Woman's 'relief' after £5k benefits debt is waived

A woman ordered to pay back thousands in benefits she was told she was entitled to said she could now celebrate her 60th birthday "in style" - after the debt was waived.

Yvonne Buckley was overpaid by about £5,000 in universal credit between November 2021 and August 2023.

The 59-year-old, from Ipswich, who is disabled, acknowledged she worked on-and-off during that period, but maintained she was told she was eligible for the benefits she was getting.

Now, after an 18-month battle with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), it has told her she does not have to pay the money back. The DWP has been approached for comment.

In a letter seen by the BBC, the DWP told Ms Buckley: "I confirm our decision to waive the outstanding balance of £4,810.17 - therefore this money no longer has to be paid back.

"The Secretary of State has exercised their discretion not to recover any further monies and no further action to recover the remaining balance of the overpayment will be taken."

The DWP's u-turn came was a relief for Ms Buckley, who described the last 18 months as "nerve-wracking".

"I can now celebrate my 60th birthday in style," she said.

"I thought it [her universal credit payment] was wrong and the money I was getting was too high, but they wouldn't listen to me and just said it was correct.

"There were times where I considered just paying it [the debt] and using foodbanks and not having a holiday for my birthday."

At points, Ms Buckley received limited capability for work payments and support for mortgage interest payments between November 2021 and August 2023.

She said she always told the DWP about changes to her employment, and often queried whether she was being paid too much.

Despite this, in August she received a letter from the DWP warning: "You have been paid more universal credit than you are entitled. This will now be taken back."

Ms Buckley lodged an appeal, which was unsuccessful, before the DWP's debt management office told her the debt would be waived. She was awarded £350 compensation.

Despite this, she then received another letter reiterating she would need to pay back all the money, even though she "did not contribute to the overpayment".

She added: "It's been very nerve-wracking and I have been worried sick as I couldn't prove myself - I couldn't prove my innocence."

The DWP told the BBC it had the power to waive benefits debts in “exceptional circumstances”.

A spokesperson said: "Our new Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill – expected to save £1.5bn of taxpayer money over the next five years - will help us protect claimants by stopping errors from happening earlier.

“We already have support in place to help people manage their repayments, with overpayments being waived in exceptional circumstances."

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