How to challenge an overpayment demand from the DWP

IF you get a missive from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) saying that you’ve been paid excessively overmuch money, it tin beryllium precise stressful.

Overpayments tin hap for tons of reasons including strategy errors, changes successful your circumstances, and adjacent mistakes made by the authorities itself.

The atrocious news is that if you person been overpaid you astir ever request to wage the money back, adjacent if you didn’t announcement and person spent it already.

However, you tin usually talk to the DWP to enactment retired a monthly outgo plan, oregon determination volition beryllium a deduction successful future payment payments until the indebtedness is repaid.

The payment bureau volition find however overmuch wealth you should person received, what needs to beryllium paid back, and whether you request to wage a punishment (for lawsuit if you lied astir your circumstances).

However, if you deliberation that your payments were close and you shouldn’t beryllium DWP anything, past you tin situation the decision. 

We revealed earlier this year that immoderate radical are being sent overpayment demands, but aft we intervened, it turned retired they didn't beryllium a penny - truthful it's worthy checking.

Single mum Penny Davis managed to get a £12,382 measure wiped aft she challenged a Universal Credit overpayment request - and recovered she was really owed £2,000.

What to bash if you get a missive saying you’ve overpaid

You should get a missive from the payment bureau explaining wherefore they deliberation you’ve been overpaid. If you haven’t been fixed the reasons successful writing, inquire for them.

If you inactive deliberation there’s a mistake, commencement by phoning up the payment bureau and explaining the issue.

Give them immoderate grounds you’ve got that supports your content that you’ve not been overpaid. This mightiness resoluteness the occupation quickly.

If that doesn’t enactment and you inactive disagree, you tin formally quality an overpayment by asking for a free mandatory reconsideration. You indispensable bash this wrong a period of receiving your archetypal letter.

You mightiness beryllium capable to get an hold successful immoderate circumstances, for lawsuit if you’ve been successful infirmary oregon had a bereavement.

Don’t forget, idiosyncratic volition look astatine your full payment assertion again. This means your payment could stop, enactment the same, summation oregon decrease.

If you’re not sure, you tin interaction a charity specified arsenic Citizens Advice, Advicenow, oregon StepChange for help. They tin besides supply proposal if you've been accused of payment fraud. You tin besides question proposal from a ineligible professional.

The authorities says you tin inquire for mandatory reconsideration if immoderate of the pursuing apply:

• you deliberation the bureau dealing with your assertion has made an mistake oregon missed important evidence
• you disagree with the reasons for the decision
• you privation to person the determination looked astatine again

Before making a petition for a mandatory reconsideration, marque definite you recognize wherefore the determination was made. Being wide volition assistance you to explicate your case.

If you request assistance knowing the crushed for your payment decision, telephone the benefits office. They should beryllium to explicate and reply immoderate questions you mightiness have. 

You tin inquire for a written mentation from the benefits bureau - known arsenic a ‘written connection of reasons’. You tin inactive inquire for mandatory reconsideration aft that but indispensable bash truthful wrong 14 days from erstwhile you get the statement.

How to inquire for mandatory reconsideration

To inquire for a mandatory reconsideration, you request to interaction the benefits office. If you get Universal Credit, you tin bash this via your journal. Other ways to inquire for 1 see by letter, by phone, oregon by filling successful and returning a form.

The interaction details whitethorn alteration depending connected which payment the quality refers to, but they should beryllium connected your overpayments letter.

If you privation to quality a Housing Benefit oregon Council Tax Reduction overpayment, you'll request to interaction your local authority.

For tax credits oregon Child Benefit, you request to contact HMRC.

What you request to provide

When asking for a mandatory reconsideration, you’ll request to provide:

• The day of the archetypal decision
• Your afloat sanction and address
• Your day of birth
• Your National Insurance number

You request to accidental which portion of the determination you deliberation is incorrect and supply supporting grounds to beryllium it.

For example, this could beryllium aesculapian grounds oregon slope statements and payslips. The authorities says you should lone see grounds you person not already sent, and that you should not see wide accusation astir your information oregon unrelated assignment details.

Make definite you constitute your name, day of commencement and National Insurance fig astatine the apical of each spot of grounds truthful it’s wide it relates to your claim. Unfortunately, you can’t assertion backmost the costs of providing evidence.

If you’re not definite what grounds to send, work the guidance connected the form for asking for mandatory reconsideration. You tin besides ringing the benefits office, oregon talk to a foundation oregon ineligible adviser.

What happens next?

The benefits bureau volition reconsider its determination astir your overpayment. You’ll past get a missive called a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’ telling you whether they’ve changed their minds.

This missive should explicate the reasons for the determination and the grounds it was based on.

If you disagree with the outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. This indispensable beryllium done wrong 1 period of getting the letter, unless you person a bully reason.

This assemblage is autarkic of government, and a justice volition perceive to some sides of the statement earlier making a last decision.  

If you were overpaid

You tin usually effort to negociate to marque definite that your repayments are affordable.

If you deliberation the repayments volition permission you successful superior hardship, you should fto the benefits bureau cognize arsenic they whitethorn beryllium capable to help.

You tin besides inquire the DWP if it volition "exercise its discretion not to retrieve an overpayment", which means penning disconnected what you owe.

They don’t person to accidental yes, and if they garbage you, it can’t beryllium challenged.  You request to springiness arsenic overmuch grounds arsenic imaginable astir however the payments volition impact you and your family.

Even if you person precise bully reasons, carnivore successful caput it is highly uncommon for the DWP to determine you don’t request to wage backmost the wealth if you genuinely beryllium it.

Do you person a wealth occupation that needs sorting? Get successful interaction by emailing [email protected]