DWP "Demand" for £3k

[Gaz7483]

Hi guys,

 

My father in law has received a letter out of the blue from the DWP saying "our records show us that you owe £2,982" and they can get an attachment of earnings, send debt collectors blah blah blah.......

 

He is due to start claiming state pension in Feb 2018 so he completely panicked thinking this was a demand for a shortfall in NI contributions & he wouldn't get full state pension.

 

he called them up and set up a payment plan, without asking them what it was actually for..........

 

After speaking to me,

I pointed out this letter doesn't say what he owed it for

(it was literally like me writing a letter to you and saying you owe me 3 grand, no reason whatsoever),

 

he called them back and they said it was for Incapacity Benefit that was paid to him for a couple of months starting in October 2003, and they allege he was earning at the same time.

 

This raises a few issues.

 

Firstly, he knows that he definitely was not earning at this time, but he may have been receiving private pension payments.

He will have to look up old info to confirm this or not so we can't contest anything yet on this point.

 

However,

on a broader point,

do they actually have a leg to stand on asking for repayment 13 years after the event?

They've sent a letter with no explanation whatsoever, blindly asking for 3 grand.

 

Then when he phones up the DWP they say it's nothing to do with them, it comes from the benefit office....

.... It just all seems very suss.

 

Has anybody else had experience of this please?

[Mr.P]

However, on a broader point, do they actually have a leg to stand on asking for repayment 13 years after the event?

 

Crown debts do not become statute barred in the normal sense, and legislation is in place that enables the DWP to make an attachment of earnings or deductions from benefits paid in the future (including any state pension). Whilst they could involve a debt collection agency, they wouldn't have any power to do anything more than write scary letters, and certainly wouldn't be able to initiate any court action.

 

You are correct in querying exactly how this alleged debt came about, and if you can demonstrate that it is a result of official error, the DWP may well write it off. i.e. If your father had told them about any pension payments at the time of making a claim, and the DWP failed to take in to account this income, then that would be official error.

[unclebulgaria67]

Remember that Data Protection subject access requests for all information from DWP can be made free of charge. You just need to send them a letter.

 

There have been a number of cases on CAG where people have made such requests for information, which has revealed that DWP has no evidence of the overpayment. It is simply a case of DWP trawling through old records trying to find money and then writing out to people often based on partial information.

[martin2006]

Further to UncleB the DWP SAR can be done online, dont need to send a letter by post unless you prefer to.

[stu007]

DWP SAR CAG Library link: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?406188-DWP-Subject-Access-Request-From-(SAR)-**Updated-March-2014**

[Gaz7483]

Thanks so much for this information guys, I'll submit this SAR and will let you know how it goes, and probably come back for more info.......!