Overpayment of Housing Benefits £14k

Housing_Benefit_Officer

starbright789 wrote: »

I did inform them that I would no longer be needing any benefits. I applied for both JSA and HOusing benefit at the same council job centre so I informed just the one council I would not be needing it anymore. I don't get what else I should have done

The Council don't run Jobcentres. When you started work you would have had to notify both your Jobcentre and separately your local Housing Benefit Office.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

starbright789 wrote: »

Ok, so does anyone know what the best course of action would be to fix the situation then?

Pay back the overpayment and don't do it again.

Poppie68

Is it half term yet?

FBaby

Sorry OP but I don't think anyone is going to believe your story. It is hard enough to believe that in 4 years time, not once you've checked your bank account, but that knowing you were in your overdraft each month and what you pay is, you have never once in 4 months computed that you had £300 extra each month.

GirlFromMars_2

starbright789 wrote: »

I did inform them that I would no longer be needing any benefits. I applied for both JSA and HOusing benefit at the same council job centre so I informed just the one council I would not be needing it anymore. I don't get what else I should have done

Talk to the CAB, or a lawyer who specialises in benefits.

When you started work you needed to inform the DWP to stop your JSA and the Local Authority to stop your Housing Benefit/Local Housing Allowance.

The two benefits are run by entirely different departments. If you really did only fill out one form though I can see how you may not have understood that the Jobcentre didn't administer Housing Benefit.

This is one of the reasons for bringing in Universal Credit, so that there is one payment and only one department to deal with. If they ever get it working properly that is!

sheramber

So your income will now be £300 a month less. How will you manage if you currently only have £42 spare each month.

fed_up_and_stressed

starbright789 wrote: »

I did inform them that I would no longer be needing any benefits. I applied for both JSA and HOusing benefit at the same council job centre so I informed just the one council I would not be needing it anymore. I don't get what else I should have done

Jsa- government
Housing benefit- council

Completely different organisations.

micky2phones

sheramber wrote: »

So your income will now be £300 a month less. How will you manage if you currently only have £42 spare each month.

Well said,that was my thinking too.

Maybe the extra 300 pounds was paying the mortgage ?

LostAndAshamed

Have they confirmed that this is a HB overpayment?

HB isn't usually paid fortnightly, it would be monthly. If you've had fortnightly payments, that would suggest that it was a different benefit (JSA, possibly tax credits or child benefit?)

Poppie68

micky2phones wrote: »

Well said,that was my thinking too.

Maybe the extra 300 pounds was paying the mortgage ?

As it already very odd...Maybe to make it even odder....Has the OP claimed HB for a 'tenancy' that was in fact not a 'tenancy' because it is her parents property but she didn't know them and wasn't related to them at the time and didnt even realise they were living there and the HB was claimed to 'help them pay the mortgage'?
Some inventive work would have to go into the claim...but anything is possible.