***UPDATE*** Had to resurrect this thread to post and update. For everybody who advised me and help me stay calm during the storm! Just to let you know that on the 21/05/2010 I received the following letter from the DWP: 'We have looked again at the facts and evidence we used to make our decision and looked at the points raised. As a result we have changed our decision, and have decided that the overpayment is not recoverable and you do not have to pay this back.' 'The appeal will not be sent to The Appeal Service as the decision has been changed in your favour.' It is fantastic news, and I am just so glad that I listened to all the positive advice on here, as at one point I was ready to throw in the towel. Huge thanks to all the people who followed this thread, just thought you deserved an update. :) :)

As much as this whole situation is making me frustrated, angry and even a little bit scared, I do realise that it is also a very interesting case. Will definitely make sure I comeback to update you all, once any progress has been made either way.

Again, I have made an error. I did not make a copy of the letter I sent asking to appeal. I literally put the phone down from the debt centre, wrote a 6 page letter as quick as I could and ran down the road to post it! CAB are closed at the moment in my area, they are only open mon/tues/wed. Will absolutely phone them on MOnday as I need assistance. You have all been fantastic, thank you so much for taking the time.

Thanks Jan, You know when you just feel all the odds are against you!!!! I am doing things wrong at every turn. How can they not have received my appeal letter? aaarrgghh The decision letter was dated 30th Novemeber 2009, but I only opened it on the 3rd week of december...totally my fault, as I was not staying at my house over that period and never thought to pop in and check the post...didn't think there would have been anything that urgent waiting for me. Totally understand that this is an error on my part, but I still think as I posted it about 3.00pm on the 23rd dec it should have reached there by now....the royal mail website says 23rd dec = normal deliveries, 24th december = normal deliveries, with sat morning style collections, no deliveries 25/26/27/28 ...29 dec = normal deliveries and 30th dec = normal deliveries. Will this been seen as a good reason for a late appeal (I mean, the fact that there have been 4 days of no deliveries since I sent the letter, not the fact that I did not open their letter til 3rd week december!). God, I am boring myself now, just thinking out loud, sorry guys

No itemised calls on my bill for any calls that were under 50p, I have checked my bill. However, I think they will provide me with a list of all the calls I have made to any specific number showing dates and times (somebody else said that this happened to her and the company provided her with a list of calls made to a specific number for a small fee). I emailed my phone provider yesterday to get the wheels in motion regarding that. Am more worried now about the fact that they say they have not received my written request for an appeal (christmas post delay?) ...the deadline of 1 month has now passed. Just seems to be getting worse and worse.

I was receiving income support for me and the three children ( I only switched to Child Tax Credits a few months ago). I never claimed any housing benefit as I own my own property with a mortgage, so I was instead also receiving mortgage interest relief. I also claimed council tax benefit . Although I am not happy that they have stopped the benefits if they were incorrect in doing so, I am also not strong enough to deal with the two issues at the same time. To go through a whole process again just to get them to re-open my claim, only for me to have to stop it again shortly....to me it is not worth it. I am getting help from my family at the moment, and I will be able to pay them back out of the proceeds of the sale. Would much rather have it that way in light of all this. The overpayment is what I need to concentrate on. Is there any written information anywhere that I can read regarding the 26 week disregard. I was verbally told about it on the phone by someone at the dwp, but can never seem to find this anywhere in writing (especially relating to an inherited property). Because if I understand you correctly...they are in essence saying that I failed to disclose information, information which WOULD NOT have affected my benefits anyway for the first 26 weeks?

Jansus, I have never lived in the property, its uninhabitable. As to the letter I got in OCTOBER 2009 about the suspension...I have no idea what promted them to send this. Maybe they suddenly remembered me and my phone calls, or found my letter that they deny ever receiving!! I do not actually have that suspension letter in front of me...just a note I wrote myself saying...suspension letter received OCTOBER 2009/further info required/all info sent back along with letter..so basically I sent them back their suspension letter along with all the info they asked for. Thank you for all your helpful responses.

Jansus... Benefits have stopped letter:- Dated 5th November 2009 About your income support I am writing to tell you your income support will change. This means from 12 June 2009 you are not entitled. This is because your circumstances do not meet the conditions of entitlement. etc.... Overpayment letter Dated 30/11/2009 (did not receive it until first week december) Dear ..... Notice of overpayment Overpayment of income support Amount overpaid ..... Period of overpayment ../01/09 - ../09/2009 We are writing to you because to much benefit has been paid. This letter explains how the overpayment occured and what to do next. The overpayment occured because on ../01/09 your circumstances changed and the office that paid your benefit was not told at the correct time about a change to the amount of savings held by you or one of your dependents......... This money must be paid back under the law.........

