A benefit overpayment is when you are given more money than you were entitled to. This may happen if we don't know that your circumstances have changed. In most cases we will expect you to pay back any money that you were not entitled to.
Overpayments can happen because:
To prevent an overpayment being made in the first place, you need to tell us if your circumstances have changed in any way (including the circumstances of anyone who lives with you). Any changes should be reported as soon as possible.
The only time a benefit overpayment does not need to be paid back is If there was an official error in the calculation that you could not reasonably be aware of.
If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit or received too much discount on your Council Tax bill then we will let you know in writing. We will always tell you:
How we reclaim the money will depend on which benefit has been overpaid.
Your Housing Benefit will be reduced each week until the overpayment has been recovered. It may take some time for an overpayment to be recovered. During this time it is your responsibility to make up the difference in your rent. We can recover Housing Benefit in the following ways:
If your Council Tax bill has been reduced too much then your account will be adjusted to show this. A revised Council Tax statement will be sent to you showing the instalments you will need to pay.
Your Housing Benefit overpayment may be reduced if we are able to establish what your 'underlying entitlement' is. Your underlying entitlement is the amount of money that you are entitled to based on your correct information. In some cases it could result in a reduction in the amount you need to pay back.
A reassessment of your circumstances could show that you were still entitled to some of your Housing Benefit during the overpayment period in which case your overpayment would be reduced. For example:
You are claiming Housing Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) and your Housing Benefit is £100 per week. You start working on the 1 June but don't tell us until the 10 August. This means that you have been receiving Housing Benefit as if you were still receiving JSA for ten weeks.
In this case your overpayment would be £1,000 (£100 per week across ten weeks). However, your wage might still allow you to qualify for some Housing Benefit.
If we reassess your situation in light of the full facts then we may calculate that your underlying entitlement to Housing Benefit was actually £80 per week during the overpayment period (£800).
Based on this, you would actually owe £200 instead of £1,000 (£1,000 less £800).
If you don't pay us back or make an arrangement to pay, we will take further action. If we have invoiced you, and you don't pay we will send you a reminder. If you still don't pay we may ask a debt collector to visit your home or ask the county court to issue an order for payment. This will increase the amount you owe because we will add court costs and interest to the debt. County court proceedings effect your credit rating.
If you don't agree with a decision you can appeal it under certain circumstances. Find out more from our Housing Benefit Appeals and Revisions page.