The cases we handle

Overpayments and excess awards of benefit – decisions of appeal tribunals

Sometimes people are overpaid benefits or allowances. When anyone receives a benefit or allowance to which he or she is not entitled, the amount overpaid may be reclaimed by the department or local authority that paid it. To do this, the department or authority must first make decisions:

that the benefit was not payable, or was payable at a lower rate
determining the amount of the overpayment and
deciding whether, and from whom, the overpayment can be recovered.

This does not apply to decisions by HM Revenue and Customs about tax credits. Only the decisions that the tax credit is overpaid are appealable. There is no appeal against a decision about recovery of an overpayment.

Overpaid benefit is usually recoverable from the person who receives the money. This includes not only the claimant but also landlords or others receiving the benefit for the claimant. The department or council may also recover overpaid benefit from anyone else who was responsible for the overpayment.

A decision-maker may make two separate decisions:

that the claimant is not entitled to benefit, or is entitled to less benefit than was previously awarded
that an overpayment of a particular amount is recoverable by the Secretary of State or local authority

In that case there are separate rights of appeal from each decision.

But the right of appeal against a decision about recoverability of overpayment is provided by the same law as the appeal about entitlement to the benefit. So if a decision that there was an overpayment of benefit and that the overpayment is recoverable are taken at the same time as the decision reducing or removing entitlement to benefit, then the appeal can cover any aspect of the decision.

Otherwise the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal can only deal with the actual decision being appealed. They cannot consider the original decision about the level of payment on an appeal against a decision to recover the overpayment.

It is important that the correct decision be appealed in tax credit cases, as there can be no appeal against a decision that an overpayment is recoverable.

Relevant legislation

Note:
From 3 November 2008 the new Upper Tribunal has taken over the work of the Social Security, Child Support and Pensions Appeal Commissioners. The Commissioners formerly handled appeals from tribunals that are now covered by the Social Entitlement Chamber, and the War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. The Upper Tribunal also deals with appeals from the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.

This page was last updated 03 November 2008