DWP letter saying I owe money

SubvertableOne

Hi, my wife and myself have both received a letter from DWP saying we owe them £245.03.  I looked up the telephone number given and more than one "who called me" website says the number is a scam.  I looked for the number given on the letter (0800 916 0647 & 0800 916 0651) via the gov.uk website and they say it is for the DWP debt management dept.  When I call the number, before talking to anyone, I am asked for my date of birth and NI number.  I did give my details and hung up.

My problem is I do not know how to contact the DWP to find out if we do owe them or whether it really is a scam and I don't want to give all my details away until I make sure.  We had UC but it finished about October 2024.  I am now a pensioner and my wife is a carer.  I don't see how we can owe them anything.  I'm happy to pay if we do but I don't want to be scammed of my details.

Advice would be welcome.

Spoonie_Turtle

Those numbers are correct for DWP debt management, one telephone and one textphone.  They are the same numbers as on a letter I received directly from Universal Credit via my journal and only my journal (so it was definitely 100% legit - and it was in response to me telling them I'd been overpaid).

I don't know how helpful the department are for explaining how/why the debt occurred though.  AIUI they don't make the decisions, only recover the money they're told has been overpaid.

Northern_Wanderer

My experience is that debt management should be able to tell what the overpayment is for, although they may struggle with complex cases. 

Muttleythefrog

Legitimate numbers so if you're calling them then you can ask the questions and provide your details without concern. In the event the letter was a scam which sounds unlikely they should be able to advise.
The whocalledme site is not always reliable but if you look at the recent comments they're largely indicating it is legitimate... whether your letter is though is another issue you must resolve with them. If you have a debt they will be able to give the details.

Refer  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-debt-management-performance-data/dwp-debt-management-customer-service-standards

Contacting Debt Management

TadleyBaggie

Those "Who Called Me" sites can be very misleading, I have seen so many genuine numbers that have been  marked as a potential scam.

peteuk

Are the letters separate or is it the same letter (ie addressed individually or together) as if they are individually the total amount owed may well be  £490.06.  

Call the number find out why and actually how much is owed and then sort out a payment plan (unless your claiming benefits and they can take it from these) 

SubvertableOne

Wpeteuk said:

Are the letters separate or is it the same letter (ie addressed individually or together) as if they are individually the total amount owed may well be  £490.06.  

Call the number find out why and actually how much is owed and then sort out a payment plan (unless your claiming benefits and they can take it from these) 

Identical letters each with only our details changed.  They both said they could take the money from either account.

SubvertableOne

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.  We will get in touch with the debt agency and try to find out why they think we owe them money.
I am now confident the telephone number is as it says it is (though I do think there is a scam going on somewhere).
Many thanks,

Muttleythefrog

SubvertableOne said:

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.  We will get in touch with the debt agency and try to find out why they think we owe them money.
I am now confident the telephone number is as it says it is (though I do think there is a scam going on somewhere).
Many thanks,

The number is advertised in the link provided as an official government number on an official government website page.... it is 100% legitimate. If there is any scam (unlikely) it is in the form of the letters... but call the number and they'll tell you the details of debt.

Riverstone58

SubvertableOne said:

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.  We will get in touch with the debt agency and try to find out why they think we owe them money.
I am now confident the telephone number is as it says it is (though I do think there is a scam going on somewhere).
Many thanks,

I had exactly the same issue with a £300 overpayment from September 2023 due to an employer late  reporting of earnings.

I reached SP age 12 months ago and in March of this year I received a text alert to read a message in my UC journal (yes, they do keep the journal open after you reach SP age but its 'read' only, you can't use it for messaging).

Lo and behold it was a journal entry to explain - 18 months later - the overpayment and that...."You have to pay it back".

Its a standardised format, which states if you're no longer claiming UC then the debt management team will be in contact. I've heard no more since and that's exactly how I'm leaving it.

If you still have your UC login details check in there as that's where the overpayment may most likely lie.

kkkklinky

A lot of genuine numbers are listed as spam or scam calls on those number checking web sites especially numbers from government departments, banks and debt collectors/bailiffs.