MIKEY ...agree 100%...that makes perfect sense to me. I have not asked for this to be looked at again. I am just trying to get my head around this near on £7,000.00 overpayment first. I do not want to reclaim, certainly not after all this. I want nothing more to do with the dwp. I just want to get this 'overpayment' business sorted out. Just checked the letter from bradford...they have not broken down the payment. It is just a lump sum written down and then a period jan 2009-september 2009 I hope that makes sense.

MIKEY, Ok, I have checked through my paperwork, and in OCTOBER 2009 I did receive a letter from dwp to say...your claim has been suspended, we require further information. I provided them with the information they asked for at that point OCTOBER 2009.... then I received a further letter in NOVEMBER 2009 to say benefits had stopped (from JUNE 2009 although don't know where the JUNE 2009 date came from). Then in the DECEMBER 2009 I received the letter from dwp debt centre bradford about the overpayment. Now, I remember when I got the letter about the suspension I phoned the dwp to ask why, and they said they needed further info, I said fair enough I will send it , which I did, and they said 'when we receive the info the suspension may be lifted'. I also just assumed when I received the NOVEMBER 2009 letter that they had received all my info, assed the situation and stopped the benefits because my 'time was up' so to speak, with regards selling the property.

Yes you are right Jansus...that is exactly what this boils down to....how can I get the proof that I phoned them, and would those calls have been recorded. I found out I can ask my phone provider to provide me with detailsof dates/times that I made the calls. As of today, I phoned debt centre bradford...and they are saying they have not yet received my letter asking to appeal...but he said it was down to the christmas post, and is probably right. As of now, I am simply waiting for a reply from them re me wanting to appeal.

Thanks again Mikey. Your post makes a lot of sense, and yes I will fight it........despite being torn to shreds on the other website, made to feel as though I am lying and contradicting myself (but it is quite a complicated chain of events and I am doing my utmost to remember everything in the correct order)..... and then having them telling me I am basically stuffed . I will take proper advice tomorrow either from the citizens advice or welfare rights and see what happens from there. At least, if they do say I have to pay it back, I will eventually have the proceeds from the sale of the property with which to pay...so in some ways I am probably in a much better position than most when this sort of thing occurs (she says, trying to think positively ). Will update with any progress.

Many thanks Mikey, I have also posted this query on another sight and it is being suggested over there that because a) I did not inform dwp at the correct time in their eyes and b) I did not actively market the property after inheriting it, that I will have to pay back the money I did inform the dwp before I inherited and after. I did not actively market the property as I was approached by a builder wishing to purchase the property and agreed to sell to him, it never needed marketing. Again, many thanks for your positive post, although I feel that, after my mistakes are being pointed out on the other site, I think I have a hopeless case.

Hi, need some advice...here goes! Am a single parent to 3 children, not working, and have been on income support since 2000, never had any problems whatsoever. My mum passed away late 2007 and I inherited her property in early jan 2009 (probate was complicatedand took a long time to administer her estate). I informed the d.w.p of this over the phone to find out what would now happen with regards to my benefits and nobody could tell me what my benefit entitlement would now be in my circs. Brief wafflings about me possibly needing to fill in a form...never received any form. The only thing I was told (on 2 seperate occasions) was that provided the property was to be put for sale (and not lived in or rented out) I would still be entitled to all my current benefits until the property had sold. To this day I do not know if this information is correct. I told them I would be selling the property once my solicitors had transferred the property into my name (and this is what I did, although it is taking a long time and I still have no completion date, so the property still has not actually sold...no money in the bank yet!.) So, just to recap, I firstly informed the d.w.p of my situation over the phone around end dec 2008/beginning jan 2009 as I new that the estate was close to being settled (before I had even inherited the property, just to see what needed to happen next). And secondly, I phoned again end jan and wrote them a letter telling them I had inherited a property (I have a copy of this letter even though they say they never received it). I never once received any communication from them regarding this matter at all. The only thing I ever received was a letter from the council at the end of jan requesting information regarding the inherited property, proof of income support,what my intentions were etc which i sent to them, and funnily enough.....the council received everything I sent them . Fast forward to October 2009...got a letter from d.w.p to say all my benefits have stopped (fair enough I thought, perhaps I have gone past some time limit for having the property up for sale..6 months?...but completion is very near so I am coming off benefits soon anyway, I can deal with this). HOWEVER.....I have just received another letter from dwp debt centre bradford saying they want back nigh on £7,000.00....for the period from end jan-end oct. They are saying they have overpaid me and I have made a 'mistake' and didnt tell them I inherited a property. I have written a 6 page letter (on the advice of the d.w.p debt people in bradford afterI phoned them) to say that I want to appeal this decision. Any words of advice.....anyone been through similar? Thanks to anyone for reading this far...long post!