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What is an overpayment?
An overpayment is an amount of Benefit which has been paid but to which there is no entitlement. Overpayments of Benefit can occur both in Housing & Council Tax Benefit.
Why do overpayments occur?
Overpayments can occur for several reasons such as a delay in reporting a change in your circumstances.
What happens when an overpayment is discovered?
When an overpayment is discovered, we decide;
- The period of the overpayment.
- The amount of the overpayment.
- The cause of the overpayment.
- Whether the overpayment is classed as "recoverable".
- Whether to recover the overpayment.
- From whom the overpayment should be recovered.
We will write to you with the above information. We will also write to your landlord if we were making payments of Housing Benefit to him when the overpayment occurred.
What if the overpayment was not my fault?
If you actually reported a change to us and we did not act upon it for a long time, then we will not automatically ask for the overpayment to be repaid. Much will depend on whether you knew whether you were being overpaid Benefit at the relevant time.
Overpayments due to delayed benefit awards
Sometimes, you may be claiming Housing & Council Tax Benefit whilst you are waiting for another Social Security Benefit to be awarded. If you are then awarded the other Benefit, this may result in an overpayment of Housing & Council Tax Benefit. We will usually ask for this money to be repaid.
Overpayments paid to landlord
If we were paying Benefit to your landlord and then found out that there had been an overpayment, we will normally ask the landlord to pay the money back direct. However, if there is a good reason why we should ask you for the money instead then we will do this. An example could be where you had started work and had not told us and your landlord could not have been expected to know that he was being overpaid. Each overpayment case is considered on it’s own merits.
How do I repay an overpayment?
If you remain in receipt of sufficient Housing Benefit, we will reduce that benefit. Otherwise, we will send you an invoice asking you to repay the money. Either way, we can discuss repayment with you so that we do not ask you to pay too much each week.
Overpayments of Council Tax Benefit are transferred onto your Council Tax account and will then be included in your future instalments.
Further information
If you have any questions about or would like any more information, please contact the Recovery Section on 01473 826626.
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