DWP debt repayment

landylad

Hi, does anyone know if it's possible to come to an agreement with DWP to repay a debt in full by negotiating a settlement figure? 

My mum died owing money to DWP, the  only way I can pay the full amount is to sell her house which was our family home for 50 yrs. she verbally requested that her only grandchild would live in the house when she died. 

I don't have enough cash to pay the full amount she owes and I can't get a mortgage as I live on a pension.

I wrote to DWP 6 weeks ago to offer a cash sum ( my savings) as full settlement of the debt but I've heard nothing back. It will be incredibly difficult to sell the house if DWP demand full payment of the debt, it wasn't my mums fault. 

My mum didn't know about the DWP overpayment, she had dementia and was 92. 

Brie

what caused the overpayment?  In some circumstances if the overpayment was due to a mistake on DWP's side it may not be repayable. 

OH had carer's allowance due to being carer for his mom.  Mom went into hospital and we informed DWP so they could stop the CA.  They didn't and it carried on for about 4 months beyond when it should have stopped, despite as contacting them by phone, post and online.  Their fault so it wasn't repayable.  

I think it's different if it's due to savings increasing which means that pension credit or something is no longer appropriate and that continues without anyone telling DWP.  

Frankly if it is repayable DWP should be able to agree a plan to allow it to be paid back over a prolonged time if there is no easy way to settle it.  An alternative is they can put a lien on the property so they get their money back when it is sold - maybe in a couple of decades from now.  They are very unlikely to force a sale for something that might be 1 or 2 % of the property value.  

Spoonie_Turtle

Brie said:

what caused the overpayment?  In some circumstances if the overpayment was due to a mistake on DWP's side it may not be repayable. 

OH had carer's allowance due to being carer for his mom.  Mom went into hospital and we informed DWP so they could stop the CA.  They didn't and it carried on for about 4 months beyond when it should have stopped, despite as contacting them by phone, post and online.  Their fault so it wasn't repayable.  

I think it's different if it's due to savings increasing which means that pension credit or something is no longer appropriate and that continues without anyone telling DWP.  

Frankly if it is repayable DWP should be able to agree a plan to allow it to be paid back over a prolonged time if there is no easy way to settle it.  An alternative is they can put a lien on the property so they get their money back when it is sold - maybe in a couple of decades from now.  They are very unlikely to force a sale for something that might be 1 or 2 % of the property value.  

Even there it's wise to check that there actually is an overpayment - people over a certain age had an indefinite exemption from deductions due to increase in savings (I can't remember what it's called, but the OP's mother's age makes me think it could be possible, if she was claiming PC).

Jyana

Brie said:

what caused the overpayment?  In some circumstances if the overpayment was due to a mistake on DWP's side it may not be repayable. 

OH had carer's allowance due to being carer for his mom.  Mom went into hospital and we informed DWP so they could stop the CA.  They didn't and it carried on for about 4 months beyond when it should have stopped, despite as contacting them by phone, post and online.  Their fault so it wasn't repayable.  

I think it's different if it's due to savings increasing which means that pension credit or something is no longer appropriate and that continues without anyone telling DWP.  

Frankly if it is repayable DWP should be able to agree a plan to allow it to be paid back over a prolonged time if there is no easy way to settle it.  An alternative is they can put a lien on the property so they get their money back when it is sold - maybe in a couple of decades from now.  They are very unlikely to force a sale for something that might be 1 or 2 % of the property value.  

Here's the original post about the overpayment from last year, it looks like it's around 19 years of PC.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6408812/pension-credit-overpayment/p1

OP, sorry for your loss. Have you had any communication at all from the DWP have you had since your mother passed, if so what has their latest stance been? You said in your previous post that they were going to continue paying her pension and only stop the PC, did that happen? Did a repayment system get put in place at all, or was it still in the process of being worked out before she passed? 

Apologies for all the questions, but they will help to give a clearer picture. 

Robbie64

I would suggest you get specialist help regarding this rather than try to negotiate this on your own and to potentially leave yourself with no savings. You could try Citizens Advice to see if they can help or to see if they can signpost you to somewhere else if they can't.

landylad

Jyana said:

Brie said:

what caused the overpayment?  In some circumstances if the overpayment was due to a mistake on DWP's side it may not be repayable. 

OH had carer's allowance due to being carer for his mom.  Mom went into hospital and we informed DWP so they could stop the CA.  They didn't and it carried on for about 4 months beyond when it should have stopped, despite as contacting them by phone, post and online.  Their fault so it wasn't repayable.  

I think it's different if it's due to savings increasing which means that pension credit or something is no longer appropriate and that continues without anyone telling DWP.  

Frankly if it is repayable DWP should be able to agree a plan to allow it to be paid back over a prolonged time if there is no easy way to settle it.  An alternative is they can put a lien on the property so they get their money back when it is sold - maybe in a couple of decades from now.  They are very unlikely to force a sale for something that might be 1 or 2 % of the property value.  

Here's the original post about the overpayment from last year, it looks like it's around 19 years of PC.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6408812/pension-credit-overpayment/p1

OP, sorry for your loss. Have you had any communication at all from the DWP have you had since your mother passed, if so what has their latest stance been? You said in your previous post that they were going to continue paying her pension and only stop the PC, did that happen? Did a repayment system get put in place at all, or was it still in the process of being worked out before she passed? 

