A MAN has told of his horror after being slapped with a £5,000 benefits bill for no reason – before being told the cash would be taken from his account in just days.
Musanna Choudury, 32, received a letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) demanding repayment of a £4828.14 debt, which he claims he doesn’t owe.
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Alarmingly, the letter – dated December 15 – also stated that if he didn’t agree a payment plan by January 19, the money would be automatically deducted from his wages by his employer, delivery firm Evri.
Musanna, a customer service worker from Leeds, Yorkshire, told the Sun Online: “It toppled me.
“How could anyone pay that in a cost of living crisis?
“It would be distressing to any citizen.”
He added that the ordeal had caused him a lot of “stress and anxiety”, saying: ” It’s horrible to put someone in that position, especially just after Christmas.”
Musanna slammed the letter as “passive-aggressive” and said it would be “more informative if they told me what the hell i’m in debt for.”
Bills of this kind are often related to previous benefits claims, with DWP reviewing claims made during the pandemic in an attempt to crack down on fraud.
He explained that he had received Universal Credit from March to June 2020 while between jobs and never received any special support payments related to the pandemic, meaning he had “no idea” where the debt could have come from.
Musanna also claimed that he had tried to contact DWP’s customer service team, but it was closed over the Christmas period.
Once the office had reopened, he said that he called again but was on hold for 45 minutes before giving up.
DWP have since told The Sun Online that they have contacted him and suspended the debt’s enforcement pending an investigation.
A spokesperson for the department said: “We have a responsibility to taxpayers to attempt to recover overpayments. When we send debt recovery letters we provide full contact details and encourage anyone with concerns to call us on 0800 916 0647.
“We have spoken to Mr Choudhury about the letter he received and have suspended debt recovery pending further enquiries.”
Repayment demands
It’s not the first time someone’s been asked to repay a debt in by the DWP without knowing why.
Mick Vokes, 48, from Eastleigh in Hampshire, was asked to repay £5,300 in benefits that he claimed 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.
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.
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.
