Advice please re Fairfax and DWP overpayment

[Bea Smith]

Thanks for this information. I found this somewhere:

 

Benefit Overpayments & Social Fund Loans

 

The Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) has 6 years to take action through the courts to recover benefit overpayments and social fund loans. This time starts running from the date of the final decision made on the overpayment and from when the social fund loan was due to be paid. But the DWP are still allowed to make deductions from your benefit for a debt over 6 years old as they don’t need to go to court to do this. This applies to overpayments of benefits such as income support, job seekers allowance, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and paying back social fund loans.

 

I guess this is what you are refering to. It seems too good to be true.

 

"if 6 years have passed without the DWP taking any action to recover (and this is what you need to establish)"

 

I have copied the above quote from your post. Could the DWP have taken action to recover without my knowing? Would passing on the debt to Fairfax count as this? I don't recall the DWP ever chasing me for payment, it was always Eversheds or Fairfax. Is there any way to find out? I would love to be able to pass this information on to Fairfax but obviously would like to be 100% about what I am saying.

 

Thanks again, Bea

[Bea Smith]

This is where I got the above quote from:

What is the Limitation Act?

 

The Limitation Act 1980 sets out the rules on how long a creditor has to take action against you for a debt i.e. take you to court. The time limits are different, depending on the type of debt that you have. This factsheet outlines when you can use the Limitation Act and includes a standard letter you can adapt to send if your debt fits into the rules.

 

I am getting confused between this and the statute barred or are they the same thing? Do you mean I need to establish if there has been a 6 year gap as in statute barred or if they have taken any other action over the past 6 years or in the 6 years after the debt started?

 

Thanks, Bea

Edited July 22, 2010 by Bea Smith
To add more info

[ErikaPNP]

Yes, they may have been making attempts to recover by contacting you at the address they had for you at the time. If you were no longer living there, then you would not have known.

 

The DWP have a computerised system, where all information relating to attempted recovery should be entered - with dates.

 

You should send a SAR to DWP about the overpayment asking them to provide you with full details of any action that they have taken in regard to the overpayment. Ask for both computeried and clerical records and details of any third party that your details have been passed to.

 

I've never heard of Eversheds collecting on DWP's behalf. They only use 4 that I know of. They are:

 

Credit solutions

Iqor

Fairfax

CCs collect

 

My own opinion (and it is only an opinion) is that I'd assume that you are well protected with the 6 years. For an overpayment of maybe £60 they perhaps wouldn't concern themselves too much with immediate recovery. For the sum you owe, if it could have been enforced via court, they'd have done it already. A court would issue a liability order so that they could take it direct from your income, so they would have done that by now if they could, not be messing about with private collectors who can do little more than debt management themselves can do.

 

Still, you need to get that absolutely clarified.

[Bea Smith]

Thanks very much,

 

I think Eversheds changed into Fairfax a few years ago.

 

I don't think the DWP have done anything to get the money back other than pass it on to Eversheds/Fairfax. But, as you say, they could have done but I might have moved house by then. I haven't signed on for at least 20 years. The very nice man from the DWP that dealt with my case certainly did not say anything about court action.

 

So, I need to find out if in the time period of 6 years after the debt started whether or not the DWP ever took court action against me right?

 

This is not that same as statute barred where I need to see if there is a 6 year gap at any point over the 22 years where contact was lost? This is possible but less likely than the Limitation Act scenario.

 

In fact..... when I think about it, I stayed at the initial debt address for a long long time and I don't remember anything happening. It could have been another 3 or 4 years! I certainly didn't receive anything about court action. When I actually think about it, it could even have been as much as 6 years.

 

The Limitation Act something completely different from Statute Barred right? Sorry if I'm acting dumb here. I fit the criteria for the Limitation Act if no court action was taken in the 6 years following the start of the debt. This has to literally be "court action" as opposed to writing letters or passing it on to debt collectors?

 

I could also fit the criteria for Statute Barred if there was at any time over the past 22 years, a gap of 6 years without contact?

 

So, I need to contact the DWP who are a lot less frightening than Fairfax. Their records will stop when they handed the debt over right? Will they just send the information or will there have to be a battle? What do I say to Fairfax in the meantime - they are going to be calling next week to see how I'm getting on with the loan they think I'm taking out to pay them back.

 

Thanks again.

 

Bea

Edited July 23, 2010 by Bea Smith
Add info

[Bea Smith]

Still confused... just been searching on the web. So, the Limitation Act and Statute Barred are the same thing. There would have to have been no contact over the 6 years or is it no court action taken over the 6 years? I may well have received letters from Eversheds and sent the odd payment during that time. So would this cancel the Limitation Act or would it not apply as it was just the debt being passed on to a third party rather than it being official court action?

 

Sorry for not getting it.

 

Bea

[sequenci]

So, the Limitation Act and Statute Barred are the same thing.

 

Kinda. A 'statute barred' debt is one which hasn't been acknowleged in writing by you, or a payment made by you for over six years. This rule is in place due to the enactment of the Limiation Act 1980.

 

Any letters written TO you doesn't re-start the 6 years.

[Bea Smith]

Aaah, right... so, the statute barred is just a section of the Limitation Act.

 

The Limitation Act covers different things, one is statute barred and another one is that "The Department of Work & Pensions has 6 years to take action through the courts to recover benefit overpayments and social fund loans."

 

They are two separate things which are both contained within the Limitations Act.

 

It's all becoming clearer now.

 

I think..... ?

 

Thanks,

Bea

[sequenci]

'Statute barred' is simply a term to state that a debt is subject to the rules of the limitation act.