Housing Benefit Overpayments

What is an overpayment

An overpayment is caused when you have been paid more benefit than you are entitled to.

Overpayments usually happen when you do not tell us about changes in circumstances as soon as they happen, for example:

• An increase in wages or any other income (unless you are in receipt of Pension Credit then you will need to notify the Pension Service)
• If someone moves into or out of your home
• If you change address

Please do not rely on the Job Centre Plus, The Pension Service, your landlord or anyone else to tell us about any changes. As the Benefit customer, you and your partner (if applicable) are responsible for reporting all changes in circumstances. Failure to report a change in your circumstances can sometimes lead to a fraudulent claim. If fraud is proven, you may be liable for prosecution.

In most instances, the council shall seek to recover all monies overpaid to you.

How will I know if an overpayment has occurred?

We will write to you and in the letter that has been issued to you, it will give full details of the overpayment and will advise you of the following:-

• What has caused the overpayment
• The dates and the amount of the overpayment
• The total amount of the overpayment
• What to do if you disagree with the overpayment

What if I do not agree with the overpayment?

The first thing to do is to read the overpayment letter carefully as it will explain the reason together with dates and amounts you have been overpaid

If you disagree with the overpayment after reading the explanation on the letter you can do the following:

• If you do not understand the explanation on the letter you can phone, write to us or visit to request more information (You can also phone us and make an appointment or ask us to visit you in your home if you have difficulty in coming to us)
• You can ask for the decision to be looked at again.  You must do this in writing, within one calendar month of the date of the letter
• If you still disagree with the decision then you can appeal against the overpayment.  You must do this within one calendar month of the date on the letter.  For more information please see the section on ‘Appeals’

How will the overpayment be recovered?

• If you are still in receipt of Housing Benefit we will recover by deducting an amount each week from your ongoing benefit entitlement.  The standard weekly deduction is currently £9.90 per week plus half of any income disregards applied to the calculation of your claim.  For example, if we disregarded £10.00 per week of your earnings (which is a current standard disregard for couple) the minimum standard deduction will be £14.90 (£9.90 plus £5.00, which is half the disregard of £10.00)
• If you stop getting Housing Benefit, we may invoice you
• If your landlord was paid your benefit, we may ask the landlord to repay us in certain circumstances

How can I make payments?

We can offer the following payment methods if you are not in receipt of ongoing Housing Benefit

• Credit/debit card payments in person at the Customer Service Centre or by calling them on 01527 881288
• Payment by standing order
• By cheque or postal order by post or in person at the Customer Service Centre
• By cash at the Customer Service Centre
• Instalments by agreement (you will need to complete an instalment arrangement form  (15.32 KB))

You will normally be expected to repay the overpaid Housing Benefit at least at the standard weekly recovery rate of £9.90 (as at April 2010).  (However this rate may be higher depending on your financial circumstances)

Cheques or Postal Orders should be made payable to Bromsgrove District Council.   Please make sure you include the invoice number on the back of the Cheque or Postal Order

What should I do if I cannot afford the repayments?

If you cannot afford to pay back the overpayment in total or you cannot afford the instalment rate that has been set then you must contact the Customer Service Centre on  01527 881288 as soon as possible where you will be required to complete a financial statement form  (34.32 KB)

Once this has been completed you will be contacted by the Overpayment section.  We will consider the information you have put in your financial statement and arrange an alternative agreement

What happens if I do not pay?

If you have been notified of an overpayment or you have received a reminder, you should make an arrangement to pay straight away

If you ignore requests for payment, the Council can refer your case to a debt collection agency or to the court.   This could increase the debt because of added costs and may affect your credit rating

Overpayment Leaflet  (37.99 KB)