Department of Work & Pensions debt letter - can this be statute barred

dawnie1972

I received a debt letter last week from Department of Work & Pensions chasing me for a debt of less than £100, hadnt a clue what this letter was about so rang them and they informed me it was for a social/crisis loan taken out in the year 2000. I advised them that this would then be statute barred and they could not chase me for it - the person on the phone stated that they could continue to chase me for it but not enforce it through the courts. I've now received another letter stating they will take money from my salary.
Is this debt statute barred even though its from the DWP?
I told the guy on the phone that perhaps they should concentrate on retrieving money from those claiming benefits unlawfully and all the foreigners we are paying for!

fermi

It would be statute barred, but as they say all that means is that they cannot take you to court for it.

Legislation was passed a little while back that allows DWP to deduct from your wages for overpayments of this type. As that does not involve legal proceedings, it being statute barred does not stop that.

See: https://www.gov.uk/make-benefit-debt-deductions