Overpayment outstanding, moratorium of time?

Hi CD,

I can fully appreciate why you chose to take this on board with your vast experience of overpayments.

Best wishes,

Pat

The change of circumstances was that I got my Indefinite Leave to Remain visa and a NI number. Consequently I was added to my wife's claim as her husband. Under the previous spousal visa which I had for two years I did not have a NI number or access to public funding and we were told to put her claim through as a single person (despite me living with her as her husband) because I had no NI number and my visa stated no access to public funding. However once I got my ILR visa I applied for and received a NI number and my wife had to immediately change her claim to a joint one or risk fraud. There were a lot of errors and we were given a lot of contradicting information from Job Centre and Inland Revenue. Job Centre did confirm five years ago that this debt actually exists and had not been written off.

Snow

Ditto.

Also I should mention that Job Centre and Inland Revenue were notified immediately upon my receiving the ILR visa. We did not fail to inform them of anything and there were no delays. Everyone was informed on the day of. I have just googled this and found a website that states that overpayments due to DWP error are not now recoverable under social security law.

Snow

As this is not an overpayment that would be recoverable under the statutory provisions of section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, and as there appears to be no question of a failure to disclose or misrepresentation, this is an official error overpayment.

As it occurred in 2005, official error overpayments could only be invited to be repaid. If the claimant(s) voluntarily agreed to repay any sums overpaid and the offer was not accepted as it appears was the case, that should be the end of the matter.

The only thing that may have been advisable with the benefit of hindsight, would to have made the offer in writing but nothing turns on that point as you fulfilled your obligations, with the consequential overpayment being an official error.

Thank you so much Crazydiamond for your very informative reply. Snow