old benefit overpayment and bankruptcy

bornjoyful

help! I just got another letter saying my appeal was refused by the tribuneral as it has been more than ayear since decision. now what?

debt_doctor

..Thanks for the PM Fermi......


I didn't know you had sent an appeal to the tribunal.
Tribunals cannot hear cases more than 13 months after the decision was made.
A better route is formal complaint to your local DWP office, followed by (if not happy after 2 weeks) an escalated complaint to the area manager (your local office can give you their name and address.)
If still not resolved then you get to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE).
You are claiming that the DWP have acted unlawfully, and that they should follow their own guidance on the matter and compensate you accordingly.
You should point out that s36 of their guidance (as listed earlier in this thread) where it refers as similar to the Payne and Cooper case - in that case the DWP provided refunds to those who had money wrongly taken.


DD

vardmac

I think they are on a mission at the moment as I am being hounded for an income support overpayment from 1995. The last time they did this was 2009 I told them I was made bankrupt in 2007 and I denied the debt anyway. They left me alone until two months ago and have now got CCS Collect on to me.

I have made an official complaint today.

bornjoyful

Finally a resolution!

The DWP has agreed that he £448 I paid back in 2008-2014 to the income support overpayment should have been put towards a social fund loan repayment instead as this income support debt was from 2006 and WAS named in the bankruptcy in 2007 even although the DWP did not make a decision or first request until 2008.
In my previous posts I think I said that this overpayment was not named on the bankruptcy as I did not receive an official letter about it until 2008 however that was incorrect as I did have the foresight to name it in the bankruptcy as I was told by the original interviewer that it would definitely be considered as an overpayment .

I had stopped interacting with them since my last response in 2014 which said that they had not made a decision on how to deal with such cases and they certainly had not told me of any decision. (see above)

The weird thing is that the first I heard of the decision to transfer my income support repayments to the outstanding social fund loan when I called in February 2016 after I got my first letter from the DWP in 2 years which was asking for the remaining balance of BOTH the overpayment and the social fund loan money to be paid back. I was only calling to ask if this was to be taken as their follow up decision from 2014 and to say that I would not make any payments on either until there was a decision from the Official Receiver.

On the phone however I discovered that my file had notes from 2014 that this transfer should indeed be actioned. The woman said it was strange it was not actioned and she would do it immediately.

Today I got a letter saying I owed much less in total and no explanation .When I called earlier today it it was confirmed that I only owe to the social fund loan and all of the £448 of my repayments to the income support overpayment have been transferred leaving me with a small balance for the social fund loan of £173.
RESULT!

debt_doctor

Good News!


If you use the formal procedure, you will get somewhere in the end.
Well done.
DD

bornjoyful

debt_doctor wrote: »

Good News!


If you use the formal procedure, you will get somewhere in the end.
Well done.
DD

Just as well I did not hold my breath since March 2014.
I didn't actually make a formal compaint- at least not correctly as i mistakenly tried for a tribunal but it was years after the original decision in 2008 and the wrong route to try !

Debtdoctor, you said ''A better route is formal complaint to your local DWP office, followed by (if not happy after 2 weeks) an escalated complaint to the area manager (your local office can give you their name and address.)
If still not resolved then you get to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE).''

I did none of that- I only sent in the letter in 2014 saying that according to the new 2013 ruling I do not owe the money on the IS overpayment and could they please transfer it to the social fund loan. I did nothing after that and heard nothing back until February 2016 where it was apparent that they still considered it owing. Then i called in and was told that it was noted in 2014 to be actioned as i requested but that it had not happened. it is only today that there is confirmation that it has been actioned and they consider it not owing. I guess the comment about saving face by 'the gardener' was 100% corect!!

bornjoyful

update. the DWP have finally worked out I still owe £173.66 from the social fund loan -although they did take the £458.84  payments they deducted  from  me for the overpayment and transferred it into the £650 social fund loan account.
as they did agree that due to bankrupcy it should not have been. paid back