Income support overpayment

jdeerfc1

Hi i have recieved a letter from IS stating that i owe them £549.36 as overpayment was made to me after my son started Uni.I had informed them earlier last year about my son stating he was going to uni in September and as i had not heard from them i assumed they would pay my IS untill he recieved his first grant on 24/9/07, but the letter states that the income support was suppose to stop on 29/8/07.I have just phoned the Debt centre and they have informed me that i must pay back the monies from 29/8/07. And if i dispute the amount to put it in writing. So any help as what to put in the letter would be most welcome.
There is a paragraph in the letter they have sent saying "The total due includes an amount that has been paid in error.This is not recoverable under Social Security Law, but we are asking for this back because it should not have been paid and the next paragraph says " All other amounts that have been overpaid must be paid back under Social Security Law
I believe the ERROR was in there part as i had informed them of my son starting uni in September. so any advice would be most welcome THANKS

real1314

The error may be theirs, but that doesn't mean the money you received is yours.

You would have to be able to show that you had every belief (and this would probably have to be based on some knowledge or advice you had received) that the money was due to you.

jdeerfc1

I am not disputing that i owe them money, but i am disputing the amount they say i owe, and the dates they say it stopped

jdeerfc1

Addendum to the above, i informed the DWP last April that my son was going to Uni in September, but i coudnt give excact dates as he didnt have his exam results and didnt know what uni he would be going to ( i think that is par for the course of anyone who was hoping to go to uni in September )

real1314

Well, the notification in April wouldn't have been treated as a notification, as it was stating an expectation, not an event.
They can deal with future changes that WILL happen (e.g age changes) but they can't act on something that may or may not happen. He might have flunked the lot and re-sat a year, so you still needed to inform them when he actually went to uni.

damo73_2

hi babe
how did u inform IS, statement @ jcp? i take it IS was paying for the child. if u can prove u informed IS u will not have to repay money as it will be classed as offical error. when did child benefit stop for chd?

Damo
IS DM

kelloggs36

If it was official error then you don't have to pay it back - they have to ask, but you don't have to pay. However, if you were telling them of future changes, this may be viewed as non-disclosure because you didn't tell them when it happened - this is how tax credits work - you will need to check this.

jdeerfc1

real1314 wrote: »

Well, the notification in April wouldn't have been treated as a notification, as it was stating an expectation, not an event.
They can deal with future changes that WILL happen (e.g age changes) but they can't act on something that may or may not happen. He might have flunked the lot and re-sat a year, so you still needed to inform them when he actually went to uni.

It was an actual form i fiiled in in April stating my son was going to uni and i have kept them informed on what uni he is at and when his course started. I thought my IS for him would cease on the day he recieved his first payment of his Grant. His child support ended on the 29/8/07 and his first grant monies was paid on 24/9/07

real1314

kelloggs36 wrote: »

If it was official error then you don't have to pay it back - they have to ask, but you don't have to pay. However, if you were telling them of future changes, this may be viewed as non-disclosure because you didn't tell them when it happened - this is how tax credits work - you will need to check this.

DWP never used to pursue official error overpayments, but it seems that a new approach is being used.
Official errors can be recovered, where it can be shown that the recipient should have known they were not entitled. It's a recovery based on common law rather than soc security law.
Local Authroities have done things this way for years.

jdeerfc1

real1314 wrote: »

DWP never used to pursue official error overpayments, but it seems that a new approach is being used.
Official errors can be recovered, where it can be shown that the recipient should have known they were not entitled. It's a recovery based on common law rather than soc security law.
Local Authroities have done things this way for years.

If the worse comes to the worse and i DO have to pay it all back how am i going to afford To pay it in one lump sum as i am on IS