Overpayment Debt for JA

Igor2155

Hi, I Got a letter from social and he said that I have to pay 1.420 euro because this is overpayment debt for my jobseeker allowance (what tha f..?) my jobseeker allowance was 188 (I have 20 years old) I did not about this that I shouldnt get 188 but 100 euro, so I was still getting this amount of money for abou 3 months and now they calculated this 88 euro for every week and it will cost me 1.420 HOW I HAVE TO PAY if Im not working? Jeez, Today I collected my JA and they REDUCED the help about stupid 10 euro (?!) I dont get it does is possible that they took this 10 euro from my Jobseeker Allowance to cover the debt?..What can I do? Do i have to pay for this? That was clearly system fraud, what should I do, please help.

Balagan

The Department has the right to recover the overpayment made to you. There are details in this link http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW2/Pages/1WhathappensifIamoverpaid.aspx
€10 would usually be the minimum they would deduct weekly but you could ask at the office for them to take less.

Lugh Ildanach

There is an overpayment recovery policy.

They cannot deduct money from your payment unless they have gone through a certain process. They must consider any represenations that you have, and consider how much you can afford to pay. They cannot leave you with less than the SWA rate, which for a 18-21 year old, is exactly the same amount as you would get on Jobseekers, so effectively they cannot deduct money from your payment without your consent. Of course, if you agree, they can deduct more money from you, but they need your written consent.

I would contact them immediately and tell them that you cannot afford to pay the money, and that the deduction is contrary to their overpayments policy and demand that your full rate is restored. As the mistake was on their part, you should also ask them to consider not seeking any recovery at all. If they decide against this, you can appeal this too!

Here is a copy of the overpayments policy which you should refer to http://www.welfare.ie/EN/OperationalGuidelines/Pages/codm.aspx

You should also check to see if you are actually only supposed to be getting 100, there are a number of exceptions to the lower rates. If you meet one of the following criteria then you would be entitled to the full 188

* Claimants with dependent children
* People transferring to Jobseeker’s Allowance immediately after finishing their entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit
* People transferring from Disability Allowance to Jobseeker’s Allowance
* Existing Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants who are assessed at the higher rate of allowance, get work but lose that job and is back on Jobseeker’s Allowance within 12 months
* People under 25 participating in a course of education, training or Community Employment. (However, when the course ends you will return to an age-related JA payment, if you were getting one before you started the course.)
* People who were at least 20 years of age on 30 December 2009 and became unemployed on or before 30 December 2009
* People who were 18 or 19 on 30 December 2009 and became unemployed on or before 29 April 2009
* People aged 22 to 24 who are taking part in the Work Placement Programme

You should probably talk to a specialist information provider, like the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed www.inou.ie they also have an information line 01 856 0088

Spook_ie

Oh my goodness Igor, you are really having a rough time, I remember reading your post a few weeks back saying that you had to go home for 3/4 weeks for an operation, did you get sorted with that ? hope you get sorted with the SW problem.

ABajaninCork

I was overpaid by E52(Not my fault, but hey!). Paying it back E2 weekly.

Just tell SW that E2 is all you can afford. They will take that as repayment.