To be desperate for some help with this debt?

[chocolatetwister]

And it seems like no one is interested in giving any?

Apologies in advance, this may be a bit long, all amounts given are approximate for privacy reasons.

I recently received a letter from the DWP stating that I owed in excess of £8000 pounds and they were now going to do an attachment to earnings to recover this. This was the first time I'd been made aware of this outstanding debt, I honestly had no idea this was even owed let alone how it had gotten to this stage already.

Several frantic phone calls later and I've managed to ascertain that £6500 of it relates to a UC claim I made during covid when I wasn't working and the rest is overpaid tax credits amounts from 4 separate years going back as far as 2011.

I was definitely entitled to the UC when I claimed. I think the problem has come about because when I claimed they asked for a copy of my tenancy agreement and I didn't have one. When I asked if anything else would suffice as proof of my housing costs I was told rent receipts would be sufficient but when I provided this they said they weren't good enough and cancelled the claim. I started a new claim, provided proof in the form of a letter from my landlady and this was accepted. Obviously this 'overpayment' is due to the claim being cancelled but this was/is a mistake which was rectified shortly afterwards.

I have since moved and don't have the letter anymore but they should in theory still have a copy on their system.

Every time I phone them and explain the situation I get told something different. I get told to phone a different department, or told I will receive a phone call from an advisor which I never get, then I get a note on my journal saying that they can't help because it's related to tax credits (which is isn't, at least the majority isn't). I was told I can do a mandatory reconsideration form but when I look it up it says that only applies up to a month after the decision was made and I have no idea when that was but the claim it relates to was last year.

I'm getting so frustrated and upset because to pay back a debt of this size will absolutely financially cripple me and take years and years to pay off. I have gone through serious money issues years ago and even went through a form of insolvency in an attempt to get back to a normal credit rating. I've been so so careful with my money since then, paid everything I owe on time and have tried so hard to be financially responsible so I don't get into debt again. I'm so close to achieving that and now it's all about to be thrown away. Honestly the thought of being plunged so far back into debt is making me suicidal. I absolutely cannot cope with the thought of being so destitute again. I'm crying all the time and not sleeping well.

I just don't know what to do. No one seems to care or want to help at all. Is there anything else I can try to get this reduced? Tia.

Quick Google tells me that dwp can't reclaim a debt from over 6 years ago op. Please see citizens advice to get a letter drafted quoting them of their own guidelines.
Also ime they have to allow up to 10 years to repay a debt.

Is your mp any good? If they are I’d go to them

I had dealings with DWP last year about a Tax Credits debt from 2008 and a pending AoE. You have my sympathy because they really are a nightmare to deal with.

The first thing I would do is set up a repayment plan - for the lowest amount they'll accept - because having a repayment plan in place will stop any further AoE action completely. At least that's one less thing to worry about.

Then I would email or write and specifically ask for a breakdown/reason for the apparent £6500 UC overpayment. Until you have this clarified in writing its difficult to dispute it further.

Citizens Advice Bureau. I’d not be making any attempt to agree a repayment plan when a) you think you were entitled and b) you are only hearing this now YEARS down the line. Do they not know your new contact details or something?

@Creepymanonagoatfarm I thought the same thing but according to the last advisor I spoke to on the phone apparently this has been changed and now they can chase you for a debt indefinitely. Plus the vast majority of it relates to UC which is only from last year.

Just to complicate things when I did my insolvency I actually included the tax credit debt that I had information for (which was apparently only one out of the 4 amounts, but still something) so I was under the impression it had been written off anyway. Only now, and after many phone calls, I find that actually it's an ineligible debt which can't be included on insolvency proceedings (again, according to the advisor). I've not heard a word from tax credits since the insolvency in 2017 so obviously I assumed it was all sorted. My paperwork says it is eligible to be included so I have no idea which piece of opposite information is correct!

Quick Google tells me that dwp can't reclaim a debt from over 6 years ago op

Your quick Google is wrong. They can and they do. Statute barring is an absolute minefield when it comes to tax credits and it is not as straightforward as, for example, a credit card debt.

My historic Tax Credits debt was about £600 and I don't believe it was actually owed. However, I spent weeks researching and speaking to advisors about it and my conclusion was that with Tax Credits that have passed to DWP they usually have you by the short and curlies.

The op has a far higher chance of success focusing on the £6500 UC debt.

@HouseOfGuineas they absolutely do know my correct information because I've been employed many times since then so all of my address/employment/tax information would have been readily available. Been at my current job since January this year. I'm currently paying off some council tax debt which the council sent me paperwork for at my current address so no idea why it's taken so long to contact me.

Jeez. Well good luck, that’s a chunk of change for anyone.

