Millions on Universal Credit and benefits urged to check if they’re owed £1,500 after being underpaid

MILLIONS of households receiving Universal Credit and benefits could be owed a £1,500 after being paid less than they were entitled to.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has estimated that £3.3billion of state benefits were underpaid in the year to April 2023.

One of the claimant groups impacted are those on Universal Credit.

The DWP underpaid a massive £200million in Universal Credit in this period due to official errors.

While many of those on state pensions were also dealt a bad hand by the department, being underpaid by just over £1billion.

Some Pension Credit claimants lost out on £100million as well.

And others claiming Housing Benefit were also underpaid by £100million.

Official figures show 22.4 million people in total claimed some combination of DWP benefits as of August 2022.

That means that the average pay out to those affected is £1,500.

Of course, what you’re entitled to will vary depending on your individual circumstances and if you were overpaid at all.

A spokesman for the DWP said its priority is ensuring everyone receives the financial support to which they are entitled.

They said: “The vast majority of benefit underpayment is due to claimant error, accounting for £2.1 billion, but where official errors do occur, we are committed to fixing them as quickly as possible.”

Despite numerous examples of underpayment – there were also overpayments.

As much as £8.3billion extra was paid out by mistake by the DWP in the year to April 2023.

The benefit most affected was Universal Credit, and overpayments worth a whopping £5.5billion went into claimants’ bank accounts.

If you claim benefits, there are a few reasons that you could be overpaid.

Most benefits, including Universal Credit, are calculated based on your specific circumstances, including where you live, how many children you have and how much you earn.

So if you’ve had a change of circumstances that could lead to you being paid less, but you don’t tell the DWP, then you could be getting more than you’re entitled to.

This is illegal and your welfare payments may be stopped altogether if you’re caught out.

Rule changes is another reason you could be being overpaid and sometimes, the government can make mistakes when dishing out payments.

How to check if you’re affected

If you believe you were underpaid, there are things you can do to check and start the process of getting your money back.

If you claim Universal Credit and are owed money, you can call a helpline on 0800 328 5644 or use your online account.

State Pension claimants should contact the Pensions Service on 0800 731 0469.

Lines are open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday.

Meanwhile, if you are asked to make a repayment, this will be done in different ways:

• Making deductions from your benefit payments
• Taking it out of benefits that are owed to you
• Taking amounts directly out of your wages
• Getting a court order for debt recovery
• The amount taken will be dependent on how much you owe and if you’re still receiving benefits.

You can ask the DWP to reduce the amount you are paying back each month.

The DWP can take you to court if you don’t repay.

If you can’t afford to repay you can ask Citizen’s Advice for help.

If you don’t think you’ve been overpaid and the request for repayment is an error, you can ask for the DWP to look at it again.

Turn2Us says a letter about overpayments should include the following information:

• How much you were overpaid each week
• For what period you were overpaid
• The total that has been overpaid

You can get advice and support for appealing a decision for free from organisations like Citizens Advice and Benefits and Work.

You should keep your contact details up to date so the DWP can get hold of you and you don’t miss any demands.

It’s also important to respond to any calls or emails from the DWP as soon as possible, or there’s a risk your benefit payments could be stopped or changed.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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