I am owed £900 arrears of esa after successful tribunal win but i have an over payment of housing benefit which is £1015.00.
My question is can the dwp take my arrears to pay the over payment even though i am experiencing hardship,
An advisor on the phone said he is not sure if they take arrears for housing benefit.
Any advice please
I'm afraid the DWP would certainly use any back payment against an overpayment of a Social Security benefit so I think it likely that they will also do this for Housing Benefit but you may be lucky. Tribunal results usually take about 5-8 weeks to be process, you might want to check that the DWP have the Tribunal's Decision Letter, it's amazing how often these go missing.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
