Half a million on Universal Credit repaying tax credits leaving some without ‘enough to live on’

MORE than half a million people on Universal Credit are having tax credit overpayments deducted from their benefits leaving some without "enough to live on".

Many cash-strapped Brits are paying back historical overpayments they never knew about while others are the result of clerical errors during the Universal Credit application process.

Throughout our Make Universal Credit Work campaign, we've heard from hard-up Brits who are suffering because of deductions made on their benefits because of overpayments beyond their control.

Desperate mum Samantha Evans, 39, was left to rely on foodbanks after the family, who were entitled to £510 a month, received nothing because it turned out she'd been overpaid £4,000 in child tax credits over the previous year.

And every month, £37.77 is deducted from single-mum Farzana Miah's Universal Credit due to a back office blunder that saw her housing costs overpaid to the council by £1,950.

Margaret Greenwood MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, feels that tax credit repayments can "push people into severe hardship", especially when someone isn't expecting it.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, branded the figures as "staggering" and felt that the deductions, on top of other repayments such as for advance loans, "leave some people unable to cover their essential costs".

She added: "More than a million people claiming Tax Credits are expected to move onto Universal Credit in the next stage of the rollout.

"The government must ensure that people have enough to live on and make sure that any debt collection is affordable."

Not everyone who owes cash is currently making the repayments because, for example, they're either in work and not claiming benefits to the benefits are too small to make deductions.

It may also be because taking the cash from the benefit could leave someone without enough - or zero - cash, or the claimant is bankrupt.

A spokesperson from the DWP told The Sun that it makes sure repayments are affordable first and that it has recently reduced the maximum amount that can be deducted from someone’s Universal Credit claim.

They said: "Universal Credit is a better, simpler system with monthly assessments which reduce the likelihood of overpayments in future."

Yesterday, we revealed how worryingly 120,000 Universal Credit claimants are behind on their rent, while more than 500 have been evicted from their homes.

The findings follow research from Citizens Advice that found that half of Brits on Universal Credit have fallen behind on their rent after waiting up to five-weeks for their first payment.

But how rent payments are made could be overhauled after the DWP admitted that claimants were left out of pocket because of the way the benefit is calculated.

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