What is an overpayment?
An overpayment is where you have been paid more Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit than you are entitled to. An overpayment may be caused by a change in your circumstances that you did not tell us about in time. Examples of changes that can cause overpayments are:
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An increase in your income.
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Someone moving into your home.
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If you have other adults living with you and their circumstances may have changed.
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You are moving out of the property.
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How will I know if I have an overpayment?
When an overpayment has been identified we will write to you with the following details.
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What caused the overpayment.
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The dates and the amount of the overpayment.
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How the overpayment was calculated.
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A list of people the overpayment may be recovered from.
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What to do if you disagree with the overpayment.
At the same time a further letter will be sent to the person from whom we intend to recover the overpayment, advising them how we intend to recover the overpayment.
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How is the overpayment recovered?
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If you are still getting Housing Benefit we may reduce this each week by the amount shown on your notification letter.
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If you feel that the amount we are recovering each week is causing you hardship, you can write to ask us to lower it. Please note that we may ask for more details.
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If you stop getting Housing Benefit we may sent you an invoice.
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If we paid your benefits to your landlord we may ask the landlord to repay us.
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If you have been overpaid Council Tax Benefit we will recover the overpayment from your Council Tax account in a lump sum and you will receive a revised bill.
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When recovery action is taken, our Fair Debt Policy will be taken into account.
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What if the overpayment wasn’t my fault?
Even if the overpayment wasn’t your fault you may still be required to repay - for example, if the council could reasonably expect you to know that you were being overpaid.
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Can I appeal against an overpayment?
Yes you can appeal against an overpayment. You must do this in writing and you have one calendar month from the date you were notified about the overpayment to do this. You can only appeal against the calculation and the recoverability of the overpayment.
You must write down the decision you are appealing against and the reasons for your appeal and make sure you sign it. If our decision is wrong we shall change it. If the decision cannot be changed the appeals service will then look at your appeal at a tribunal hearing. The tribunal is independent from the council and is made up of legally qualified people trained in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
If your appeal is late you must include an explanation of why you could not appeal within one month.
Please do not ignore any letters we send to you about an overpayment, as debts will not go away. If we have to take further action to recover the debt through the courts, the amount you owe will increase.
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