Can DWP demand payback of an Attendance Allowance overpayment after death?

p00hsticks

NedS said:

Newcad said:

As I understand it they can 'demand' overpaid benefits from the estate - in the same queue with any other debts if the estate has sufficient money to pay them back.

What the DWP do seem to be doing a lot of recently is 'asking' that the next of kin repay overpayments out of their own pockets.

The letters are very carefuly worded to imply that you should/need to/must pay, but as it is not your debt you can decline (ie. Tell them to jog-on).

Agreed, DWP need to write to the executor of the estate, not the next of kin as it is not their debt. However, often the next of kin is also the executor.

If you are not the executor of the estate, ignore the letter and do not respond.

Assuming that DWP have found out about the death via the Tell Us Once service ,then the contact details they have will be for whoever registered the death - they won't know who the executor is (or even if there is a will) unless they are told.

If the person who registered the death is  not the executor then the recipient of the letter should pass it over to the executor to deal with, not just ignore it. Use of the Tell Us once service may also result in communications from DVLA, HMRC, and the local council.

TELLIT01

I thought DWP could only request repayment of overpaid benefits following the death of the recipient.  I'm aware that many of the 'request' letters looked more like 'pay up or else' in the past, but thought the wording had been changed.

HillStreetBlues

TELLIT01 said:

I thought DWP could only request repayment of overpaid benefits following the death of the recipient.  I'm aware that many of the 'request' letters looked more like 'pay up or else' in the past, but thought the wording had been changed.

If the overpayment is because the DWP took too long to action the death then it can't be recovered, they do write one letter making it look that is has to be paid, but it can just be ignored as they won't bother again.

Robbie64

HillStreetBlues said:

TELLIT01 said:

I thought DWP could only request repayment of overpaid benefits following the death of the recipient.  I'm aware that many of the 'request' letters looked more like 'pay up or else' in the past, but thought the wording had been changed.

If the overpayment is because the DWP took too long to action the death then it can't be recovered, they do write one letter making it look that is has to be paid, but it can just be ignored as they won't bother again.

Sometimes they do send a second letter but again this can be ignored. It seems to be hit and miss if they send a second letter.

Edenform

Apologies, further info I should have stated and thanks for replies. 

I am also the executor of the estate. 

I notified them DWP etc using the Tell Us Once service within 2 days of the passing. 

The letter is worded the same as the state pension letters I have seen which day something like, "we are obligated to ask for the monies back."

Keep_pedalling

Edenform said:

Apologies, further info I should have stated and thanks for replies. 

I am also the executor of the estate. 

I notified them DWP etc using the Tell Us Once service within 2 days of the passing. 

The letter is worded the same as the state pension letters I have seen which day something like, "we are obligated to ask for the monies back."

The tell us once service takes some time to trickle down to all the organisations concerned and if payment dates are near the date of death then it can easily lead to an overpayment unless you also inform the bank of the death at which point all the account will be frozen and payments will bounce back.

The money is owed and should be paid back. If this is dependant on the house being sold then as executor you should inform them that repayment is not possible until probate has been obtained thad the house sold. If you are not selling the house then the debt will need to come from the beneficiaries. 

HillStreetBlues

Edenform said:

Apologies, further info I should have stated and thanks for replies. 

I am also the executor of the estate. 

I notified them DWP etc using the Tell Us Once service within 2 days of the passing. 

The letter is worded the same as the state pension letters I have seen which day something like, "we are obligated to ask for the monies back."

The Tell Us Once service is run by the DWP the date of that will be the date the DWP will be classed as informed.
As I thought it's the same principle confirmed by the letters. They have "asked" then it's up to you if you pay or not.

sheramber

Edenform said:

Apologies, further info I should have stated and thanks for replies. 

I am also the executor of the estate. 

I notified them DWP etc using the Tell Us Once service within 2 days of the passing. 

The letter is worded the same as the state pension letters I have seen which day something like, "we are obligated to ask for the monies back."

https://www.gov.uk/benefit-overpayments/repayments-when-someone-has-died

toomuchinfo

My husband died in December. Yesterday I got a letter from DWP that they’d paid 2 days too much PIP. It was only £69 so I paid it online, I didn’t even consider not paying, it would feel disrespectful to my husband, but that’s just me!

I think if it was a much bigger amount which would cause hardship you can pay in instalments.

sjj323

I paid the amount of overpayment the DWP asked for as it was addressed to me following my husbands death.  I did not know I could have ignored it as it’s not my debt. I wonder if I could ask for it back! My husband has no estate and I only have the state pension for income