What is an overpayment of benefit?
An overpayment is any amount of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit which has been paid to you but which you are not entitled to. Overpayments can happen for a number of reasons such as;
You stop getting Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance
Your income or the income of anyone else in your property increases
A non - dependent moves into your property
You leave your property
How is an overpayment calculated?
An overpayment is the difference between the amount of benefit you actually received less any amount that on review it is decided that you are entitled to based on your new circumstances. This is called your 'underlying entitlement'.
Example:
You are paid £12.00 a week benefit for two weeks, total paid £24.00. As a result of a change in your circumstances it is decided that you are only entitled to £10.00 a week benefit for the same two weeks.
The overpayment is calculated by taking the original amount of benefit paid of £24.00 less the new amount of benefit due of £20.00.
The amount of benefit overpaid is therefore £4.00.
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Do I have to pay the money back?
Most overpayments are “recoverable” (that means they normally have to be paid back) regardless of the cause of the overpayment.
However, we will not ask you to repay an overpayment if we have made a mistake in the calculation of your benefit and you could not have reasonably been expected to know that the benefit you were paid was wrong.
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Who has to pay the money back?
If you are a Council Tenant or Private Tenant and you are still in receipt of Housing Benefit the overpayment will be recovered from your ongoing benefit at a set amount each week. This means you will have to increase the amount of rent you pay.
If you are no longer in receipt of benefit you will be sent an invoice.
If we paid your benefit direct to your landlord we may send the invoice to them instead.
If you receive an invoice and are unable to repay it straight away you can make arrangements to repay by installments.
You will need to contact our Income Section on 01727 819220 to discuss this.
Any overpaid Council Tax Benefit will be debited to your Council Tax Account and an amended Council Tax Bill will be sent to you.
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What if I disagree with the overpayment?
If you do not agree with the amount of the overpayment or the decision to ask you to repay it, you can request a further written explanation for our decision. We will answer your query in writing within 14 days.
You can also make an appointment with a member of staff to discuss the overpayment and the decision we have made.
If you wish to make an appointment phone: 01727 819427
If you are still not happy with the decision we have made you can appeal. An appeal can be made within one month of the date of the letter notifying you of our decision or from the date of our further letter of explanation.
All appeals are heard by an independent tribunal administered by the Appeals Service.
If you would like independent advice you can contact the following:
Citizens Advice Bureau
64 London Road
St Albans
AL1 1NG
01727 855269
Citizens Advice Bureau
Harpenden Town Hall
Leyton Road
Harpenden
Herts
01582 769387
Debt Line (Money Advice) 01727 833855
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