My client has had three DM15S letters from Debt Management re AA, PC and RP, following the detah of her husband. He died on 27/08 and has been overpaid two weeks, 31/08 - 13/09 on all three benefits. I believe the DWP were notified immediately so there was no failure to disclose on the part of my client.

The letters have no info re appeal, so am I right in asuming my client has no legal obligation to repay, either out of the (small) estate or otherwise and this is the departments attempt to recover with no basis in the law.

If my client refuses to pay, is the department likely to continue to pursue recovery? Should she ignore the letters or respond saying she doesn't intend to repay.

Then again, regardless of the law, should she feel morally obliged to repay?

Official error overpayments are not, following the recent court of appeal's decision, recoverable through the courts.

The position on alleged failure to disclose/misrepresentation cases recoverable after the death of the claimant is well laid out in R(IS) 6/01, although it needs careful reading.

"should she feel morally obliged to repay"?. That is a matter for her and her conscience.

The overpayments may have been caused by the method of payment into a bank account, so that they can be recoverable even if there is no failure to disclose or misrepresentation - see section 71(4) of the Social Security Administration Act and regulation 11 of the Social Security (Payments on account, overpayment and recovery) Regulations. It may be worth clarifying the actual reason why the client is being asked to repay, as I wouldn't take the standard of the notification as being proof that there is not, in fact, an established right to seek recovery

Brian

But if they are recoverable on that ground (which immediately occurred to me too) they are recoverable only from the estate and not from anyone else. So if there is no money in the estate AFTER paying the funeral costs and any legal costs incurred in dealing with the estate (which are priority debts) then they rank equally with any other debts of her husband and before the rights of any of the beneficiaries of his will/intestacy.