is it right that the DWP investigate the estate of all deceased..?

Question

people who have been receiving a state benefit before they died so the dwp can check if they received any cash to which they were not entitled and take the over payment back out of the deceased estate.

Answer 1

Here is a link spelling out the system under which the DWP operates. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Ax90lo2Ed8gJ:www.rightsnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/forwardsql/search.cgi%3Ftemplate2%3Duser_details2.htm%26output_number%3D1%26news.ID%3D413171121588+dwp+recovery+from+estate&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

Answer 2

firstly there are two sorts of overpayment. the first is caused due to benefit being paid after the date of death. this is not recoverable under social security law. they can ask you to repay but you don't have to. The second one is an overpayment that was already calculated for other reasons before death and while claiming benefits. This is recoverable under social security law and that is when the Recovery from estates office will make a claim against the estate.

Answer 3

Unfortunately in this day and age, there are many unscrupulous people that claim someone has died in order to claim an allowance towards funeral costs which can be up to a couple of thousand pounds. It is very sad that these investigations have to be carried out, but it really does cost millions of pounds per year in fraudulent claims.

Answer 4

The DWP has an obligation to protect public funds.

Answer 5

Somebody needs to ensure that the right tax procedure is applied - rich & poor people often have different rules but not always you see

Answer 6

Yeah, they're my taxes the government's getting back! Why should you have them?