DWP NEW LAW Force earnings attachment on 15 yr old debt!!

Housing_Benefit_Officer

Icequeen99 wrote: »

WTC is calculated on gross pay. Other benefits though are based on net pay.

IQ

Housing Benefit is based on Gross pay minus tax, ni contributions and 50% of any pension contributions. Any deductions for CSA, fines, attachments of earnings orders, union contributions, payments into a share scheme or savings scheme, lottery contributions etc re added back onto the wage figure.

Sleeplesss

Sleeplesss wrote: »

From September 2013 the DWP introduced DEA as a method to recover money owed to DWP.
Initially this method of recovery was operated using only a small sample of cases, acknowledging that payroll software changes (to automate the process) were not due to be introduced until April 2014. From this date, and following the success of the piloted process, DWP began to roll out the revised process (incorporating the potential use of DEA) into their business as usual.
I have just received a letter from the DWP saying 'We have asked your employer to commence deductions from your earnings through a Direct Earnings Attachment, the law allows us to do this without applying to a civil court and your employer is legally bound to comply if requested to do so'. A copy of the document they say they have sent to my employer was enclosed.
My question is: Is this new DEA introduced by the DWP retrospective and does it apply to a 15 yr old debt?
I understand benefit debts are not statute barred insofar as the debt can be deducted from any future claim, but the rules on attempting to recover debt over 6 years old do (or did?) apply.
In 1999 I was interviewed re an income support overpayment at the Social Security Office. I was not prosecuted. On my behalf, Social Services drafted a letter to The Dept of Social Security with my repayment proposals. 3 years and 7 months passed before I heard from the DWP (I still have a copy). I have worked and not needed income support benefit help ever since. However, late 2003 after claiming sickness benefit for three weeks, I received a demand from the DWP stating they 'Had written to me several times' and demanded £5850.66 within 14 day's. I wrote back straight away, telling them I had not heard from them for nearly four years. (I have a copy of that too). I did not get a reply to that letter either. I have had a standard letter from them auto issued at intervals, which I have ignored, since they have not replied to my letters. Since the start in 1999, I have made no repayments, (tried to at the time) never been taken to court or had a CCJ imposed.

Thank you for your eloquent, lengthy and well thought out reply. Must have taken up a lot of your time. I was and did in fact dispute their vague demands several times as stated in my post. Turns out that I had been repaying it by deductions from my benefit for years. However,the favourable outcome of the appeal on the amount overpaid, and my repayment proposals submitted by the social worker mentioned, was never actioned and never deducted from the outstanding balance. Could have done it without your 1st class advice.