PLEASE HELP.. Ovefpaid universal credit

Hello..
I have been overpaid nearly £3,000 universal credit for rent in May.. It was paid to me by my council on the direction of universal credit even though i migrated from esa & housing benefit in november 2025.. I have been told by the council that it will have to be paid back to universal credit in instalments.. I am absolutely begging them to let me pay it back in one go but no answer yet.. I am feeling more desperate than I can say.. I am 64 & have never ever been in debt.. This could take 6 years to pay even if they don't make any more mistakes.. I now appear to have £5,000 in savings but £3,000 is not mine.. It is so cruel & i really cannot cope.. Do you know of any clause or way that they can let me pay it all back in one go as it has only been in my bank account since the 22nd May.. I am clinging on to the hope that i can pay it all back because otherwise i will never be able to understand my payments again & find it impossible not to go over £6,000.. I am so unwell & instead of concentrating on my hospital appointments etc i am not eating or sleeping because of this.. i am totally overwhemed & not even writing this properly because i am just reaching out for advice.. I am already trying to pay back a £200 overpayment in april.. One cheque & this distress can be sorted.. how can they force me to take 6 years at 15% per month?! There has to be some other way.. I have stated that i am very vulnerable & totally overwhelmed but the fact they don't care is pushing me into not functioning at all.. sorry to sound so bad but i cannot face a future of debt that i can pay now but possibly not in the future & also how can they class it as savings when it is not mine..
Best wishes to all & hoping for a solution please..

Hi David..
I am in Somerset.. Can you tell me if they are allowed to let me return it in full or is it the law that it can only be paid back at 15% of monthly standard universal credit? An invoice for the full amount is on it's way to me from the council but they have told me not to pay it because the debt has automatically gone to universal credit but then why invoice me in the first place?.. The council has emailed UC asking if they can invoice me after all & they promised to ring me back today but as always they failed to do do.. I mainly want know if it is possible for them to accept the full overpayment off me please?

Hi leapoffaith

If the debt has been passed to the DWP it will go to the Debt Management part of the department. It is Debt Management who make a decision on repayment and decide how much should be paid back each month.

If this happens, you can phone Debt Management to discuss the overpayment. You will be able to repay the amount in full to clear the debt. You can do this over the phone. The option to repay in instalments is there simply to make sure that UC claimants have enough money left to live on each month after deductions for overpayments. Debt Management should (in theory) send a letter in advance of any deductions being made for benefit overpayments but this doesn't always happen.

I had an overpayment recently and did what you want to do, which is clear the overpayment in one go. I had a deduction made for the first month but then contacted Debt Management to pay back the balance. You can contact Debt Management on 0800 916 0647. I would give it time for Debt Management to make a decision on the overpayment first in case details of the debt hasn't yet been registered with them. If you phone them straight away they may not have a record of the debt

Debt Management also have an online portal where you can view details of any debt you have with them and you can pay them back using a debit or credit card. You need to register using a GOV.UK One Login or by using a security code that should be included in an overpayment letter that Debt Management should send you ahead of any deductions starting.

The Debt Management online portal is www.gov.uk/repay-manage-benefit-owed