouldn't Canada have restrictions on having a job before getting there, or are you just going to run up debts there as well.

It makes me angry you wanted what you got and ran up the debts the least you can do is stay and pay off what you owe in some form or other, we haven't spent or had fantastic holidays or goods either and just plod on, others run up debts and !!!!!! off, someone has to suffer for that money be it the banks etc. tell me why should you get away with it while the rest of us toe the line.....grrrr.

webtalk

You may think it is thecDWP you are not paying back but, in actual fact, it is the taxpayer whose money you are not returning.:(

By all means go to Canada, but keep on paying back your debt to the UK tax payer (incl me).

real1314

There are over 40 million adults in the uk

if each of them acted as you have, the total debt impact would be £1,400 BILLION.

I'm disgusted by your attitude. It's not desperation that drives you, it's selfishness.

You don't end up with a £20,000 benefit overpayment by accident. You get it by deceit. why should anyone care about you or what you do?

schrodie

real1314 wrote: »

You don't end up with a £20,000 benefit overpayment by accident. You get it by deceit.

Just like the MP's expenses scandal a few years ago!!

wardende

I was never prosecuted for benefit fraud. All the letters I have just say that there has been an overpayment and I need to pay it back. Does that mean I can get it written off?

Also I have a Canadian passport I have dual citizenship so can go there without jumping through any hoops.

benefitbaby

wardende wrote: »

I was never prosecuted for benefit fraud. All the letters I have just say that there has been an overpayment and I need to pay it back. Does that mean I can get it written off?

Yes, it would be written off in bankruptcy.
Did you appeal the overpayment decision? I assume you are out of time now? (only have a maximum of 13 months)