overpayment of HB court threat letter - after 6 years!

[nikibishop]

Hi,

 

A letter landed on my doormat this morning and its got me worried...PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN?!?

 

its from a company called Bristow & Sutor who i have never heard of before this letter, claiming that their 'client' Cheshire East BC are going to take me to court to reclaim £569.60 overpayment of HB from 10.04.06-14.05.06. they claim that "despite their previous requests the sum remains unpaid and if i dont pay the full amount within 7 days theyre taking me to court"...

 

The other thing is, i have never heard of this company let alone dealt with them or had any previous correspondence from them, and since the date of this 'overpayment' i have actually claimed again for HB and CTB through the same LA without them taking any money off me for repayment of the supposed overpayment...?!

 

is this statute barred??

 

i remember the phone call back on 06 when i received my last benefit cheque - i called them to say that i had told them i would be starting full time work and should i rip this cheque up - the woman replied with "no this is your last paymentup to the date you start full time employment" i even said to her if i cash this youre not going to come chasing me for it as an overpayment and she repeated that it was my last payment up to the date i start ft work...

 

nothing for years, then this drops on my mat this morning...

 

pleeeeease help if you can!!!!!

[sequenci]

Hello there.

 

When did you first receive a letter stating taht there was an overpayment?

[nikibishop]

honestly, a few years ago, but i was going through a major relationship breakdown, and it never got dealt with. i havent heard anything from them for years, i havent acknowledged the debt, and i havent paid anything.

[dx100uk]

i'd recontact the council

 

there are lots of these threads at preset

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?309312-Housing-Benefit-debt-from-6-years-ago&highlight=Bristow+Sutor

 

dx

[nikibishop]

do you mean contact the council with regards to it being statute barred?

 

ive already read the thread you put the link to, and there doesnt seem to be a specific answer to the question regarding statute barred... i know how to proceed if it IS, but i was looking for confirmation that this is covered by the limitations act re court proceedings...

[dx100uk]

post 3 in that thread

 

dx

[nikibishop]

fantastic! are there any template letters on here for this kind of situation?

[dx100uk]

pers i'd check with the council about IF you owe this.

 

if you dont

 

i'd ignore the fleecers letter.

 

they'll deal with B&S as they must have involved them.?

 

dx

[dx100uk]

it might be an idea to scan up that letter

 

if they are operating under thei DCA wing ignore them totally

 

if they are operating as BAILIFFS

 

they must be under the authority of the council.

 

me thinks the first !!

 

scan the required letters/agreements/sheets - as a picture[jpg] file

don't forget you can use a mobile phone or a digital camera too!!

or

convert existing PC files to PDF [office has an installable print to PDF option]

.

'

BUT......

ENSURE: remove all pers info inc barcodes etc using paint program

but leave all figures and dates.

.

goto one of the many free online pdf converter websites

it would be better to upload a multipage pdf if

you have many images too rather than many single pdfs

.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

or use word and save as pdf

.

open a new msg box here

hit go advanced below the msg box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

.

.

dx

[nikibishop]

theyre operating as DCAs in this case, but i will upload the letter...

[sequenci]

To answer the question a benefit overpayment would be statute barred if no payments were made, and no written acknowledgement was made, for 6 years after the decision regarding the fact that there was an overpayment was made. So, in essence, the 6 years would run from the date of their first letter.

 

It's important to note that although a limitations argument would prevent legal action there could be other ways that they recoup the money - if you're still on the same benefit they could claw it back for example.

[nikibishop]

yes thats the case. ive found the template letter for statute barred - do i send a copy just to the DCA or to the LA aswell?

[nikibishop]

ok below is a photo of the letter that i got this morning...

[nikibishop]

i dont know why its so small, or why its upside down either!?

[dx100uk]

follow the guide i sent above

 

 

as they are dca in this case they have no legal powers

you can safely ignore then

 

phishing trip me thinks

 

dx

[nikibishop]

Is it still worth me sending them the statute barred letter?

[sequenci]

Is it still worth me sending them the statute barred letter?

 

Only if 6 years have passed since they've made the first decision about the fact that there was an overpayment without acknowledgement/payment.

 

And quote section 9, not section 5.

[dx100uk]

pers i'd ignore the dca

 

they can do nowt to you

 

dx