Income Support Overpayment

overpaid1

Hi

I would like to ask two questions about an overpayment with IS.

I was on IS before starting university full time and continued to do so whilst at uni.

Only to find out that 2.5 years later that I was not entitled to Income support as being a FT student, means you have access to a student loan, and regardless of whether you want to take it or not (obviously some opt not to because of debt implications) your IS support will be stopped.

So I had a compliance officer tell me this in August 07. His findings led, on to an overpayment in HB and Social Fund loan (these two are being paid back).

HB stopped in september 07 and the overpayment was calculated in January 08.

IS never wrote to me about recovery of payments, but Social Fund did in Nov 2007, which I am paying back at £30 a month. I notified them with a change of address in Nov 2007 I also asked if IS would have my change address too. They said, "we're dealing with it now, and besides its all linked anyway".

i am subject to work based reviews. and Each time I attended I told the interviewer that I was "at university, full-time, finishing in 2008". these interviews happened twice before the August 07 compliance interview. So its not as if I was trying to hide that i was getting student loan. I believe that my me stating that I was FT university student.. work-based interviewer should have been knowledgebale enough to say. "does that mean you get a student loan" or "in that case, you're not entitled to IS at all". and the overpayments would not have escalated.

Q1. Is the fact that I declared I was a FT student to work-based interviewer from the DWP enough to say I didn't purposely withhold information and the overpayment is not an error on my part?

Q2. The IS have written to me in June 08 saying they want to recover in full £4,000+. 10 months after original enquiry. Is there some law on a time limit relating to overpayments?

Sorry its so long! But i feel the facts will help with answering the questions.

Oldernotwiser

Why on earth did you think that you were going for work based interviews when you were a full time student? I don't think that work based interviews are about checking your financial eligibility but for preparing you for moving on from benefits so I'm not really surprised that this point didn't come up.

This is going to sound harsh but if you're bright enough to do a degree, you're bright enough to be able to read and understand the terms of getting benefits. Also worth bearing in mind is the fact that, if you weren't paying this back, you'd be paying back a student loan, so if the repayment terms aren't too punitive it amounts to the same thing. I don't really see why you should find yourself better off than someone who's played by the rules. Sorry.

overpaid1

It may not have been a work focused interview but they asked about change in circumstances at this interview and finance as well as looking for work.

I also provided bank statements that itemised student loan payments in black and white going in to both DWP and local authority. It was on my file that I was at uni FT.

I don't plan to find myself better off. I played by rules that were apparent to me. I f i wasn't a rule player then I would have told an outright lie and said I was not a student. I was unaware that I was not entitled to IS while having a loan. A small paragraph on the Student loans form where they ask for DWP details would have clarified this. Educated or not, the information was not available to me.

The facts about student loans are not there in black and white and are difficult to implement into entitlement. Admitted by the very people who work with day in day out, should joe public be 'bright enough' to understand it? The compliance officer even said to me the rules are abit dodgy and not widely known. Saying that hundreds in the borough were unaware of it and it was unfortunate that it had taken so long to come to light.
The student loan company knew I was on IS from the onset, because they ask for this information.
The DWP knew I was a FT university student.
As a college student I was entitled to IS without problems. I was to believe that 'student' was an umbrella term and did not change implications if I was a university one.
I would appreciate an answer to my question rather than a criticism on the intellect I am pigeon-holed to have as university student.

real1314

overpaid1 wrote: »

The student loan company knew I was on IS from the onset, because they ask for this information. What the student loan company knew is irrelevant.
The DWP knew I was a FT university student. But did YOU tell them you had a loan?
As a college student I was entitled to IS without problems. I was to believe that 'student' was an umbrella term and did not change implications if I was a university one. Did you tell them you were on a different course? Did you think that doing some A levels with no extra ncome would be treated in the same way as doing a Medical Degree for 5 years with an extra £5-£10k in student loans for income?
I would appreciate an answer to my question rather than a criticism on the intellect I am pigeon-holed to have as university student.

At the end of the day, if you didn't declare the student loan, there is no waythat you will be able to get out of paying the money back.

Oldernotwiser

When I wrote my first post I assumed that you'd been living on IS and not taking your student loan, not realising that it was counted as income even if you didn't take it.It now appears that you've had money from 2 separate pots to support you for 3 years. I think that you have now to accept that the good times of double funding are over and the day of reckoning has arrived. pay it back and be thankful they're not prosecuting you! Even "Joe Public" knows that IS is a means tested benefit!

mitchaa

I cant believe someone at university studying for a degree wouldn't do 5 mins research on this.

Beggars belief:rolleyes:

Like above, pay it back and thank your lucky stars you're not being prosecuted.

SuziQ

You must have been the richest student at Uni! Seriously though,I can accept you didn't know the rules but believe you should have to pay it back-you could have refused the student loan but you had the benefit of both. Hopefully they will offer extended repayment terms for you.

overpaid1

Even if you refuse a student loan.
You still won't be entitled to IS.
It's counted as money available to you.
Therefore you are obliged to take the student loan. Or nothing at all.
I did do research but at the time there was no information available so I assumed nothing was wrong with it. As I said I was not the only one in the situation and hundreds of others in borough were called out on it. To all making uni crack Anyone that has been to uni or sat any exams will realise one day that passing many exams is your ability to memorise what you learned and hope you can put it on paper before the clock runs down. I have friends of mine that have 1sts and straight A's since school. Ask them their right from their left, or anything revolving around common sense and they are lost. Bookwise but not anything otherwise.

That aside anyone know where I can find anything on the time limit? Or where I can find documents on benefit legislation.

Oldernotwiser

overpaid1 wrote: »

That aside anyone know where I can find anything on the time limit? Or where I can find documents on benefit legislation.

Why should you expect anybody here to help you to continue defrauding the system? If you look on the JCP website, it sets out the rules very clearly for students on IS. That assumes you have no objection to my thinking that graduates should be able to read and use the internet?

It's interesting that you know that you might as well take the loan as it will be counted whether you take it out or not. Obviously this was one bit of information that didn't pass you by!

overpaid1

I am aware of that now. Obviously not at that the start. Please do not try and paint a picture different to what I have said.
There may be information on the JCP site now. But there certainly wasn't in 2004 or 2005.

I am not, nor was I previously defrauding the system. At no point was I intentionally in receipt of both fully aware that I wasn't supposed to be. If I was I wouldn't be willingly pay back other overpayments that have accrued. It is the fact that an overpayment of significant amount has been thrown back in my face at a point of 0 income, a year later, with incorrect dates on it.. I'm not dodging, I want DWP to pull there finger out about things so that someone else doesn't find themselves in a similar situation. I read elsewhere on this forum that DWP workers allegedly leave stuff involving students on their desk until they can be bothered because they are too complex. I will pay back of course but when then they give me some answers. I am not denying some accountability but DWP should concede some too and I just want to be aware of the legislation when they confront them about it.

womble100

:rotfl: posters dont be too harsh.remember you dont have to be bright or even have a brain to go to uni these days.you can be as thick as 2 short planks.