I recently received a letter from the DWP saying they will be taking £80.32 from my benefit every 28 days. The only benefit I'm on is DLA. I thought this was not taken into account when assessing income? Can income support overpayment be deducted from DLA? I haven't been on income support for some time. It also seems a lot to be taking out of my benefit as I get £60 per week DLA. My only other income is a student grant.

Dee

Is it for IS overpayment though? You don't say for sure. Can you give a bit more information?

One fact is certain, if you have been overpaid, they'll get it back off you. Since DLA is not income based, you could be getting it even if you were wealthy, so I'm not sure what you mean by "not taken into account".

Anyway, if you can give us a bit more background info, it might help.

overpayment deductions as well as social fund repayments can be deducted from any benefit. You can ask for a breakdown of the overpayment, but normally you should have had some details of this prior to the deductions being added onto a benefit. Is DLA your only benefit and do you have any other income. If you are on a low income you can ask that the deductions be reduced, but the amount appears to be about a third of your weekly benefit which is about the normal "max" deduction that can be taken from a benefit.Remember if you have a partner any income assesment for an income based benefit would be a joint assesment. If you have no partner and no other income/savings I don't understand why the only benefit you would be on is DLA?

ali x

I'm on a student grant and DLA. I don't have any other income or savings. I'm divorced so I don't have a partner living with me. I have had previous notification of the Income Support debt - which dates back to 1997-1998 - but I had forgotten all about it over the years. Then I get this letter out of the blue saying they are going to deduct £80 every four weeks out of my DLA.

When I've applied for housing benefit etc, in the past, the DLA is not included as 'income'. It is not taken into account in the amount they say you must have to live on. That was why I wondered about this and whether they were able to take the money straight out of my DLA.

If I owe it, I owe it, I'm not trying to shirk my debts, but as I'm on a low income £20 a week is a big reduction.

Dee

I think that you need to look at this from a different angle and contact Welfare Rights in your area as soon as possible.

Obviously if you owe the DWP they will take it off you somehow but Disability Living Allowance is what the Government have calculated you need to manage as a disabled person, in order to cover the additional expense of being disabled.

This means that if this causes you hardship you need to appeal immediately and have the deduction reduced to a manageable level.

Welfare Rights have the knowledge and capability to help in such situations and I would recommend an immediate appointment. Meanwhile it MAY be worth giving the DWP a ring and using the expression "cause hardship" and see what they come up with.

Good Luck.

Thanks, that's very sound advice. I'll do as you suggest. I'll keep you posted as to the outcome.

Dee

Thats just what I was going to say lol. DLA is in no way an income based benefit and can be claimed even by a millionaire! I suspect therefore they are trying to implement the highest deduction they can, but obviously they won't have access to what you actual total income is. If you have any doubts about the overpayment itself you can query that, but if you know you owe it you should still be able to ask for a lower repayment. Welfare rights are good in that they can negotiate on your behalf, but you should be able to ask for a reduction by yourself anyway. Worth remembering just in case there is a long wait for an appointment with your local WR office.

Good luck hope you get it sorted soon

ali x

Thanks. I've phoned the DWP and they say they can take money from my DLA despite me stating the points mentioned above. They say they can take a third of my DLA, which is what they are going to do. I did ask if I could reduce this to smaller payments so they are sending me out a form to fill in.

I do think I owe some money but I need to query the amount.

I guess this comes down to what they CAN (ie are able to) take and what they SHOULD (given the circumstances) take.

Obviously the first thing to do is establish the amount owed. For this it may be pertinent to send them a Subject Access Request in order to establish what was paid to you and when and therefore giving you the amount that they are claiming.

Once the amount is established then Welfare Rights can help you to get the amount being taken down to an affordable limit.

I would recommend having a scout through the library letters and sending an SAR, meanwhile make an appointment with Welfare Rights as soon as possible.

Keep us posted.

There is a very small amount they can (supposedly) legally take each month, They do this to my husband - something like £3 a week, so challenge them on this and mention it to your welfare rights officer. We currently have a money advice person investigating this because in theory they shouldnt touch DLA at all. Glad to see someone else has this problem. Will let you know as soon as we have an answer.