Housing benefit overpayment- URGENT

Poppie68

If you go bankrupt you will still be liable for the housing benefit...

Poppie68

It sounds like you need legal advice, you need to find a solicitor with a knowledge of benefits law. You should be able to get a free half or full hour of advice.

Marktheshark

Thats the issue, you only have a "revision notice" trying to get a bill out of them is near impossible, they do not like sending "demand" or bills, just notices.
Thus getting it in to a bankruptcy claim is hard without a final demand as they never officially requested payment in a legal sense.
Daft they are not.

If they conclude you must pay, say OK can I will pay when I have a Bill please, not a statemented account or a revision notice, a legal bill or demand for payment.
Watch their faces.

tucia

Poppie68 wrote: »

If you go bankrupt you will still be liable for the housing benefit...

Really??


I want be able to pay this money back to them. How they can get them from me?
I will be able to pay around £20 a week no more. It will take years and years!!!

Marktheshark

Its debatable, same with Tax credits, the issue revolves around they never officially demand the money so it's not a debt.
You can only include debts in to bankruptcy, statements of accounts, revision notices, are not bills or final demands and not bankrupt inclusive items.

Some have succeed in getting demands out of them, but usually they refuse to issue you with anything you can call a bill.

tucia

Marktheshark wrote: »

Its debatable, same with Tax credits, the issue revolves around they never officially demand the money so it's not a debt.
You can only include debts in to bankruptcy, statements of accounts, revision notices, are not bills or final demands and not bankrupt inclusive items.

Some have succeed in getting demands out of them, but usually they refuse to issue you with anything you can call a bill.

Thank you for that info. I have requested final bill from them. We will see what they will do.


Can I claim bankruptcy before or after Tribunal?


I am panicking right now. I don't know how I will pay this back?? Over what time??? How much??? should I get a lawyer for Tribunal or not? What should I do???

NYM

tucia wrote: »

Thank you for that info. I have requested final bill from them. We will see what they will do.


Can I claim bankruptcy before or after Tribunal?


I am panicking right now. I don't know how I will pay this back?? Over what time??? How much??? should I get a lawyer for Tribunal or not? What should I do???

You need to get proper advice.
If you're considering bankruptcy, you need advice on that also.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

enfield_freddy wrote: »

well the HB is usually assessed every 12 mths , did THIS council have you down as paying council tax on that house of your present address? as they should have picked up on it


secondly , what other benefits was your ex wife claiming for? , normally one government department talks to another , and should have told the town hall of any changes, why did they not pick up on it ? or was she also making a false claim on that?


the amount owed (if any) should be the full amount less the amount your ex received or did not receive in her name.


I think your ex has been cheating the system , so the ^&%^ might hit the fan. (not your worry)

The previous Labour Government scrapped annual reviews of Housing Benefit. Now someone can claim and it might not be looked at for years and years. It is up to the claimant to notify the Council of any changes.

Housing_Benefit_Officer

You were the claimant it was your responsibility to notify the council of your move. If you vacated and still claimed Housing Benefit then you are correctly being held responsible for the overpayment of money you were never entitled to.

I would appeal and ask for the overpayment to be recovered from the person from whom it was paid.

This might help: 4.20 onwards https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/405550/hbopg-part-4-recovery-of-overpayments.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-benefit-overpayments-guide

Was the bank account in your ex partners sole name or was it a joint account?

When you moved out did you move within the same Local Authority area?

tucia

Housing_Benefit_Officer wrote: »

You were the claimant it was your responsibility to notify the council of your move. If you vacated and still claimed Housing Benefit then you are correctly being held responsible for the overpayment of money you were never entitled to.

I would appeal and ask for the overpayment to be recovered from the person from whom it was paid.


Was the bank account in your ex partners sole name or was it a joint account?

When you moved out did you move within the same Local Authority area?

They will send case to the Tribunal now.
Yes account was only in my ex name. She still lives in this property and getting new HB.
yes, I was still living in this same area. I was renting room.