DWP chasing a paid debt (20 yrs old)...

DWP chasing a paid debt (20 yrs old)...

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Discussion

Red Devil

13,069 posts

209 months

Friday 27th March 2015
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plasticpig said:
All that jazz said:
I thought I'd read somewhere that debts to the government cannot be statute barred?
IIRC That is true for taxes but not for benefit over payments.
Correct. Taxes (but not NI) and duty are not subject to statute barring.
Limitations Act 1980 Section 37(2)(a) - http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58/sectio...

Rude-boy said:
DervVW said:
Im not sure you can escape it.
My wife got written to saying that she owed less than £100 for a crisis loan about 14 years ago.
She wrote back and called back saying she knew nothing, as she doesnt remember ever needing any such loan or asking for one.
They just sent a couple of letters basically saying she owed it, what was she going to do, then they just contacted her employer and took at source.
Not a great sum, but like the terminator there was no reasoning, no bargaining, it absolutely would not stop until it got its target.
This.

The only way to 'win' with HMRC is to beat them at their own paper game and keep every item of remote importance you get from them in writing. 10 years ago the lady I was with had children and we got WFTC. I still have all 'my' pepers from that, just awaiting the day in 10 years time when they write to me about it...
Quite, but Child Benefit/WFTC (which are the responsibility of HMRC) are quite distinct from crisis loans or welfare and pension benefits.
Recovery of overpayments of the latter are the responsibility of the DWP, Two completely separate organisations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Revenue_and_Custom...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_for_Work_a...

There is crucial difference between them. HMRC is non-ministerial. It is run by civil servants and neither ministers nor Parliament can interfere with its decision making. DWP comes under the control of a politician: the Secretary of State. Current incumbent, IDS.

The Limitation Act does apply to payments by the DWP - https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pag...

DervVW

2,223 posts

140 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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Sheepshanks said:
Rude-boy said:
DervVW said:
Im not sure you can escape it.
My wife got written to saying that she owed less than £100 for a crisis loan about 14 years ago.
She wrote back and called back saying she knew nothing, as she doesnt remember ever needing any such loan or asking for one.
They just sent a couple of letters basically saying she owed it, what was she going to do, then they just contacted her employer and took at source.
Not a great sum, but like the terminator there was no reasoning, no bargaining, it absolutely would not stop until it got its target.
This.

The only way to 'win' with HMRC...
The above is DWP not HMRC. It can still be appealed even once the money has been taken and then it will be repaid if the appeal is successful.

To be honest I'd never heard of them going back so far and wondered if it was some sort of end of Parliament purge, but Googling it there are plenty of examples going back years.
This was DWP per the OP

Sheepshanks

32,817 posts

120 months

Saturday 28th March 2015
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DervVW said:
This was DWP per the OP
I know, but Rude-boy went off on a rant about HMRC for some reason.