Documents leaked to this newsroom expose a pattern of systematic overpayment errors at the Department for Work and Pensions. Dozens of families have been driven to the brink of bankruptcy after being ordered to repay thousands of pounds they never received. One couple, who spoke on condition of anonymity, were told they jointly owe £20,400 for a child benefit overpayment that a DWP internal report now says was a computer error.
The department issued a debt collection notice threatening bailiffs and wage garnishment unless they paid. Sources confirm the couple spent a year fighting the demand, submitting payslips and bank statements to prove their income had never exceeded the threshold. The DWP finally admitted the mistake but only after the couple engaged a solicitor.
An internal audit uncovered by this investigation reveals that over 1,200 similar cases are pending review, with total erroneous demands exceeding £30 million. A former DWP fraud investigator told us: “There’s no fraud here. It’s incompetence.
The system is flagging the wrong people and then refusing to back down.” The department’s response: a spokesperson said they “take errors seriously” and are “improving processes.” But for the families already crushed by debt, that’s cold comfort.
One mother of three described receiving a final demand letter on the same day she was approved for a food bank referral. The DWP has not confirmed how many cases have been resolved in the claimant’s favour. Our analysis of data obtained under FOI suggests that fewer than 10% of contested overpayment demands are written off, even when departmental audits later find no overpayment.
This is not a glitch. It is a system engineered to collect first and ask questions never. And the human cost is mounting.
