DWP taking my money!

[joe1965]

I received a letter today from DWP that they have taken out a Direct Earnings Attachment on me for debts which are over 15 years old!

Looking through some of the threads on here it seems that it is legal but is there anything I can do to stop it?

Would a SAR be any good to see if they can provide a copy of the agreement or am I just screwed?

[antone]

The DWP now has the power to do this, yes. No harm in sending a SAR, especially since the DWP does not charge the permitted £10 fee.

 

As to what you can do, well, first off, have you previously been informed of the debt/overpayment, and if so, when? Do you think that their calculations are correct, or do you disagree that you owe the money?

[joe1965]

I was informed about it about two years ago and when they told me how long ago it was owed from I told them it was statue barred.

[citizenkain]

you told them it was statute barred? the dwp don't do statute barred they always get it in the end,they usually wait till you are getting your benefits and deduct it that way

[joe1965]

Apparently the law has ben changed so they can use the direct earnings attachment. But if I do a SAR and they cant provide the paperwork where do I stand if they can't provide proof that it's owed?

[tomtom256]

They provided you the proof two years ago, you told them to stick it or am I missing something here?

[joe1965]

They didn't provide any proof just a letter saying money was owed. I would presume normal procedures for collecting debts still apply to DWP?

[Stigman]

They didn't provide any proof just a letter saying money was owed

 

You can telephone and ask for the dates, where, what type of Benefit the DWP are collecting etc.

 

As advised above, send the DWP a SAR request, unlike other SAR requests to private Companies/Charities, it is free!

 

Stigman

[joe1965]

Ok will do, and if they can't provide it , what then?

[SabreSheep]

Sadly u may now face obstacles as you did not follow the procedure 2 years ago.

 

2 Years ago the letter would of had a "if you think this is wrong" bit allowing you time for an appeal. that time has no long since passed

[lld01]

Ok will do, and if they can't provide it , what then?

 

You have found out the hard way that statute-barring does not apply to DWP debts. Whilst they may not be able to recover through the courts they have powers to recover through deductions from earnings and/or future benefits.

 

If you actually have any proper reasons to think you should not have to repay it you should have told them 2 years ago. Sadly there's little or nothing you can do about it now.