Overpayments under the Universal Credit system - Will I have to repay the overpayment?

You will always have to repay overpayments under the Universal Credit system. It does not matter what caused the overpayment.

You can still argue that there never was an overpayment.

You can ask the DWP if they will agree to not make you pay back the overpayment. This is means asking them to use their discretion to stop recovery. 

They don't have to agree. If they say no, you cannot appeal or challenege the decision. 

If you do ask, you should send as much evidence as you can to show how paying the money back would affect you. However even if you give strong evidence and good reasons, it's unusual for the DWP to agree to not recover the overpayment.

Example 1

Ellen's employer made a mistake when reporting her income and because of this Ellen was paid too much Universal Credit. It wasn’t Ellen's fault that the information was wrong but she will still have to pay back the overpayment.

Example 2

Aaron is getting Universal Credit for two children. The DWP write to him saying he has been overpaid because he is only responsible for one child. Aaron is actually still responsible for two children. He can challenge the overpayment.

Paid too much Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment Support Allowance 

If you have been paid too much JSA or ESA and you had already claimed Universal Credit, you can ask for the amount you have to pay back to be reduced because you would have been able to get Universal Credit

However it can be hard to work out how much Universal Credit you should have been getting. You should get advice to help you work this out.

Paid too much Universal Credit

If you have been paid too much Universal Credit because of a mistake about your savings that lasted for more than three months, the amount you have to pay back should be worked out as if your savings were going down.

If you are paid too much Universal Credit because you moved house but carried on getting Universal Credit for your old house, and if you rent both homes from the same landlord, you should ask to only pay back the difference between the cost for the old house and the cost for the new house.