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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Overpayment due to ID???

benefitsadviser
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Sunderland West Advice Project

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Total Posts: 1003

Joined: 22 June 2010

This is a new one for me

Client SE driving teacher, and as hadn’t accounts couldn’t get SE payment from govt when he had to stop working last April
He was told to claim UC, and has received 10.5K in benefits over last 18 months
He went back to work this august and closed his claim
Bright spark at DWP put an overpayment notice on his Journal (after he closed his claim) saying he had been overpaid every penny, and wanted it all back. No discussion/reason/anything.
He only found out as Council tax sent him an overpayment notice for last 18 months council tax discount.

I called UC and the guy on the line said i couldn’t appeal as he missed his month deadline, and should have checked his UC journal (never heard of good cause apparently. I asked him why would he read his journal after closing claim and going back to work?)

Anyhoo, the UC guy said he wasn’t sure, but it looks like they aren’t happy about ID verification, and are treating it as a defective claim, so they want the lot back.
Weird Dichotomy : if the claimant isn’t the claimant, then how can they recover? He either is Mr X or isn’t Mr X
If he is MR X then claim should stand, and if he isnt then how can they recover if he isnt who they say he is?
Farce
MR in post
Rant over : no common sense…..

Va1der
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Welfare Rights Officer with SWAMP Glasgow

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Joined: 7 May 2019

Claimants have to comply with requests for information.
DWP’s logic is that your client could in fact be Mr Y, who’s claimed with his own bank details, but under the pretence of being Mr X. Or some such.

Does anyone know what actually happens when a claim is requested closed by a claimant? Does he still have access to his online account and/or journal? Does he still get notified by text/email if there is a new message on his journal? If not, then there must be a procedure in place for these circumstances for DWP to send a letter instead.

Ianb
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Macmillan benefits team, Citizens Advice Bristol

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Joined: 24 November 2017

There’s a separate discussion about whether or not there is any legal basis for DWP to retrospectively treat a claim as defective in this way. Unfortunately I am sure we are going to see a lot more of this and it may take a full appeal to tribunal to decide.
https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/17067/

Should add also that the absolute time limit for an MR is 13 months, not one month, so they can still lodge an MR and if DWP refuse to accept it appeal to tribunal service.

[ Edited: 18 Oct 2021 at 05:22 pm by Ianb ]