Southampton City Council

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What if I have been paid too much benefit?

We may have to recalculate your benefit if there has been a change in your circumstances or if a mistake has been identified. If you are awarded Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit and your entitlement is amended at a later date, there will be an overpayment. An overpayment will usually occur if there has been a delay between the date of the change and the date it has been reported. If you have been overpaid any Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit, you will be asked to pay this back.

If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit, but are still entitled to this, your weekly entitlement will be reduced by standard amounts set by the Government. If this amount is causing you financial hardship we may be able to reduce the rate of recovery after you complete an Income and Expenditure form.

  • If you are a council tenant, any overpayment may be reduced by any credit on your rent account.

  • If your Housing Benefit entitlement has stopped altogether, we will send you an invoice. If you are unable to pay the invoice straight away, you can make arrangements to pay it in instalments. To do this you can make an arrangement on the ‘phone or online.

  • If your landlord has been receiving your Housing Benefit on your behalf, we may ask your landlord to repay any overpayment. However, this may cause rent arrears and you will need to make an arrangement with your landlord to repay these.

  • We may still ask you to repay any overpaid Housing Benefit even if your landlord received the payments on your behalf. You have the right to appeal if you are not happy with this decision.

  • If you are a landlord, you too have the right of appeal if you disagree with the decision to repay any overpaid Housing Benefit you have received on your tenant’s behalf.

  • We can ask the Department for Work and Pensions to make deductions from benefits they are paying to you.

  • We can ask another council to make deductions from benefits they are paying to you.

Can any overpayment be reduced?

Any overpayment may be reduced through "Underlying Entitlement". If an overpayment has been raised, it may be reduced if information is received to enable a correct calculation of benefit. If you think you may be entitled to Underlying Entitlement you should contact Benefits Services within one calendar month of notification of the overpayment and provide proof of your income and savings for the period of the overpayment.

What can I do if I disagree with the overpayment?

If you disagree with any overpayment you can telephone, e-mail or write to Benefit Services or visit Gateway to ask for an explanation. If you still disagree with the overpayment, you can appeal against the decision. This must be made in writing within one month of the notification.

Ways to pay

• Online

• Telephone: for Housing Benefit overpayments call 023 8083 2990 to use our 24 hour payment line. Our 24 hour payment line accepts payments up to the value of £2000. Please note that if you choose to pay by a credit card a surcharge of 2.5% will be added to the transaction. To repay a Council Tax overpayment call 023 8083 3006.

• Cheque. Make it payable to Southampton City Council and write the Housing Benefit overpayment invoice number or the council tax reference number on the reverse of your cheque and post it to:
Southampton City Council, Civic Centre ,Southampton, SO14 5PD

A stamped addressed envelope should be enclosed if you require a receipt.

• By Standing Order. Please telephone 023 80 83 2250 and ask for the Debtors Section. They will send you a mandate which you can complete and give to your bank.

• By Postal Order

Overpayments of benefit - FAQ

1. What are overpayments?

An overpayment occurs if you have been paid more Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit than the amount that you are entitled to. Any change in your circumstances may reduce your benefit entitlement e.g.

An increase in your income

Someone moving in with you

You moving out of the property

If an overpayment arises, Benefits Services is duty bound to recover the money unless the Benefit Service accepts the overpayment is due to local authority error and it unreasonable to expect that you were aware that the overpayment was occurring at the time you received benefit. .


2. Who can the Council recover the overpayment from?

The Council can recover the overpayment from

The claimant (and in some circumstances their partner)

Someone acting on behalf of the claimant

The person to whom it was paid to (including a landlord or their agent in Housing Benefit cases)

3. How will Benefit Services recover the overpayment?

The Council can use several methods to recover the overpayment e.g.

Deduction from a claimant’s ongoing Housing Benefit entitlement by a set amount each week depending on the level of your income. You will need to pay an extra amount to your landlord/rent account to make up the shortfall in benefit.

Reducing Housing Benefit entitlement paid to a landlord or agent on your behalf. Again, you will need to pay an extra amount to your landlord to make up the shortfall in benefit.

Issuing an invoice if you no longer qualify for Housing Benefit. An arrangement can be made to repay the debt in instalments by contacting the Overpayments Department on 023 80832250.

Deduction from certain Social Security Benefits.

Recovery from a deceased persons estate

If you have an overpayment of Council Tax Benefit this will be added to your Council Tax account and a new Council Tax bill will be issued with revised instalments.

If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit there are some circumstances in which this could be reduced by “underlying entitlement”.


4. What is underlying entitlement?

This is not an award of benefit, but a calculation of what you would have been entitled to had your benefit been assessed on the correct information. This means that the amount you have to pay back is reduced because the actual overpayment is the difference between the amount of benefit you actually received less any amount that on review it is decided you were entitled to based on your new circumstances.

In order to calculate potential underlying entitlement, we would need to know what your circumstances were for the period of the overpayment and you would be asked for proof of the income that you were in receipt of.


5. Can I appeal against an overpayment?

You have one calendar month from the date you are notified of the overpayment in which to make an appeal. Recovery of the overpayment will not start until the appeal process has been completed.

6. What if the overpayment wasn't my fault?

Even if the overpayment wasn’t your fault you may still be required to repay it, but only if it is considered reasonable that you would have been aware that you were being overpaid.

7. What if I can't pay the money back?

If you inform Benefit Services that you are having difficulties making repayments, we can review any arrangement after you complete an Income and Expenditure form.

If you are having difficulty in paying your Council Tax instalments you should contact the Council Tax Department on 023 80 833006.

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