overpayment of HB

apppa

I got a letter today saying that I have to pay back £360 for overpayment of housing benefit 6/10- 27/10-2008.
It said that they sent a letter on January 19th 2009 about this, I did not receive that letter, I am guessing they sent it to the address I had HB for but I moved out of that address around the 27th of October 2008. I have lived in different councils since then.

They say I have 2 weeks to fix this, they can help set up a plan for the payment.
Of course the letter finish with telling me what horrible things will happen to me if I dont do this.

Is this normal, they send a letter without knowing if the right person get it and then five years later they send you a letter, this time to an address where you actually live and tell you to pay back?

I will have to go there when I am feeling better and ask them why they think I was overpaid, I have been thinking and thinking about it and the only thing I can come up with is that maybe I stopped the JSA a bit before I stopped the HB and they are saying I must have had a job??

I feel so bad over this,

BP1987

I imagine the debt recovery section have traced you to your current address.

Phone the local authority and find out where the overpayment has come from.

If you dont agree with it you could submit a late appeal or look towards a claim for underlying entitlement.

apppa

I have got HB in other councils after 2008 so my address have not been difficult to find for them and they have my phonenumber.
I have written to them and ask why they think they paid me 3 weeks to much and why it has taken them over five years to get in contact, I did not receive the letter they say they sent in January 2009.

Now I am worried that I will get a letter from another council, how long after they think they have given you too much can they go after you?

BP1987

Well if you have not been aware of the overpayment you first need to find out the reason for the overpayment. You will then need to see if this was your own error or if it was the local authorities error.
If it was the LA's error then there maybe a case to make it unrecoverable.
I suppose it will all be down to the cause of the overpayment.
There is no time scale that i am aware of for recoverylike i said it depends on the cause of the overpayment which you need to find out asap. you will find much more advice on what to do then.

Are you in receipt of any DWP Benefits?

Where you disqualified from these benefits for the period stated?