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Received the following letter for repayment of a Retirement Pension Contributory overpayment made by the Department for Work and Pensions made after the the recipient had passed away on the21/07/2008 . The DWP were informed of the passing days after the payment must have been made into their bank account. The letter received by DWP was as follows and the bold and capital text is as it appears in the letter.
There is then a few Q&A`s within the letter, relevant ones being
So have drafted the following in response any thoughts before I post on Monday......
Dear x
About the Retirement Pension:Contributory we paid to the late Mrs xxxxx
I am sorry to hear that MRS Xhas died, I apologise for having to get in touch with you at this time, but we have to let you knowabout MRS X`s Retirement Pension:Contributory as soon as we can.
I am writing to you now because we paid Retirement Pension:Contributory of £X between 22/07/2008 and 28/07/2008 after MRS X died.
Overpayments that arise after death are often caused by the fact that the department may not be aware of a death in time to stop any subsequent payment being issued. Sometimes there is more than one payment. Whilst in these circumstances the department accepts this overpayment may not have been as a result of any individual's fault, it does have a duty to seek a refund from the deceased's estate where appropriate.
When considering the question of seeking a refund in such cases the Secretary of State has a duty to protect public funds and this involves recovering, wherever possible, amounts paid from the Department to which there was no entitlement.
If the benefit was paid into a Post Office card account, this may not have been closed yet. To close this account you will need to complete form P6164available from the Post Office.
If you need further help regarding the closure of a Post Office account, please contact the Post Office on 08457 22 33 44
Please refund the £X as soon as you can.
You must send any payments to:
Department for Work and Pensions
PO Box 47
FREEPOST
Camberley
GU15 9ZN
This address is for payments only . Any correspondence should be sent to the address at the top of this letter.
About the Retirement Pension:Contributory we paid to the late Mrs xxxxx
I am sorry to hear that MRS Xhas died, I apologise for having to get in touch with you at this time, but we have to let you knowabout MRS X`s Retirement Pension:Contributory as soon as we can.
I am writing to you now because we paid Retirement Pension:Contributory of £X between 22/07/2008 and 28/07/2008 after MRS X died.
Overpayments that arise after death are often caused by the fact that the department may not be aware of a death in time to stop any subsequent payment being issued. Sometimes there is more than one payment. Whilst in these circumstances the department accepts this overpayment may not have been as a result of any individual's fault, it does have a duty to seek a refund from the deceased's estate where appropriate.
When considering the question of seeking a refund in such cases the Secretary of State has a duty to protect public funds and this involves recovering, wherever possible, amounts paid from the Department to which there was no entitlement.
If the benefit was paid into a Post Office card account, this may not have been closed yet. To close this account you will need to complete form P6164available from the Post Office.
If you need further help regarding the closure of a Post Office account, please contact the Post Office on 08457 22 33 44
Please refund the £X as soon as you can.
You must send any payments to:
Department for Work and Pensions
PO Box 47
FREEPOST
Camberley
GU15 9ZN
This address is for payments only . Any correspondence should be sent to the address at the top of this letter.
Q. What do I do if I cannot refund this money?
A. We do not intend to cause any hardship by asking for this money back. If you cannot affordto refund the money in one go we can arrange for payments to be made in installments.
Q. What if I don't agree that I should refund this money?
A. We are allowed to ask for a refund of the money on the basis that you were not entitled to receive it.
If you feel that in your circumstances we should not ask you for a refund of this money please contact us. For example, if the money was paid into a joint account and you thought you were entitled to it and all of it has now been spent.
If you think this is relevant in your case then contact us and explain the situation and we will consider whether to continue to seek a refund of the money. Our address and phone number are at the top of this letter.
A. We do not intend to cause any hardship by asking for this money back. If you cannot affordto refund the money in one go we can arrange for payments to be made in installments.
Q. What if I don't agree that I should refund this money?
A. We are allowed to ask for a refund of the money on the basis that you were not entitled to receive it.
If you feel that in your circumstances we should not ask you for a refund of this money please contact us. For example, if the money was paid into a joint account and you thought you were entitled to it and all of it has now been spent.
If you think this is relevant in your case then contact us and explain the situation and we will consider whether to continue to seek a refund of the money. Our address and phone number are at the top of this letter.
Debt Centre Dearne Valley
Debt Management (DV)
PO Box 171
Mitcheldean
Gloucestershire
GL17 0XG
Account Name: Mrs X
Reference Number: xxxxxxxxx
Dear Sir/Madam
I write to you in response to your letter dated 11th September 2008 referenced above.
Whilst I fully understand your obligations to seek recovery of any overpayments made in error by the Department for Work and Pensions, in this instance I do not feel it is appropriate for collections activity to continue.
The late Mrs X was in receipt of Retirement Pension: Contributory which was paid directly into her Halifax account. Any residues of monies from that account were issued directly by way of a cheque to:
xxxxxxxx Funeral Directors
This, along with a death policy, covered only a small part of the funeral expenses, the outstanding amount of approximately £910 being payable by the children of the late Mrs X.
No Will, estate, funds or other assets were left by the late Mrs X
I would therefore suggest that any further collection activity of this overpayment be considered inappropriate and may cause further distress and hardship to the next of kin.
I thank you in advance for your tactful conduct when dealing with this matter and respectfully request collection ceases for this overpayment.
Yours faithfully
Debt Management (DV)
PO Box 171
Mitcheldean
Gloucestershire
GL17 0XG
27th September 2008
Reference Number: xxxxxxxxx
Dear Sir/Madam
I write to you in response to your letter dated 11th September 2008 referenced above.
Whilst I fully understand your obligations to seek recovery of any overpayments made in error by the Department for Work and Pensions, in this instance I do not feel it is appropriate for collections activity to continue.
The late Mrs X was in receipt of Retirement Pension: Contributory which was paid directly into her Halifax account. Any residues of monies from that account were issued directly by way of a cheque to:
xxxxxxxx Funeral Directors
This, along with a death policy, covered only a small part of the funeral expenses, the outstanding amount of approximately £910 being payable by the children of the late Mrs X.
No Will, estate, funds or other assets were left by the late Mrs X
I would therefore suggest that any further collection activity of this overpayment be considered inappropriate and may cause further distress and hardship to the next of kin.
I thank you in advance for your tactful conduct when dealing with this matter and respectfully request collection ceases for this overpayment.
Yours faithfully
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