UK government owed £1.85 billion in benefit overpayments

It has been revealed that the UK government has overpaid 1.6 million people in the UK with around £1.85 billion still outstanding. These benefit payments have been made to some of the most at risk families in the UK although despite this fact, and the general financial situation in the UK, the authorities have been forcing many people to pay back money they no longer have. As a consequence, many families on low-income are being pushed into debt at a time when they are struggling to survive as it is.

It was confirmed that some 50,000 people owe between £5,000 and £10,000, 23,000 owe between £10,000 and £20,000 and 8,600 people owe the government in excess of £20,000. While the authorities can argue for ever and a day that these benefit should be repaid, they were not attempted frauds, they were not mistakes by the recipients but they were mistakes by the benefit authorities in the UK and they have acknowledged this. So quite why so many people are being chased for so much money at this difficult time in the economic cycle is a mystery.

The benefit system in the UK has been shown to be wholly inadequate during the last recession and many people are being chased for overpayments which they neither asked for nor encouraged.