Budgeting loan.

[ozzywizard]

Hope you all well, come across a prob. applied for budgeting loan and was declined, reason given is : they state I allready have a budgeting loan debt. I was shocked to receive this decision as only been single parent for about a year and before that employed.

 

I phoned and they stated it was for a previous loan in 1999 ? I have no knowledge of this, is their a way i can apeal this. . . also now they are aware of this can they start collections of the alleged amount. . . wouldnt it be statue barred under the limitations act 1980. . .

[Nystagmite]

Can you ask for more information about this loan?

[ozzywizard]

All they will tell me over the phnoe is it was in 2009. . further to this I have to appeal aGAINST THEIR DECISION. if I do this I could be opening a can of worms and leaving myself paying the 900 pounds off . . . but I really did need a budgeting loan.

[id6052]

am confused, was it 1999 or 2009?

 

as i understand it the statute of limitations would only prevent DWP from pursuing the debt through the courts

 

if it is treated the same as an overpayment, the statute of limitations would not apply to stop them from being able to recover it by reducing ongoing benefit entitlement

Edited April 8, 2011 by id6052

[ErikaPNP]

It's SB in the sense that they cannot take legal action via the court to recover the money, but they are still entitled to seek recovery of it either by voluntary repayments by you, or by making deductions from your benefit. What I suggest you do, is write to the recovery department of the Social Fund explaining that you have no knowledge of the loan. Ask them to investigate the matter and place a hold on any intended recovery action (they may have sent off a request for deductions already to the office that pays your benefit) until their investigation is concluded.

 

There is no right of appeal against a budgeting loan decision, but there is a right to review by the Social Fund and a further right of review after that to the Independent Review Service. For as long as it is held on their computer system that there is budgeting loan debt of £900 you will not be able to get a further budgeting loan, so you really need to ask the Social Fund to investigate the matter of the budgeting loan debt that they claim you owe. There will be one of two outcomes from an investigation, either they will be satisfied that you have debt (you can SAR them for evidence) and proceed with recovery either now or in the future or they will not be satisfied you have debt and remove it from your record.

[Elliebes]

oh the old 1999 ploy I had this but then again be careful I denied I had a loan for a gas fire and they sent me something Id signed to prove I owed the money. Theyve even been known to produce voice recordings of people asking for loans.