Pressure is mounting for the Government to ease off on reclaiming overpaid Universal Credit as the cost of living crisis puts family budgets under increased strain.
Almost 15,000 Universal Credit claimants say the Government is wrongly asking them to repay some of their benefits, and shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth has branded the action as 'shameful'.
Usual face-to-face identity verification for Universal Credit claimants was paused at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is now checking to see if any claimants have been paid too much. Some people are being ordered to repay cash, with around 125,000 told they should not have had any Universal Credit at all.
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Many claimants allege they are being wrongly asked to repay some of their benefits because they missed a message or phone call from the DWP.
Mr Ashworth has joined members of the SNP in criticising the department's actions in pursuing the poorest families as they struggle to make ends meet in the wake of huge hikes in energy costs, food bills and fuel costs. SNP MP Chris Stephens last month called for the Government to accept the responsibility for its own errors by scrapping the deduction of overpayments for which it has been at fault.
"That responsibility has wrongly been shifted onto hard-up households and this unjust practice must end," he said. His plea joined that of fellow SNP MP David Linden, who asked the Government to show compassion and “waive” the recovery of overpaid benefits. Mr Linden, whose constituency includes some of the most deprived wards in the Scotland, said the paybacks were pushing innocent people further into poverty.
Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth told the Independent : “It’s shameful that ministers are pursuing what could be thousands of people for debt they do not owe, in the middle of a cost of living crisis. Instead of parading around supporting their chosen leadership candidates, ministers in the DWP should be focused on their day jobs and solving the pressing problems in their department.”
Hannah Finney, research and campaigns manager at Citizens Advice Newcastle, said her organisation was experiencing record-breaking demand for their services as people grapple with the cost-of-living crisis. “Debt is now the number one issue this year locally in Newcastle and regionally across the North East for our clients. In the first six months of 2022, local offices in the North East have supported people with over 65,000 debt issues, including benefit overpayments," she said.
"We have seen a number of people coming to us for advice after being contacted by their benefit office because they've been paid too much. An overpayment can happen for many reasons, for example because the benefit office made a mistake or the claimant didn’t know you they had to tell the benefit office about a change of circumstances that meant they were entitled to less benefit or should stop getting a benefit."
A DWP spokesperson said: “During the pandemic, we rightly prioritised ensuring the welfare safety net reached those suddenly in difficulty. We have been contacting claimants via their preferred contact method to discuss aspects of claims we need to verify, and given them two weeks to respond. If we are belatedly provided evidence proving entitlement, we will reinstate benefit and cancel any debt straight away.”
Last month The Mirror reported that the Government spent more than £100m investigating benefits fraud in the last three years. The definition of benefits fraud by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is broad, and does not just cover people setting out to deceive. It includes "someone obtaining state benefit they are not entitled to" as well as "deliberately failing to report a change in their personal circumstances".
Citizens Advice Newcastle has issued the following action plan for anyone who is contacted by the DWP and told they have been paid too much Universal Credit:
- If you've received an overpayment of benefit it doesn't always mean that you'll be suspected or be guilty of benefit fraud if you were unaware of what you were doing. However, the benefit office might take action to recover the overpayment
- The benefit office should write to you to give reasons why you've been overpaid a benefit. If you don’t get full written reasons, you should ask for them.
- You can also contact the benefit office and ask them to explain their decision and to tell them any information that you think will show you haven’t been overpaid a benefit. This might sort out the problem.
- If it doesn’t, you can dispute the overpayment if you don’t agree with it. You should only do this if you can show evidence to prove why you think you haven’t been overpaid a benefit.”
- If you’ve been told you've been overpaid a benefit and you're not sure whether this is correct, you should contact your nearest Citizens Advice office.
- Citizens Advice advisers can provide you with options if you have personal debts and help to draw up a realistic and sustainable financial statement.
- They can also check your benefit entitlement and look to maximise your income.
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