Problem with overpayment of Housing Benefit

[surprise]

I wouldn't be surprised at the waste, I know from my daughter. For example she is a contractor and does not work for any one particular council and travels about, her hourly rate is £31.00ph. Why don't they pay their permanent staff a good salary to keep them. She worked at one Council where there were six contractors. Doesn't take a genius to see where money is wasted.

[The GodMother]

Oh god yes that is a waste of money really.

I use to work for an recruitment agency and l work in one place were l was getting paid more than the supervisors per hour was. he was on £5 summing and l was on £7 summing he was fuming when l told him and came and worked for the recruitment agency as one of the supervisors.

[Jaybee in CF]

Originally Posted by surprise

I wouldn't be surprised at the waste, I know from my daughter. For example she is a contractor and does not work for any one particular council and travels about, her hourly rate is £31.00ph. Why don't they pay their permanent staff a good salary to keep them. She worked at one Council where there were six contractors. Doesn't take a genius to see where money is wasted.

What does she do, if I may ask? Public Sector is always the poorest payer because it's a government job, thus rock-solid after you pass your probationary period, thus it attracts bunches of unambitious people who work flat out in the first 9 months, then slack off. No offence to any Public Sector people reading this, I've seen eager beavers in the Council, but they were rare.

It's only in the last few years that HR practices in Public Sector have been subtly retooled to TRY to weed out future slackers before they are even interviewed, but of course, you still have a majority of 'Legacy' staff.

Such people aren't particularly ambitious, and as such the more ambitious you are, the likelier you'll be in the Private Sector. Hopefully as I finish up my training in the next few weeks, I'll never have to set foot outside the Private Sector again.

[surprise]

She is a Housing Benefit Contractor. She does Assessing and Overpayments. Currently working for an Agency who charge £31 per hour she gets £22.00. She has just set up her own company so that she will get her own contracts thus it will be cheaper for the councils to employ her. She already has several councils who ask for her back when they have the funding but, not surprising, they often run out of budget before year end.

[The GodMother]

Suprise

l am not suprised about that at all.

Maybe CAG could teach them a lesson in budgeting there money better.

Chrissi.

[MARTIN3030]

Very interesting thread.
For anyone experiencing similar problems-A request under the Data protection act can be made to your local Housing revenues and benefits office for file copy information.Usually such a request will prompt remarkable response to resolving any problems quite quickly.
Usually The Housing Revenue/Benefits will write very quickly to you on being notified that JSA has been stopped or suspended.If this did not happen here and the JSA was income based it does show a lapse in normal procedures.Its likely that they will apply for repayment directly against the arrears but as has been said there is a ceiling on the amount.

[Jaybee in CF]

How's this...

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing to dispute the recovery of the outstanding overpayment of Housing Benefit, detailed in your letter of the 6th December 2007.

When I signed off from Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) on the 24th June, 2007 I was informed by Eltham Job Centre that they would notify you that I was no longer in receipt of JSA. This notification was duly sent to you on the 26th of June, as is official procedure across the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) upon cessation of all income-based claims for JSA. Furthermore, the overpayments were small in comparison to my subsequent weekly wage, and therefore went unnoticed by myself. Had I noticed that your department had not acted upon my change of circumstances, I would have returned the monies in good faith.

As such you have failed to act upon my change of circumstance, after receiving due notification, within the Government guideline of 9 days.

You have 14 days, from the date of this letter, to supply me with both an explanation for your failure to reassess my circumstances within guideline, and a copy of the notification from the DWP to your offices of the cessation of my claim for JSA, to which I am entitled under the Data Protection Act of 1998. If I am not satisfied with your reply, I shall refer the matter to Tony Redmond, the Local Government Ombudsman for North London, to petition for a remedy.

Yours faithfully,

[surprise]

Sounds good. Only thing I would add is the bit about it being unfair to ask you to repay it. You could put this after the "Government Guidelines of 9 days".

[Jaybee in CF]

The news: they're fighting it, on grounds that I signed a form at the start of my claim stating that "I know that I must let you know in writing straight away about any change in my circumstances which might affect my claim", - which they are ALSO considering taking legal action about - and secondly that they can confirm that no notification was received from the DWP.

I've written back that we're going to Tribunal as they have not provided proof of non-reception, and I didn't know about the money.

Would appreciate your thoughts, people.

Jaybee.

[surprise]

I will email this to my daughter for her advice.

[surprise]

Request all the information they hold on you under the Data Protection Act to see what paperwork they hold. It is your liability to inform them of any changes but if the DWP did notify them this would help your case.
Don't delay on this time is crucial. Give them a cut off date again in which to respond.

[Jaybee in CF]

Why is the time a crucial factor?

[surprise]

If its going to a tribunal then you want to be armed with as much info as possible and they seem slow to respond.