Hi All, ill try to be as clear as possible,
Couple years ago I decided to go with IVA and it was all good until few months ago,
In a mean time I have received short letter from DWP that I owe them some money,
I need to say it all did look a bit doggy, didn't state what money and why, just that their records shows that I owe them,
When i asked to explain exactly the situation, i received a letter were they said that i was overpaid universal credit and need to return it. In time where there is so many scams it is reasonably to not believe in anything anymore.
Now, HMRC universal credit was already included in my IVA and debt DWP were talking about occurred more than 4 years ago.
I asked company that runs my IVA to add new creditor etc to IVA, however, before they managed to do anything (they're incredibly slow to act and i actually regret using them as IVA provider), DWP wrote a letter to my employer and asked about chunk of my salary to be deducted and my employer obviously agreed for it.
I don't have to say what impact it had on my finances, it took months to explain and its still not clear what exactly is going on,
It might sound silly but I thought that while on IVA, ill be protected against situations like this...,
Anyway, middle of may this year i received letter form DWP that they will no longer take money form my salary. Imagine my face on a pay day when i discovered that company i work for still is deducting money from my salary. I thought it might be because of slow post etc., but it happened again this month and i just had enough...,
So the question is - is that situation lawful, to be on IVA and have earnings deducted? Shouldn't I be on some list they could check before trying to ruin my life and pushing me to absolute boundaries?
Thank you for reading and i hope someone have a clue what could i do about it.
If DWP are no longer taking money from wages, the fault lies with your employer. Have you asked DWP for this money back ?
Have a word with your IP about the legalities --- usually the DWP debt would have been included in the IVA, but, under certain circumstances it might not be.
As for them being aware of the IVA, in the first instance you should have informed them and they can check, if they so require, by looking you up on the Insolvency Register.
My opinions are merely that .. opinions based on experience. Always seek professional advice.
IVA Completed 23rd July 2013 .... C.C. 10th January 2014
The issue here is that when you apply for UC, tax credit debts etc are moved from being under HMRCs remit to DWP, and HMRC being HMRC usually fail to mention to DWP that the debt is included and therefore bound by the IVA. When this happens, HMRC send you a letter called ‘Your tax credits overpayment’ (TC1131) if your tax credits debt is being transferred to DWP for recovery - Do you remember getting a letter like this?
As DWP have now noted their error, they -should- return anything they've taken, as per their own guidelines. I would contact DWP and request they return anything taken in error.
I would also suggest contacting your IP again to ensure they're aware that DWP are now acting on the debt, and not HMRC.
Hi! I used to work for one of the UK's biggest Insolvency Practitioners - I don't work for an IP anymore but still have an extensive knowledge of the IVA industry. How can I help?
