There are several reasons why you may have received an overpayment of benefit.
- you may have forgotten to let us know that your income has increased, for example, a pay rise or a change in tax credit or pension, etc
- somebody may have moved into or out of your home
- if you have other adults living with you and their circumstances may have changed
- you may have moved out of your home and not told us
- you may have started work, or changed jobs
Please do not rely on anyone else to tell us about any changes. You are required by law to tell us.
If you have been overpaid, we will write to you to tell you how your entitlement has changed and the date the award has changed from.
If we are asking you to repay the overpayment, we will tell you this in the decision letter and include advice about how you should pay.
Housing Benefit recovery may be by:
- weekly deductions from any continuing entitlement to benefit. We may deduct up to £12.75 each week from your ongoing benefit. If you are working, it may be more than this
- payment of an invoice, either in person, by telephone or by using our online payment service
If you do not repay your overpayment as arranged, we may take legal action against you or employ a recovery agent to pursue the debt.
Council tax benefits and council tax reduction recovery are through your council tax account. We will add your overpayment back to your account and you will be issued with an adjusted demand notice.
If you are finding it difficult to repay the money you owe us, please contact us as soon as possible. We may be able to come to an alternative arrangement to help you repay.
We also offer a free, confidential budgeting and debt management service that could help you repay this and other debts. Please contact us for more information.
When we have made a decision about your benefit, we will write to tell you what amount you are entitled to.