Over payment by social welfare

kellsum

I am hoping someone out there can help me

I am a single parent and working full time but when I signed off I was told that I was entitled to my LPA (partial amount) for a certain period which I got. In order to receive this amount I had to apply with wage slips and forms, I had to do it again this year but I received a letter saying I earned too much money, I didn't think anything of this and I just thought ok, but then I received a letter from them yesterday saying that I had been overpaid and that I owed them €5,400 and I had to pay it back.

I am only just over the amount of €425pw, I know it doesn't matter once your over your over but I didn't do anything wrong here I applied and was granted the amount, can they really look for the money back even if this is their error! I can't believe this I am really upset.

axel rose

Relax op. Its no biggie. Just make contact with the SW office and agree your repayment schedule. It may not be your fault but given the state of the of the country you can't seriously expect the sw to let you keep nearly five and a half thousand? (Think of it as a interest free loan that you need to start repaying.)

(For the record-you earn more than me.....also single parent)

kellsum

I understand that the country is fecked but I did not do anything wrong, I want to share the amount as the error should fall on them. You have to admit that there are pleny of people out there who are defrauding the system on purpose! I on the other hand was up front and honest.
Plus on your seperate note Axel, if you don't earn €425 a week you are entitled to a reduced weekly payment.

axel rose

kellsum wrote: »

I understand that the country is fecked but I did not do anything wrong, I want to share the amount as the error should fall on them. You have to admit that there are pleny of people out there who are defrauding the system on purpose! I on the other hand was up front and honest.

That is a lame argument, the people you described are wasters and thieves, you are hard working parent who is clearly a world away from that.

Listen, you have a great argument but if you found that you overpaid your tax would you only claim half because it was your oversight too?

There was an error and you received too much money. The country doesn't have the funds to be so generous that you can keep a few grand for yourself. You are looking for the Tesco overcharge policy (get it for free)- Tesco is a private and massively profitable business. The SW is run on the money that we all pay on taxes, vat etc, its massively underfunded and cant be expected to let over payments slide.

Demonon

axel rose wrote: »

(Think of it as a interest free loan that you need to start repaying.)

Silly argument. If you take out a loan for 5 and a half thousand, obviously you are going to spend it differently than if you perceive it to be your own money. You can't tell people they are entitled to a sum of money, hand it over to them, and then turn around a few years later and say "oh actually that was a loan and you have to repay". It's like an employer saying to you after a few years "oh your wages were actually supposed to be 300 a week not 400 a week for the last few years now you have to pay me back the loan". Complete bs.

axel rose

Do you feel that she should be able to keep the overpayment? Or even part of it? (That being the point)

TheQ47

Demonon wrote: »

Silly argument. If you take out a loan for 5 and a half thousand, obviously you are going to spend it differently than if you perceive it to be your own money. You can't tell people they are entitled to a sum of money, hand it over to them, and then turn around a few years later and say "oh actually that was a loan and you have to repay". It's like an employer saying to you after a few years "oh your wages were actually supposed to be 300 a week not 400 a week for the last few years now you have to pay me back the loan". Complete bs.

But if your employer overpaid you acidentally more than your contract stated, they would have every right to reclaim that amount, and most would do so. I know, because this happened me, when I was overpaid for about 3 months. I paid it back at the rate of £5 per week (I think, it was a while ago!) for over a year until it was all paid back. Likewise, this payment needs to be paid back, it's standard practice with the DSP, and they'll give the OP every opportunity to pay it back in a way that suits her.

Demonon

TheQ47 wrote: »

But if your employer overpaid you acidentally more than your contract stated, they would have every right to reclaim that amount, and most would do so. I know, because this happened me, when I was overpaid for about 3 months. I paid it back at the rate of £5 per week (I think, it was a while ago!) for over a year until it was all paid back. Likewise, this payment needs to be paid back, it's standard practice with the DSP, and they'll give the OP every opportunity to pay it back in a way that suits her.

The difference here being she wasn't overpaid more than her "contract" stated, contract meaning the agreement between herself and the state that she receive a certain sum of money at weekly intervals for a specified period of time.

It would be a different story if she was awarded say €100/week and received €200/week for years without saying anything, then get caught.

Demonon

OP just tell them you'll pay €2 / week for 2500 weeks or something and can't afford any more. Show them bills/mortgage statements/rent receipts/etc. to prove it.

Fighting Irish

axel rose wrote: »

Relax op. Its no biggie. Just make contact with the SW office and agree your repayment schedule. It may not be your fault but given the state of the of the country you can't seriously expect the sw to let you keep nearly five and a half thousand? (Think of it as a interest free loan that you need to start repaying.)

:rolleyes:

cee_jay

If it was a departmental error which meant you were overpaid, you can appeal the decision about the overpayment.
However if you supplied all the information last year, and then proceeded to work more hours/overtime/pay increase or whatever, that brought your gross pay up in anyway, you are meant to tell them this, and you will be liable for the overpayment, and you can come up with a repayment plan.

axel rose

Fighting Irish wrote: »

:rolleyes:

What a well researched and organised point you made. It certainly changed my mind!(hunts for sarcasm smiley)

bored and fussy

axel rose wrote: »

That is a lame argument, the people you described are wasters and thieves, you are hard working parent who is clearly a world away from that.

Listen, you have a great argument but if you found that you overpaid your tax would you only claim half because it was your oversight too?

There was an error and you received too much money. The country doesn't have the funds to be so generous that you can keep a few grand for yourself. You are looking for the Tesco overcharge policy (get it for free)- Tesco is a private and massively profitable business. The SW is run on the money that we all pay on taxes, vat etc, its massively underfunded and cant be expected to let over payments slide.

I agree with you here the country is in a big blob of a mess
The country is borrowing to pay social welfare so they can hardly afford say we made a mistake, so hold on to it I think she would be better going to SW and organizing a repayment plan. I will not say what my circumstances are but she is very lucky in comparsion to me.

Balagan

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/social-welfare/irish-social-welfare-system/claiming-a-social-welfare-payment/recovery_of_social_welfare_overpayments

Sets out all scenarios re overpayment, appeal grounds etc.,

yabadabado

What seems to have happened is you applied for OFP and it was awarded and when a review was done(after a year) it transpired your income had increased and you were no longer entitled to the payment .If this is the case you were supposed to contact SW when there was a change in your circumstances (i.e increased income) and your payment would be reviewed then.If you didnt contact SW or it was not a department error you are liable to repay the overpayment in full.Its usually set at €10 per week.