Housing benefit debt

Sally72B

I’m a nubie so please help me

I have had letter and emails from local council with reference to an overpayment of housing & council tax benefit in 2011. Apparently they tried to claim it back via my salary but at the time I was earning too little for them to do it. -hence claiming benefits in the first place.

Haven’t heard anything from them about it since. I’d completely forgotten about it.

They are now demanding payment. Are they allowed to do this? It’s over 7 years. If any overpayments were paid they used to reclaim through on going benefits. But apparently not the case on this one.

I haven’t had housing benefit now for approx 3-4 years. It seems really unfair that they can do this.

Thanks for any help or advice

pmduk

Sally72B wrote: »

It seems really unfair that they can do this.

Why do you feel it's unfair to repay this public money you were overpaid?

brewthebear

You owe it You were happy I presume to receive and spend it so now you earn enough time to pay back, simple....

Lioness_Twinkletoes

This sort of debt isn't statute barred. Contact them and make an arrangement to pay what you owe.

TELLIT01

It needs to be repaid. Don't ignore the letter from the council as the next stage will be for a debt collection agency and possibly bailiffs to get involved. The problem won't just go away.

Placitasgirl

If they'd written to say they hadn't paid you enough would it be unfair if they wanted to pay you now? Of course not!

You were overpaid from the public purse and it will have to be repaid. As said don't ignore the letter as it won't go away; get in touch and arrange to repay it with a payment plan if necessary.

tboo

Sally72B wrote: »

I’m a nubie so please help me

I have had letter and emails from local council with reference to an overpayment of housing & council tax benefit in 2011. Apparently they tried to claim it back via my salary but at the time I was earning too little for them to do it. -hence claiming benefits in the first place.

Haven’t heard anything from them about it since. I’d completely forgotten about it.

They are now demanding payment. Are they allowed to do this? It’s over 7 years. If any overpayments were paid they used to reclaim through on going benefits. But apparently not the case on this one.

I haven’t had housing benefit now for approx 3-4 years. It seems really unfair that they can do this.

Thanks for any help or advice

If they wasn't allowed to collect it after 7 years then they wouldn't be sending a letter now would they.

If you are now working the council will go down the same route of an attachment of earnings if you don't respond - so best ring them, sooner than later

TELLIT01

tboo wrote: »

If they wasn't allowed to collect it after 7 years then they wouldn't be sending a letter now would they.

Not necessarily true. Even if they couldn't go to court to recover the money they could still write to the person and request payment, framing the wording in such a way that the person thought they had to pay it back.
DWP was ordered to change the wording on some of their letters a few years ago because that is exactly what they were doing when the overpayment had been down to official error.