Received a strange letter

Ohoopee · 17-04-2023 9:16pm #1

So Friday, I got in a mail a letter from the department of Social Protection, Social Welfare services. It is a "Notification to Repay Your Debt". All came in the letter was the bill its self and several ways of paying the bill...but no explanation.. No where is there any explanation about this so called debt just that I owe it and I have to pay it. I called the local welfare office today and didn't really learn much. She said I should have gotten another letter prior to this one explaining my debt...I did not. When I told her this she said "Oh it must have been an overpayment" I explained that I have only ever been on social welfare during the pandemic and that was the pandemic relieve because the government forced my employer to close. During this time I did not work and certainly didn't report any false information so if it is the case that this is due to an overpayment, it is the deparments fault and they should have to prove it. I never could get any real answers from the office. They told me that I would have to call the main welfare number which they gave me. The people there referred me back to my local office. At the end of it, I still have no answers, just this demand to pay a debt I'm not even sure I owe. What should I do?

hawthorne · 17-04-2023 11:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058292774/received-a-strange-letter

This looks like a letter from a scammer. Someone tries to extract money out of you. The guards might be the place to go to.

SW never asks anyone to hand over money just like that!

elperello · 17-04-2023 11:51pm

If you think the letter is a scam take it to your local office for verification.

EchoIndia · 17-04-2023 11:59pm

Does the letter include your correct name, address and RSI number? If it does, it could be genuine but as others have said, the best approach is to seek official verification/clarification from the Department.

elperello · 18-04-2023 12:04am

If there has been an overpayment they will look for it to be repaid.

An instalment plan will be available.

Gusser09 · 18-04-2023 12:07am

It would be strange that they have discovered an overpayment themselves. Have you applied for other benefits since? Usually they would only discover overpaymemts if it brought to their attention.

The DayDream · 18-04-2023 12:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120489994#Comment_120489994

No it's not. I've been overpaid 3 times. And each time they looked to claw it back. They figure it out between themselves and Revenue I suppose. Basically every time I got myself off the dole and got a job I was told I got overpaid some months later because I didn't sign off quick enough - usually because the new job paid monthly or I needed a uniform or something I needed to keep my dole for a week. I think they have adjusted this now to help people move into work.

anyway, even when I had a direct debit set up to repay these overpayments, which was requested by letter, they still sent out letters every so often with the overpayment amount, saying 'because the department are not getting a payment from you at present'

And every time I rang to query it they said that it's just a statement and that's the way they word it. I complained several times that it is really stressful to get these letters since a) they say they aren't getting a payment and b) they never show an adjusted balance just the original overpayment, basically making it look like your repayments are not being added to the ledger at all, but there is no point talking to them, they can't do anything if you even get someone on the phone. It's just like anything else when dealing with any organization in this country - a joke!

Just ignore the letters.

Ohoopee · 18-04-2023 11:00am

Thanks for all your comments. I don't think it is a scam, if it is then I have bigger problem because the letter does have my PPS number on it. But now where in the paperwork do they came I was overpaid, in fact there is no explanation at all. There are three pieces of paper in the envelope. The 1st one is a notification to pay my debt which simply gives me the amount owed and gives the payment options. The second page is just a page with lines on it where I am supposed to list circumstances that I wish them to consider in the case. The third page is just a direct debit form. The comical thing is...the amount they claim I owe is miniscule, it is less than 100e and they are offering to let me make payments of 20e per month...lol. I mean look if I do owe the money, I'll pay it in one go and not even miss it. I am more upset and frustrated by the fact that they are demanding I pay back money without even telling me why I supposedly owe it and furthermore, I can't seem to get in touch with anyone who can give me this information. I am not just going to pay them even one penny without them at least telling me why I owe this month. I am assuming it must be an over payment but again, no where in any of my paper work is a reason given. Really makes me wonder why they would even bother over such a small amount.

TooTired123 · 18-04-2023 11:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490807#Comment_120490807

Every cent that is overpaid has to be returned to the taxpayer. All you need to do is simply take the letter to your local SW office and ask if someone can explain to you where the overpayment occurred.

I think you mentioned earlier that you didn’t sign off on time before because you needed money for different things before you got paid.

You have to sign off the day that you are unavailable for work.

The CWO would have considered you for a SWA payment to cover you for living expenses until you got paid if you’d applied. Next time this happens you will save yourself all this hassle by doing that.

Ohoopee · 18-04-2023 5:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490873#Comment_120490873

Hi, no no...I have no idea if this is even an overpayment. That is my point, I have recieved a letter from the department of social protection demanding I pay my debt. There is no mention in the letter anywhere why they say I owe the dept. The words overpayment are not mentioned anywhere. When I called the local welfare office, I was told it was PROBABLY an over payment This is my problem...I have a bill demanding I repay a debt with no mention on what the debt is and why I owe it and furthermore can not get much of any information from the people who sent me the letter..that is why I am frustrated. I am not going to pay even one cent if they cannot tell my why I supposedly owe this and how they determined that I owe the money. It is not a large sum of money and paying it will be no problem...but the burden of proof is still on them....or at least it should be.

TooTired123 · 18-04-2023 6:27pm

What is the return address on the letter? Up in the top right hand corner of the letter there is the return address.

Here are your choices:

you can ignore the letter on the grounds that you disagree that you owe the money and/or you disagree with how they have communicated with you. Then get on with your life until and if you hear from them again.
you can repay what they say you owe and forget about it.
you can write a letter to the return address on the letter, explaining that you don’t understand how you accumulated this debt and asking them to explain it to you and attach a photocopy of the said letter, and post it to them. They will reply to you. If you don’t like the response then you should initiate the departments complaints procedure. If you exhaust the complaints procedure and you’re still not happy then you can go to the Ombudsman.

Dempo1 · 26-04-2023 1:12pm

I'm afraid they do. This is likely nothing to do with the PUP and more likely an historical over payment from a, previous claim. Debt recovery stopped during the pandemic but not the DSP trawling through any over payments made.

I got a letter last year for an over payment made in 2016 and I'm not kidding

Dempo1 · 26-04-2023 1:15pm

They don't discuss what the over payment was in these letters, however if you query it directly with the section they will break it down, dates and what it's about.

Dempo1 · 26-04-2023 1:19pm

It has absolutely nothing to do with Revenue. To be fair, I found them quite reasonable once over payment explained and they assess your means. More times than often they'll accept €5 deduction per week from a Jobseekers payment, I don't believe they can deduct from certain SW payments however or CE scheme payments.

Ohoopee · 09-05-2023 11:36pm

What happened in the end, I finally did manage to talk to someone. Basically when started back to work after the pandemic, I changed jobs, not only jobs careers. I originally worked in the hospitality sector and it was till closed at the time. I got a change to work in a different sector for more money but I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it, or if I would like it. I started the job but didn't close my pandemic relief until after I got home on my first day as again, I wasn't sure if it was something I wanted or not. They claimed that because I signed off the pandemic relief after 5 pm, I got paid for that day even though I worked. They told me I could not appeal and all I could do was ask their office to reconsider. In the end, I didn't bother because it was only one days worth of pandemic relief. I paid them in full. I hope I never have to go on any kind of government relief again.

Received a strange letter

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