Overpayments of Council Tax
What is an Overpayment?
An overpayment occurs when you are paid benefit
that you were not entitled to. This can happen
because of various reasons, such as:
- You have given us wrong information
- You have not told us about a change straight away
- You have not told us something we needed to know
- We have been too slow to action something you told us
- We have made a mistake
How Will I Know if I Have Got an Overpayment?
You will receive a letter from the Council if
you are overpaid. The letter will give you the full details of the
overpayment, including:
- What caused the overpayment
- The dates and amount of overpayment
- What to do if you disagree with the overpayment
- How the overpayment will be recovered
How Will The Overpayment be Recovered?
Any overpayments of Council Tax benefit will
be transferred to your Council Tax account and a new Council Tax
bill will be sent to you, showing you how much you will have to
pay.
Housing Benefit overpayments can be recovered
in a number of ways, and the letter sent to you will state how your
overpayment will be recovered. This could be from one of the
following:
- From your on-going benefit
- By sending you an invoice
- From your landlord
- From another social security benefit that is being paid to
you
If you are having any financial difficulties
or feel that the amount we are recovering from you is too
high, then you can request a financial statement, where we will
look at your income and outgoings and arrange where possible to
reduce the amount we recover from you.
What if I Do Not Agree With The Overpayment?
The first thing to do when you receive your
overpayment letter is read it carefully. It will contain a
paragraph, which will explain the reason for the overpayment and
dates you have been overpaid.
If you still disagree with the overpayment
after reading the explanation, please see the advice given by
the Tribunal Service for more
information.
Contact the
Council page for the different ways you can get in touch
or download the Overpayment
and Debt leaflet (PDF, 585KB) for more
information.
