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overpayment of severe Disability Payment

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8 years 10 months ago #161121 by Angela Mcknight
overpayment of severe Disability Payment was created by Angela Mcknight
Hi My daughter turned 20 on 6/1/16 I received the Severe Disability Premium, my daughter does not work or claim any benefit as she has social anxiety and finds it hard to talk to people. On the 10/5/2016 I decided my daughter would become my carer, I did not realise that I would loose my Sd Premium. At the moment she is staying with her brother. I received a letter saying I owe £1113.30 overpayment as my family allowance stopped in January and I did not let them know. I did not know that I had to let them know, I have had a few strokes (tia) and my memory is bad, had I have known of this I would not let the money amount to this large sum, I have been told that I can ask for it to be looked at again In 2 days I think I have spoken to about 10 different people , the last one has sent me an envelope and I have to write to them, but he said a word that I should ask them to do and I cannot remember, I have been asking for the decision to be looked at again , but that is not the word that he used, at the end of each day I just get more and more confused, but I do not think I should pay all this money back as ESA knew my daughter was here and 1 ESA person said that they are supposed to look at everyone claim every few weeks.
I AM SORRY THAT THIS IS SO LONG AND MAYBE TO RAMBLING BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO WRITE TO THESE GUYS.

PLEASE HELP

KIND REGARDS

NANNY A

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8 years 10 months ago #161148 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic overpayment of severe Disability Payment
A

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is

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I'm afraid our ability to help you on the forum will be very limited as we cannot see the letters that you have been sent by the DWP.

My recommendation is that you get face to face advice from a trained advisor, do an internet search for "welfare advice" with your postcode, town or county. Most Local Authorities still retain a small welfare rights department.

I think the phrase you were looking for is "Mandatory Reconsideration".

For any one else reading this, this would be an administrative appeal, which has a slightly process from the more normal entitlement appeal.

The issues will come down to two things. Has your eligibility for payment changed due to your circumstances changing, this is very black and white and will depend on the applicable law and secondly did you inform the DWP of those changes within a reasonable timescale.

Given the overpayment I think your problems go further back than May this year, possibly to January. One issue is clearly defined, you cannot receive the Severe Disability Premium if someone is claiming Carers Allowance for you, however, I think there may also be a secondary issue in that you also cannot receive the Severe Disability Premium if you are not living alone. If your daughter normally lives with you then you are not living alone unless she is disregarded because of her status or because she is receiving certain benefits. I am wondering if her status changed when she turned 20.

The second issue is whether you discharged your responsibility to inform the DWP of a any Change of Circumstances, you admit that you didn't and I'm afraid ignorance of the law is unlikely to be a successful defence, it's possible that your conditions may be taken into account, but at best I think you might avoid a penalty for failing to notify the DWP, not the requirement to repay the over payment.

At the risk of adding to your anxiety, do you receive Housing Benefit, your SDP payments can affect the amount of HB you are entitled to. If you do then you should inform your Local Authority immediately, the DWP will certainly get around to informing them if your don't.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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