Apologies for all the questions, but they will help to give a clearer picture. 

DWP set up a payment plan which was a large proportion of her pension. We were paying for carers to regularly visit mum as well as the care we provided - we had to have continuity because she had dementia and got very upset by anyone coming to the house so had to be the same few people visiting ( that's why we had private care) We had to ask for a reduction in the plan as they were taking over £60 a week. We were paying for 15 hours if care & £18 an hour. DWP dropped repayments to £15 per week. 

We probably paid 6 weeks before she went into hospital and passed away. I informed them as soon as she died,  One week after I got a letter asking for the full amount to be paid within 2 weeks! 

Phoned again and they said they would suspend the repayment of the debt for 6 months. 6 months is in the next couple of weeks. 

Jyana

landylad said:

Jyana said:

Brie said:

what caused the overpayment?  In some circumstances if the overpayment was due to a mistake on DWP's side it may not be repayable. 

OH had carer's allowance due to being carer for his mom.  Mom went into hospital and we informed DWP so they could stop the CA.  They didn't and it carried on for about 4 months beyond when it should have stopped, despite as contacting them by phone, post and online.  Their fault so it wasn't repayable.  

I think it's different if it's due to savings increasing which means that pension credit or something is no longer appropriate and that continues without anyone telling DWP.  

Frankly if it is repayable DWP should be able to agree a plan to allow it to be paid back over a prolonged time if there is no easy way to settle it.  An alternative is they can put a lien on the property so they get their money back when it is sold - maybe in a couple of decades from now.  They are very unlikely to force a sale for something that might be 1 or 2 % of the property value.  

Here's the original post about the overpayment from last year, it looks like it's around 19 years of PC.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6408812/pension-credit-overpayment/p1

OP, sorry for your loss. Have you had any communication at all from the DWP have you had since your mother passed, if so what has their latest stance been? You said in your previous post that they were going to continue paying her pension and only stop the PC, did that happen? Did a repayment system get put in place at all, or was it still in the process of being worked out before she passed? 

Apologies for all the questions, but they will help to give a clearer picture. 

DWP set up a payment plan which was a large proportion of her pension. We were paying for carers to regularly visit mum as well as the care we provided - we had to have continuity because she had dementia and got very upset by anyone coming to the house so had to be the same few people visiting ( that's why we had private care) We had to ask for a reduction in the plan as they were taking over £60 a week. We were paying for 15 hours if care & £18 an hour. DWP dropped repayments to £15 per week. 

We probably paid 6 weeks before she went into hospital and passed away. I informed them as soon as she died,  One week after I got a letter asking for the full amount to be paid within 2 weeks! 

Phoned again and they said they would suspend the repayment of the debt for 6 months. 6 months is in the next couple of weeks. 

As Robbie has said above, I think it would be a good idea to get some outside advise before going any further with them. Either with Citizens Advice, somewhere like the Law Centre Network, or even a consultation with a solicitor (you can usually get free 30 min 'interviews' with a few to find one you trust/click with) as this is quite a complex situation with a lot of jargon to get your head around and stress to have to go through on your own. That extra support is a great help.

Whomever was the Executor of your mother's estate, if that wasn't you or included other people, will obviously have to be involved in any steps taken as the debt is presently owed by the estate. Therefore, legally, all parties must be aware of the situation as they are liable for settling it before distributing any inheritance on to the grandchildren.

I would recommend your best action at present would be to get in contact with an agency to talk through best next steps, and then call/write (or possibly whomever you are in contact with makes the contact on your behalf, depending on who you turn to) them before the six month deadline. I don't know what their backlog is like at present, but the usual practice is to issue a CCJ if there's no payments after the six month deadline is given, so I really would make this a priority. 

I understand this is a very overwhelming experience, especially coming during a time of grief. Hopefully it will become a bit easier once you have that support structure behind you though. 

Brie

As already stated - do contact DWP and give them an update. 

Keep a book with a note of every conversation, number called, person talked to, date, time so that you can refer back to it.  Very likely things will be said in phone calls that are not recorded or acted upon on their side or will be contradicted by automated letters that are generated before the call and sent after.  

Send in a subject access request so you get as much/all of the information they hold regarding your mom's application.  Ask to have transcripts of any phone calls as that might make obvious how much your mom struggled to understand the concepts being discussed.  It's not uncommon (particularly if the official is unsympathetic or merely feeling tired and harassed) for people to talk over someone who is asking questions or make them feel like they are stupid for not understanding something that is so very very simple to an individual dealing with it every day. 

If Citizen's Advice is not able to help you might try Age Concern or even a union like Unite that your mom might have belonged to when she was working.  Even the LGPS may have someone who can provide support for an ex employee and pensioner.  Failing that what other resources might you have?  There may be an employment connection for you or your other half that would be able to offer you support/assistance.  I'm thinking of your former employers "employee support groups", maybe even your pension provider.  If you want to pop something on here or to message me I'd be happy to see if I can spot any potentials.