A DWP debt from my late father

[carina62]

Can someone please advise? My father passed away 7 years ago and i inherited the house. The DWP informed me that my late father had an outstanding debt with them (due to overpayments) which needed to be paid back. For the past 7 years, i have rented out the property and have been paying the DWP monthly instalments to slowly clear the debt although there is still a substantial amount outstanding (approx 9k). What i would like to know is, i am thinking of selling the property in the near future and wondered whether the DWP can demand the full repayment back from the sale of the house or whether i can still continue paying them monthly? i stand to gain a profit from the house sale and don't want the DWP to take all t he money owing as i will need the money to pay off existing debts etc. I appreciate any advice. thanks in advance.

[wales01man]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Have they a charge on the House?

[Tools]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

You may also have to check any liabilities due under inheritance tax/capital gains tax, specifically if you profit from the sale.

[enaid]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Did you at the time check that the overpayment was correct, did you get a proper breakdown? or did you just accept what the DWP said?

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Did you at the time check that the overpayment was correct, did you get a proper breakdown? or did you just accept what the DWP said?

I did ask for a breakdown and did receive it but i never really queried it, but apparently the overpayments had been made over a period of years.

I think i may pluck the courage to ring them this afternoon to find out how i stand with this but dreading it.

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

No i don think there was a charge made on the house as far as i am aware

[enaid]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

I did ask for a breakdown and did receive it but i never really queried it, but apparently the overpayments had been made over a period of years.

I think i may pluck the courage to ring them this afternoon to find out how i stand with this but dreading it.

Let us know what response you get, I just thought you still owing 9k after you have been paying back for 7 yrs is a lot of money that was over paid and I certainly would want to know the ins and out as to how they arrived at the overpayment.
Can I ask what the overpayment was please, by that I mean pension credit HB etc?

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Well, i have just phoned them and very interesting. There is still a balance outstanding of just over 9K (the original debt was 12K) and she is going to look into the full breakdown for me and explain why it came to this sum. The bad news is that as i am Executor of the Probate and because i inherited the house from father when he passed away, i now own that debt which has to be repaid. I suppose the good news is that if i decide to sell the house (which was inherited to me), they do not FORCE me to pay the full 9K from any equity from the sale of the house, i can (if i want) choose to carry on paying the monthly installments but what she made clear was that the debt still remains no matter what and i will have to pay that off which is depressing.

I am however pleased in a way that they do not demand the full amount if i decided to sell the property because as i explained to her i would be in a trap whereby i couldn't (or wouldn't) sell to pay the DWP back the full 9K, at least i have the option of continuing to pay them monthly rather than the full amount as i have debts of my own and was hoping to clear them myself with any 'profit' made on the sale in the future.

I mentioned that i would have to use a solicitor for the house sale when it came to it and would the solicitior withhold any monies due to me from the sale of the house until the DWP debt was paid and she said NO but that it would be best anyway to inform the solicitor that i had this debt because thinking about it, why would the solicitor lay any claim on this debt as it shouldn't interest them - it is just between me and the DWP - correct?

I would like to know your thoughts on this matter and hope i have helped any others in a similar situation.

[enaid]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

I would firstly get all that was stated to you in writing.
Can I ask what the overpayment was for if it is Pension Credits then there are procedures that should be followed depending on your dads age and circumstances. As Pension Credits only came out in Oct 2003 and your dad passed away in 2007 he would only have been in receipt of it for 4 yrs.

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Ah yes forgot to ask that question. It must be for Pension Credit as i know he received Attendance Allowance at the highest rate because he was severely disabled due to a stroke for 9 years from the age of 68 until 77 when he passed away. I am assuming it was for Pension Credit (isn't this the one that is in addition to your state pension?). I do really need to find out how the overpayments came to such a huge amount as it is quite disturbing really. Also i cannot believe that the DWP continued to overpay my father without not realising. My father was of italian background and i am wondering if he didn't realise they were overpaying him as he probably 'accpeted' that he was being paid the right amount. I don't think for a moment my father deliberately didn't mention or notice anything, the language barrier would have had played some part but i know that i used to fill his forms for him and we always disclosed everything as we know how serious Fraud is. My father did receive a private pension from Italy which amounted to approx £60 a month at that time and am wondering if he just didn't declare it be even so, the amount they are claiming still amounts to a huge amount. I wonder how i can find out when my father started receiving his italian pension? It does get complicated i must admit.

[enaid]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

Here is some info on Pension Credit and criteria etc

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/money-matter...ension-credit/

This is the bit that may help you

Pension Credit – the main means-tested benefit for pensioners – was introduced in October 2003. Awards to people aged over 65 may include an “assessed income period” (AIP) of up to five years, during which some changes in circumstances do not have to be reported. People aged 75 will often be given an indefinite AIP, and those whose AIP runs out after they reach 80 will not normally need to be reassessed. The AIP ends early in certain circumstances, for example, if the claimant starts or stops being a member of a couple, goes into a care home permanently or is no longer entitled to Pension Credit. In addition, they can request a reassessment of their claim if their income falls.

The assessment periods and if indeed your dad was assessed for changes in circumstances, like your dads savings or any lump sums he may have had from somewhere.

[righty]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

I agree get EVERYTHING agreed in writing. That department of the DWP are quite good nevertheless get it in writing

I would also suggest you write to them confirming said agreement That way they can't ignore what's been said

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

I believe that he was paid Income Support before Pension Credits were introduced and the overpayments could have been made for years but why I don't know and why wasn't it 'flagged' up sooner I don't know. I will make sure I get a complete breakdown and try and find out where things started to go wrong as I need to understand fully why it is such a huge amount. Thanks all for all your advice, it has helped and prompted me to make the 'dreaded' phone call yesterday which I have been putting off for so long. I will keep you posted.

[nemesis45]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

My personal feeling is that you need to get a SAR off to the DWP asking for all the data/documents the DWP holds on your late fathers dealings with them, they will want a copy of the death certificate I think.

The DWP does Not require the statutory fee of £10.

[carina62]

Re: A DWP debt from my late father

I have received another breakdown and to be honest I feel the need to query it further. I got in touch with the Nationwide BS (where dad used to have an account) but unfortunately they do not keep records going back further than 6 years (I am a year late). My next detective work is to ring the Pension people in Italy and hopefully they will give me the information I need. The DWP were supposed to ring me last Thursday but they didn't so will have to chase them up again.