I couldn’t sleep at night after I was told to repay £28k due to DWP error – how to stop it happening to you
A DISABLED woman was left in "disbelief" and unable to sleep after her benefits were stopped and she was asked to pay back £28,000.
In July Michelle Burns was told by she should never had been granted Personal Independence Payment (PIP), after receiving it for the last six years.
That's despite suffering from several heart conditions, congenital dislocation of the hip and osteoarthritis, as well as learning disabilities that mean she attended a special needs school , the Big Issue reports.
PIP is paid to those struggling with a long-term illness or disability and is worth as much as £184.30 a week, or nearly £10,000 a year, though the exact amount depends on your needs.
It wasn't until the publication got in touch that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) admitted it had made a mistake asking her to pay back the eye-watering sum.
Now her PIP has been reinstated and the benefit overpayment removed.
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A DWP spokesperson said: “We have apologised to Ms Burns for any distress caused. The overpayment has been cancelled, the PIP award reinstated, and arrears will be issued.”
But the positive result did not make up for the weeks of anxiety that the 46-year-old Burns and her husband James Jolley, who is blind so also receives PIP, experienced.
Jolley told The Big Issue before the DWP's apology that she wasn't sleeping.
She said: "I wake up and I keep having dreams about being arrested for fraud.
"They’re all nonsense dreams, I know that. But it’s the stress. They infect people’s lives.”
The couple have adaptations in their home in Peterborough to account for both of their physical needs.
In 2018, she was given a standard rate of PIP to cover her daily living and mobility needs.
Burns recalled: “That all went fine. I went to this assessment, and it was face to face. I didn’t have any problems. I didn’t have to go to tribunal.”
The DWP rejects almost half (47%) of PIP claims, and The Big Issue reports that the assessment and appeals process is often "traumatic".
But if the process had worked properly for Burns, her PIP would have been automatically renewed between 2018 and 2024.
DWP backlogs induced by the pandemic ensured there was no time for a reassessment.
After her first reassessment this year, the couple were told the DWP needed further evidence.
Burns sent this and received her PIP as normal in June – but then in July the money was not in their bank account.
The couple rang the DWP to look into it and were told Burns "was not entitled to PIP at all in 2018", and that she owed more than £28,000 in benefit overpayments.
She said: “They never gave a reason. I couldn’t believe it. They said they had sent a letter out to us, but we haven’t received it. We haven’t received a letter saying we owe that money.”
What is PIP and how much is it worth?
There are two elements to PIP: a daily living part if you need help with everyday tasks, and a mobility part if you need help with getting around.
There are two rates for each part - standard or enhanced - depending on the level of your needs.
- Standard daily living component: £72.65
- Enhanced daily living component: £108.55
- Standard mobility component: £75.75
- Enhanced mobility component: £28.70
The exact amount of PIP you are eligible for depends on your personal circumstances.
When claiming PIP you'll be assessed by an independent health professional to work out the level of help you can get.
Your rate should be regularly reviewed to make sure you’re getting the right support.
Payments are usually made every four weeks directly into your bank account, and they're tax-free.
As well as your Personal Independence Payment, you should get access to extra help and benefits on top too, like a reduction on your council tax.
It's not uncommon for benefits overpayments to happen, and the DWP overpaid £8.3bn to benefit claimants in the financial year ending 2023.
Whilst alleged fraud accounted for £6.5bn, the department said £600m of this was because of mistakes it made.
Previously, the DWP would pick up the tab if it made the mistake however now claimants are usually expected to pay.
There's no time limit on how far these can stretch back - despite anyone claiming a new benefit only being able to backdate claims from between one to three months, even if they were eligible for longer.
It means households can be left with years of doubt and money taken from their benefits each month.
In 2023, Citizens Advice helped 17,090 people with benefit overpayments.
Repayment demands
It's not the first time someone's been asked to repay benefits in error by the DWP.
Mick Vokes, 48, from Eastleigh in Hampshire, was asked to repay £5,300 in benefits.
He was claiming Universal Credit after he lost his income to help cover the cost of his £600-a-month rent during Covid.
Tina Newman, 40, was told she needed to repay £5,372 of the housing element of her Universal Credit because she didn't have a tenancy agreement or signed contract.
And the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has warned that legitimate claims for Universal Credit are wrongly being stopped, because of a crackdown on claims after Covid.
Rules for claiming were loosened during lockdowns, suspending face-to-face meetings and requirements for proof of identity and housing costs.
Now the government is going back to check the details of these claims to make sure they are not fraudulent.
But requests for repayments of Universal Credit or any benefit can happen for a variety of reasons.
You could be asked to pay back a benefit all or in part, if there's been a mistake in calculating payments and you are not eligible or have been overpaid.
But a demand to pay back benefits may not always be correct, as in this case, and you can challenge repayment requests.
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data.
You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
What happens if I'm asked to repay benefits?
If you are asked to make a repayment, this will be done in different ways, Turn2Us says:
- Making deductions from your benefit payments
- Taking it out of benefits that are owed to you
- Taking amounts directly out of your wages
- Getting a court order for debt recovery
The amount taken will depend on how much you owe and if you're still getting benefits.
You can ask the DWP to reduce the amount you are paying back each month.
The DWP can take you to court if you don't repay.
If you can't afford to repay you can ask Citizen's Advice for help.
If you don't think you've been overpaid and the request for repayment is an error, you can ask for the DWP to look at it again.
Turn2Us says a letter about over payments should include the following information:
- How much you were overpaid each week
- For what period you were overpaid
- The total that has been overpaid.
You can get advice and support for appealing a decision for free from organisations like Citizens Advice and Benefits and Work.
You should keep your contact details up to date so the DWP can get hold of you and you don't miss any demands.
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It's also important to respond to any calls or emails from the DWP as soon as possible, or there's a risk your benefit payments could be stopped or changed.
Citizen's Advice benefits expert Lawrence Barratt previously told The Sun: “If you applied for Universal Credit in the early stages of the pandemic then the DWP may contact you for some additional information to support your claim."