Not sure where to post this....

Starry1981

Hi, we are paying back a housing benefit overpayment within our rent if we were to come off any benefits and just rely on my partners wage how much can they take realistically or a percentage or something as we would be paying full rent we already pay full ct would have no benefits except child benefit.....we pay £24.75 a week at the moment which is taken off our hb......we have 2 children also.
I hate to say it but was due to fraud which was not from the offset i don't want any negative posts as I've lived with this over my head since 2012 was convicted 2013 if I could turn back time I would!!

Thank you

National_Debtline

Hi Starry


If the council is no longer able to claw back this overpayment from an ongoing award, it could instead set up a Direct Earnings Attachment to order your partner's employer to deduct a set amount from each wage packet. More info on this, including the percentages that can be taken, can be found at


https://www.gov.uk/make-benefit-debt-deductions/overview


It may be possible, however, for you to intervene beforehand and negotiate directly with the council to pay back the outstanding debt at a rate you can afford. This should be worked out by totting up your household income and deducting your living costs. There are lots of budget templates available online you can use - our version can be found at:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/steps/step2/Pages/Step_2_11.aspx


The prosecution for fraud means that the debt cannot be written off in an insolvency process such as bankruptcy or a Debt Relief Order.


Dennis
@natdebtline

datlex

Careful not to fall in to a trap again. Are you trying to figure out how not to pay the £24.75 each week? I can't personally understand why you would want to stop claiming benefits if you are entitled to do so? Is your partner giving you a hard time about having to fund "your" mistake? Your best bet is to speak to them. Explain you want to stop claiming benefits and ask their advise on payments. Make sure you have details on incomings and out goings.

Starry1981

Hi Dennis and datlex,
No not trying to get out of paying anything back I've been repaying it back since June 2012 he's thinking if he gets a pay rise or just do overtime or if he chooses to go for a higher paid job which would mean we may not be entitled to anything, hes just worried if we pay full rent plus everything as well as dwp they will want more than what we currently pay whilst on hb, if they were to say £25 a week is still ok then that would be fine he's just worried they will try and make us pay £50-£100 a week or something we can't afford as I've tried to negotiate with hb before wen I had no income at all when we started our claim together they would not budge at all even thoe we was left with not very much for living expenses with two kids.

I know all about our in comings and our out goings as we currently are in an iva due to everything mounting up and not being able to manage with the extra payments plus our other debts so know that I would be chased for my fraudulent payments so didn't put those in as was no point would rather pay them than pay them hardly nothing for the duration we have the iva only for them to add the last how many months-years onto it anyway wen we could of made a small dent in the debt.....funnily enough dwp have been very reasonable and not pushed me about payments at all they asked for one amount and I negotiated and they excepted.



Thanks

Starry1981

The problem with the taking from his earnings is that every wage slip each week is different theres never 2 weeks the same which makes things harder ��

National_Debtline

Hi again


I wouldn't try too hard to second guess what the council will/might say. Just make sure that you keep any household budget as up to date as possible so that it reflects any changes in your circumstances - that way, if the council does come back looking for an improved offer of payment, you are ready with the budget to show them that you can only afford to offer so much each week/month.


If and when the current benefits do stop, arrange if possible to continue paying the council at the same rate without leaving too much of a gap in between. If they don't have to chase you for payments, there's a better chance of them settling for whatever you give them.


One more thing for now - I don't know if your partner currently gets any overtime. If they do, it's probably best to leave that out of any budget you use with the council, as it's not guaranteed income. If you're still in an IVA right now, I am assuming that IVA company claims some of any extra wages if and when they are earned.


Dennis
@natdebtline

Starry1981

Thank you Dennis,

A big help will bear it all in mind when the time comes with the council.

Yes we are still in our iva but he's not actually done enough overtime in the few months he has done overtime to go over the amount they have set so has not had to pay them anything just yet as like before he could get a low wage one week so does an extra day overtime to try and make up the money from the last week so we are not left struggling to pay rent or anything like for the previous week. Hes a bus driver so he's wages are sometimes all over the place depending on his hours or routes he's doing, it's so hard to do i&e's in this respect as it just makes it harder, a fixed wage would be easier but I'm not complaing as he's trying to do his best and provide for us.