Housing Benefit overpayment

[Ellie05]

Hi All,

 

 

I need help and advice after finding I have been overpaid housing benefit £22kk!

 

 

My husband of 22yrs left me & started divorce after 3 wks same time dad was terminally ill with cancer

& passed away after another 4 wks(worse time ever).

 

Also found out I was anaemic (levels a 1/3 of normal)also on extra sedatives for panic attacks and anxiety.

Got letter about hsing overpayment, appealed and lost.

 

Council admitted clerical error,

judges comments were "no particular skills required to notice this mistake that stood out like a sore thumb!"

Also on notes he said that council must be wary of overestimating what might be reasonable to expect of 1st time claimant. Is this conflicting?

 

I only learnt shortly b4 appeal I should of been paid the rent I pay,

so I didn't raise this at appeal but regret it now.

i did say though had I known of error I would of acted,

but judge made no note of this.

I know this May sound obvious but they input my monthly amount as wkly.

 

I also failed to notify of annual rent increases(shared ownership home) but they also failed in responsibility to award correct amount.

Felt like I was on trial with no representative to help & beating myself up not preparing more.

 

Now I want to know how and if I have a case to take this to upper tribunal or anyone else

(mp was useless, tried appeal to UT & refused,no explanation)

as I don't think they even had a dr understand the stress & effects of anaemia.

would u believe rep said after appeal this mistake easily happens!

 

It's been 7 months now and I'm still depressed and hacked off I'm in debt all because I had to claim HB.

 

Been signed off work by atos for depression etc. Sorry if long & thanks for reading

[estellyn]

Go see a welfare rights agency to see if you have a case - it would depend on the statement of reasons you received from the judge and whether an error of law was made.

[Ellie05]

Go see a welfare rights agency to see if you have a case - it would depend on the statement of reasons you received from the judge and whether an error of law was made.

 

Thankyou for your reply,I have tried a law firm and didn't find anything unlawful,can u tell me if the judges comments seem to contradict themself

[kk3852]

Why have you been overpaid ?

 

what reason have they given you for HB not being payable, ie capital, savings, income, living with someone, not a commercial tenancy...

[estellyn]

Thankyou for your reply,I have tried a law firm and didn't find anything unlawful,can u tell me if the judges comments seem to contradict themself

 

Without seeing the arguments of the council, it's hard to tell if it's contradictory or not.

[Shoelover]

Hi,

 

Why the overpayment & on what grounds are you appealing?

[Shoelover]

Ah. Re-read. Was it because you were paid the monthly rent each week?

[Ellie05]

Hi,

 

Why the overpayment & on what grounds are you appealing?

 

On the grounds that this was a clerical error that I could not have reasonably of known about. They admit that the mistake was caused by inputting monthly amount as weekly.

[Ellie05]

Hi,

 

Why the overpayment & on what grounds are you appealing?

The judges comments were as printed on statement of reasons,can anyone tell me if this sounds contradictory?

[id6052]

the judge's comments do not appear contradictory in themselves

 

basically the judge is stating that the mistake the Council made was so obvious that you could reasonably have been aware that there was an overpayment, and therefore the overpayment is recoverable from you

[Ros1609]

the judge's comments do not appear contradictory in themselves

 

basically the judge is stating that the mistake the Council made was so obvious that you could reasonably have been aware that there was an overpayment, and therefore the overpayment is recoverable from you

 

Agree but just want to clarify. Was the Housing Benefit paid directly to you or directly to your landlord?

[caro]

Hi Ellie. So sorry to hear of the awful time you've been having. I don't know if I can help much but a few questions spring to mind and if you would answer them it might help us all try and sort this.

 

1. How long were you overpaid?

 

2. Was the whole overpayment after your ex-husband left?

 

3. Does your ex still have any share in the property?

 

4. Have you now notified HB of the increase(s) in rent and all other changes in circumstances during the relevant period?

[id6052]

you cannot appeal to the Upper Tribunal just because you disagree with the FtT judge's decision

 

you can only appeal on points of law, for example, if the FtT failed to apply the law correctly

 

the law in relation to recoverability of HB overpayments is very harsh, the starting point is that all HB overpayments are recoverable

 

however the exception is that if the following 3 conditions are all met, the overpayment is not recoverable

1) the overpayment was caused by a error made by Council/DWP/HMRC

2) you or the person receiving payments (or anyone acting on your behalf) have not contributed to the error

3) you or the person receiving payments (or anyone acting on your behalf) could not have reasonably been aware that there was an overpayment

 

from the limited information you have provided, it sounds like you met the first 2 conditions, but the judge has decided you not not meet the 3rd as the error was so obvious

 

without knowing all the ins and outs of the case, it is difficulty to tell whether you have any grounds to appeal to the Upper Tribunal

 

as others have suggested, you should consider seeking professional advice from an experienced Welfare Benefits adviser

 

how long ago was your appeal heard?

how long ago did your receive the Statement of Reasons?

have you asked the FtT judge for leave to appeal?

[caro]

Perhaps others could advise whether increases in rent which the OP also failed to advise HB about or mention in her appeal. I realise it probably wouldn't make a massive difference to the amount owed but could it be additional evidence that could justify a further appeal?

[id6052]

caro

 

it would really depend upon the grounds of the appeal and the outcome decision

 

the judge is unlikely to be under an obligation to consider an issue that has not been raised by either party - this is unlikely to constitute an error of law

 

if the appeal and decision only covered recoverability and not the amount - there may be a possibility to consider underlying entitlement (assuming this has not already been applied)

 

if the appeal and decision covered the amount as well as recoverability issue, then the OP may be too late for underlying entitlement

[caro]

Thanks for that id.

[Shoelover]

On the grounds that this was a clerical error that I could not have reasonably of known about. They admit that the mistake was caused by inputting monthly amount as weekly.

 

So were you being paid full rent? Ie was the HB you were getting more than your actual rent?