an old social loan

hooch68

can someone please help me

i have recived 2 letters today from the dwp, stating that i owe them money. when i phoned them up i said that i have been employed for 14 years and have not claimed for anything, they said that i took a social fund loan out in january 1994 and august 1993 and never paid it back. (dont know if its just me but i dont keep paper work that long) when talking to her she said that i paid back some of it then got a job and never finished paying it of (still cant remember) and it is down to me to prove that i dont owe it, and not down to them to prove that i do owe it.
now when i asked for the full amount she said £391 pound is what i owe, then she said oh no £80 of that has been put on ice because a young person has made a mistake in the office and i dont owe that amount it's now £311 still arguing that they had only given me till the 27/2/08 (2 days to pay) she also said that was a mistake and that the letters had been done a long time ago and that its not her fault about the post, i told her the letter was dated 20/2/08. what the hell is going on. is the government in that much debt??????????

so what i would like to know has this happened to anybody else and also DO I HAVE TO PAY THIS AMOUNT BACK AS IT IS SO OLD AND THAT I CANT EVEN REMBER THE DAMN THING.

glitterygert

Sorry I haven't any suggestions, surely they have to send you a copy of the original paperwork,would have thought after 14 years they can't ask for it. I've seen it on here that after 6 years you are no longer liable for a debt, as long as you don't acknowledge it, or something like that.

bunnygirl007

Hi

I had a similar thing happen to me a couple of years ago. I got a letter stating I owed them for some overpayment. I phoned them and didn't get too far but backed it up with a letter saying that if they could provide me with the evidence to show how i owed this then I would pay it. I have heard nothing since. (fingers crossed now that by saying that i haven't jinxed myself and will get a leeter tomorrow:rolleyes: ). If they want the money its up to them to prove you owe it.

I've also seen on here that as long as you haven't acknowledged the debt if 6 years has gone by there is nothing they can do - there is a special word for it but I can't remeber what it is.

johnroberts07

That happened to me, and the DSS can make you pay back loans no matter how long you have owed it to them. You can ask to pay it in instalments, i am paying £10 a week off an overpayment from 1997.