The only documentation of this debtfrom back in 1997 they have provided is a plain paper print out stating the dates and the amount. They say they do not have copies of original paperwork/ letters sent to me in 1997 which would show confirmation of deductions being made from my benefits. I hear they may be archived I some large paper storage warehouse and even if so they would be almost impossible to locate. without these I cannot prove they took deductions. They will never admit they are fallible and could be wrong despite all the common sense my argument posseses. Believe me I have spent a year trying every legal body for help. Again, my question, can they order a DEA if I don't increase the direct debit of £100 per month they already extract from me? Thank you so much for your belief and assurance that I can win with them, I just cannot see it happening.��

I know how the overpayment happened back in 1997. (see post) re payments from my benefit were set up at the time. DWP say there were no repayments made, why would social security continue to pay me until 2003? Obviously, I have not kept any paperwork from back in 1997. Neither do the DWP its their word against mine. However I have a thick file of papers contesting this debt with them. My Local MP wrote to them also asking for original documentation of my claim in 1997. They have none.They need none since new Welfare Reform laws brought in April 2014. As it is all in the name of The Public Purse, they are not obliged to go through the courts to prove it. This issue is all a dead end however. I just really need to know the answer to my query: Can the DWP force a DEA through my employer if I do not agree to their review requested in their letter I have just received. They want to increase the agreed direct debit payment of £100 they already extract from me?

Rather than face the humiliation of the DWP contacting my employer with a Direct Earnings Attachment, they accepted my proposal of £100 per month direct debit repayment plan. I have been paying this for 12 months and have never missed a payment. I have just received a letter asking me to call them as they want to consider an increase in my current payment plan. Can they pressure me with the threat of a DEA through my employer again if I refuse to agree to an increase? This debt is from 1997 and I know lots of people say it, but I know I was repaying this back then, I was called in to the social security office and new claim forms showing the deduction were completed. I was still on benefits when the overpayment came to light, and remained so until 2000. I have never been out of work since. Then 2014 and the Welfare Reform bill rolled out the DWP bully methods of collecting old debts. Guilty, with no access to records to prove your Innocence. Even letters from my local MP produced no way forward to dispute the alleged debt. There is nowhere to turn for help. Can anyone here help in answer my query: Can the DW force a Direct Earnings Attachment if I refuse to increase the direct debit of £100 per month that they already extract from me?