A benefit overpayment is an amount that has been paid, for which there is no entitlement or a reduced amount of entitlement.  Overpayments of benefit can occur both in Housing and Council Tax Benefit.  The most common cause for an overpayment is people failing to tell us about a change in their circumstances.

If you have been overpaid, we will write to you and give you details of the reason for the overpayment, when it occurred, the amount to be recovered and the method of recovery.

You will also be advised of what you can do if you want someone to explain the decision to you or if you disagree with it.

How do we recover overpayments?

There are 2 ways we can recover overpayments:

• Reducing weekly benefit payments

This method can be used if you still have an entitlement to Housing Benefit.

The overpayment is recovered by reducing the weekly benefit by a set amount. This is offset against the outstanding overpayment. This will happen every week until the overpayment has been cleared.

•  Setting up a debtor account

The other method of recovery involves setting up a debtor account and sending you an invoice that you will be responsible for paying.

There are a number of ways you can repay overpayments.  This can be arranged by contacting the Overpayment Team on 0118 9746600 or 0118 9746621.

If you make no contact or offer of repayment, it is our policy then to seek recovery through the County Court.

This will result in further costs being incurred and these will be added to the debt already outstanding.  The action will also result in a County Court Judgement.

• Recovery from Department for Work and Pensions - DWP Benefit

In certain circumstances, recovery can be made from DWP benefits, for example Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance or Incapacity Benefit.