DLA overpayment recovery from a 15 year old?

I have a client, who is now 23 years old, who has a deduction of benefits for overpaid DLA.
The client was 15 years old when the overpayment was being made, as his mother completed the DLA forms and benefited from the money. My client was at boarding school for a year and a half, so the overpayment occured.
I have being trying to get the recovery decision date from Debt Management, who have been evasive on this point, but just tell me the overpayment decision was in 2005. Debt Management have said that both he and his appointee are liable for the debt - it this true when the applicant is 15 years old and did not benefit from any monies paid?
Debt Recovery suggested I appeal, but I am afraid that I am probably out of time, because this recovery started the last time client was on JSA - more than a year ago. client was hoping that the DWP would take him to court over it while he was working so he could argue that it was his mother’s fraud. Alas, he lost his job, and signed back on, and the deductions have started again.

The latest letter from Debt Management asking for the money is 14th August 2012.
I was wondering if anyone knows a solicitor who would be willing to JR this decision? I am worried I will be out of the three month time limit if I put in an appeal (and it’s rejected). Or am I barking up the tree.

Any comments welcome,

Sandy

Thanks tony for your reply.
With regards to the three month time limit, i was referring to the time limit for judicial reviews. Can a judicial review be held for the recent letters, which don’t carry appeal rights?
The client seems to have been getting letters about this since 2007. He was bewildered because he never got any of the money, and unfortunately never thought to get independent advice.

Permission to bring JR will rarely be granted where there is an alternative remedy and an exception does not seem to apply here.  The fact that the claimant has missed his time limit for appealing, as long as there has been no maladministration by the DWP, will almost certainly not invite the scrutiny of the court unless, and this is by no means certain, he can show that his alternative remedy has been frustrated and he did not materially contribute to that.

thanks for your responses

For what its worth R(IS)5/03 and R(IS)5/00 set out grounds for the liability of an appointee to repay. If the appointee either failed to pass on the money or failed to use it in the claimants interest’s then the overpayment is not recoverable from the claimant, only the appointee.

This doesn’t get round the time limits for an appeal but you might be able to get an ‘any time’ revision as the decision that it was recoverable from both parties may have been made in ignorance of the material fact that the appointee had retained the money.

Pete C - 06 September 2012 12:05 PM

For what its worth R(IS)5/03 and R(IS)5/00 set out grounds for the liability of an appointee to repay. If the appointee either failed to pass on the money or failed to use it in the claimants interest’s then the overpayment is not recoverable from the claimant, only the appointee.

This doesn’t get round the time limits for an appeal but you might be able to get an ‘any time’ revision as the decision that it was recoverable from both parties may have been made in ignorance of the material fact that the appointee had retained the money.

That’s exactly what I did this morning!

I’m hoping they will agree, else I think I will have to talk to a solicitor about Judicial Review.

Good luck!