I'd contact one of debt management charities. And I'd throw in a mandatory reconsideration form anyway

I'm trying to do a mandatory reconsideration as we speak but it seems I only have a month from the time they decided I'd been overpaid to do it and I have no idea when that was. I'm going to try anyway because I have nothing to lose but I had no chance of doing it earlier as I didn't know they had decided I'd been overpaid until now.

I swear they make up these debts as they wish. I had my tax credits stopped in 2018 because of over payment. I paid off this debt and my tcs were reinstated. 2019 i claimed UC and ever since ive had deductions for tc overpayments. Doesnt matter how much i ask no one can prove where this debt is from yet im still paying it off. Ridiculous

I would do a mandatory reconsideration asking them to reconsider the rent element from the period before you had the letter from your landlady. Did the letter state the date that you moved in and how long you had been paying x amount of rent for. I think it would hinge on whether you can prove you were paying rent during that period when your rent costs were never properly verified. If you can't prove the dates the rent was paid I doubt you will get anywhere. Can CAB or somewhere help? Or shelter maybe?

There's absolutely no incentive for the dwp to not make mistakes because there's no penalties if they do. It's crazy!

DWP worker here, not UC, but still applies. Get CAB and Stepchange involved, and absolutely put a Mandatory Reconsideration in. You are asking for the debt to be reconsidered from the date you learnt about it, ie when you got the letter. An MR can be done up to 12 months after a decision.

@Babyroobs when I first gave my proof all I had was my rent receipts which clearly stated the amount paid per week and the amount of weeks I was paying for. They were all also signed by the landlady - I kept every receipt for the whole time I was living there and I still have them I think.

When the letter was sent the second time (after the cancellation) the only difference was it had my moving in date, name and address on it. The rent amount, frequency and the landlady's signature were all on there same as the rent receipts.

have you contacted the reputable advice agencies, CAB, stepchange, turn2us, christians against poverty.
good luck.

@Stigsmother thank you for the advice, I'm already in touch with the CAB and they have already said that the amount included on my insolvency should be excluded so they shouldn't be trying to recover it.

When you say the date I got the letter, is that the letter telling you about the overpayment? Because I don't have one of those, the only letter I have is to say that they are doing an attachment to earnings, would that still count for a MR?

As previously advised please do contact CAB or equivalent. Some local authorities have good welfare rights teams/ officers.

Spent 2hrs on the phone to the National debtline this evening and although they were very helpful in some ways I now feel even worse.

I can appeal but even if I'm within the time limit I'm probably unlikely to succeed. Also the statute time period for claiming tax credits HAS expired (6yrs) but because they are doing an attachment to earnings and not taking me to court they can still chase me for the money.

Plus now I'm really worried that if I do an income/expenditure it will say that I can 'afford' much more than I can because I live with DP and he owns his house. Even though I don't have any financial link to him or any interest in his property I'm worried our income will be considered 'joint' for these purposes. That will really really fuck my life up, and his too as if the situation wasn't bad enough already!

Maybe I'm being dramatic but I honestly am struggling to cope with this and how to move forward. How can I jeopardise dp's finances over something that is absolutely not his fault?

I can't bear the thought of all my disposable income being wiped out for the foreseeable future, all the things that I'd planned for and hoped to do just completely gone. No point working more hours or getting a better job because the more money I earn the more they will take.

No chance to save.
No luxuries, no holidays, no fun stuff.
Won't be able to learn to drive.
Won't be able to fix my broken teeth (been on an NHS waiting list for 4yrs).

Everything feels so bloody hopeless.

Can only suggest that you keep talking with CAB, they have some great debt advisers who will try hard on your behalf to get an outcome that works for you. Otherwise sending a hug

Thank you 😊

I am waiting for an email back from CAB as there weren't any advisors available when I phoned, hopefully I'll hear from them soon.

Managed to make a bit of positive progress 😊

Heard back from the CAB and they sent a lot of advice - most importantly that I need to set up a payment plan with the DWP because once the DEA has gone through it's very difficult to undo. At least if I set up my own plan I have more control over how much I pay out and when.

I have now done this for £50 a month which is definitely manageable and now the DEA cannot go through so everything stops on that end. It's given me a bit of breathing room and time to dispute the amount owed, and if it's turns out that they rule in my favour I will get it back what I've paid eventually.

I'm so relieved, it's a real weight of my mind. Now I have time to focus and plan the next stage without reacting in a panic.

Good luck OP this super stressful!

Go to your MP, UC will have someone senior whose job it is to respond to questions raised by your MP. It is one of the most effective ways to get it resolved if you can't get it sorted by normal means of enquiry.

OP. Ask DWP for a copy of all the documents, paper and electronic, they hold in relation to you. Do this as a formal SAR to the Data Protection Officer. If they scanned the letter it should be there.