I was hit with a shock demand to pay back £8,300 in benefits after an error that was not my fault
A GRANDMOTHER was left in utter shock after finding out she had been overpaid benefits and owed the Government £8,300.
Genine Davis put in a claim for New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) in 2020 as she was unable to work due to ill health.
The now 66-year-old was awarded the benefit with no issues, but in December last year a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) arrived through her front door saying she owed £8,300 in overpayments.
She told The Daily Mirror: “I was shocked to the core and I just couldn’t understand.
“I thought the decimal point was in the wrong place.
“I thought why had this only come about now, and I thought had I done something wrong? I couldn’t get my head around it.”
Genine phoned the DWP and requested a mandatory reconsideration – when you challenge a decision made by the Government department.
Within a few weeks she had received a response saying the overpayment was valid and was caused by a DWP “miscalculation”.
It said she had been paid too much because she was receiving pension payments from a previous job.
Genine was told the overpayment was her responsibility and she had to set up a repayment plan.
Under the original plan, it would have taken her almost seven years to clear the £8,300.
Desperate, Genine reached out to her local MP, Citizens Advice and former Minister of Pensions Mel Stride for help, but was told there was nothing she could do and would have to pay the money back or could take the case to tribunal.
She reached out for legal advice to see if this was worthwhile, but was told “she wouldn’t win”.
Despite this, Genine still put her case forward to tribunal as she felt she had “nothing else to lose”.
However, the DWP has since reviewed Genine’s case and sent her a letter saying the £8,300 overpayment debt has been waived.
Genine said receiving the letter was a “huge relief” and she was “delighted” the debt had been cleared, but bemoaned being treated like a “criminal” for nearly eight months.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We have apologised to Ms Davis and we have cancelled the overpayment in full.”
How to challenge a DWP decision
If you are on benefits, tax credits or child maintenance and you disagree with a decision the DWP has made, you can ask for it to be looked at again – known as a mandatory reconsideration.
It is free to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, and can be called upon if you think there has been an error, you disagree with a decision or you want to have the decision looked at again.
In most cases, you have to ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date of the decision.
You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration for benefits including:
- Attendance Allowance
- Bereavement Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer’s Credit
- child maintenance (sometimes known as ‘child support’)
- Compensation Recovery Scheme (including NHS recovery claims)
- Diffuse Mesotheliomia Payment Scheme
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Funeral Expenses Payment
- Income Support
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Maternity Allowance
- National Insurance credits
- Pension Credit
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Sure Start Maternity Grant
- Universal Credit (including advance payments)
- Winter Fuel Payment
You will have to contact the benefits office that issued the benefit to ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
You can do this either via your Universal Credit journal, if you are on Universal Credit, by phone, letter or filling in an online form.
If you need help with this process, you can speak to your local branch of Citizens Advice, Advicenow or an adviser near you at Advicelocal.
If you decide to go to Citizens Advice for help, you can find your local branch by using the branch locator tool on its website.
You can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal if you think the decision made in response to your mandatory reconsideration is unfair or wrong.
A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision. It is free to appeal a benefits decision.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.