Overpayments

Overpayments can happen when your circumstances change, but we don't find out about it until after we've paid your benefit for that period.

When this happens, we check why the overpayment occurred. Then we decide:

• if the money needs to be paid back
• who should pay it back

If we paid your benefit directly to your landlord, we might ask them to pay it back. But sometimes, you may have to repay it instead. If there is a difference between the amount of Housing Benefit you get and your rent, you are responsible for paying the difference.

Recovery of Local Council Tax Support

Local Council Tax Support is applied to your Council Tax account.  If an overpayment happens, we will recover it from your Council Tax account. We will send you a new Council Tax bill to show how much you will have to pay in future.

Recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments

• If you still get Housing Benefit:
  We will deduct money from your weekly payments until the overpayment is paid off. You can also ask to pay the full amount at once or increase the weekly deductions to pay back the overpayment quicker.
• If you no longer get Housing Benefit:
   We will send you an invoice for the full amount. You must pay this within one month.

Paying back an overpayment

There are several ways you can pay your overpayment:

Online payment

Make a payment using the Isle of Wight Council Online Payments Service

Online Banking

Use these details:

• Bank: Lloyds Bank
• Account Number: 14867260
• Sort Code: 30-80-12

Include your Isle of Wight Council Invoice number.

Debit or Credit Card

• call 01983 823905
• have your invoice number ready

24-Hour Automated Phone Payment

• Call 03450 450076
• have your invoice number ready

What happens if you do not pay

If you do not pay, we may:

• ask the Department for Work and Pensions to take a weekly amount from your benefits
• ask your employer to take deductions from your wages (known as a Direct Earnings Attachment)
• refer your case to our Enforcement Team to collect this money on our behalf
• in some circumstances, initiate legal action against you
• ask your new council to recover the money if you’ve moved and are claiming Housing Benefit elsewhere

What to do if you are struggling to repay the overpayment

If you're finding it difficult to repay your Housing Benefit overpayment, we're here to help.

You can:

• contact the Overpayment Team to discuss your options, 
  • call 01983 823905
  • email housing.benefit@iow.gov.uk
• request to repay the overpayment in instalments or ask for a reduction in your invoiced instalment amounts
• request a reduction in the amount being recovered from your ongoing Housing Benefit