Hello,
This could be really simple but once again I’m tying myself in knots…
I have had two invoices for two different customers appealed by their landlord, not disputing that they should pay the overpayments back, but disputing the amounts. The two amounts overpaid are not the same as the landlord actually received for the periods in question, because we were making ongoing deductions for an earlier overpayment on both claims. I have tried to explain that the amount of the overpayment is calculated based upon the original entitlement because although part of it was going into another ‘pot’, that is the amount of HB technically paid.
I am becoming less sure of my standing on this issue as the landlord could argue that the earlier overpayments being recovered from ongoing HB were not their debt and so not being repaid by them but actually by the tenants from their HB entitlement. In addition, the earlier overpayments were caused by changes to each tenant’s personal circumstances which the landlord couldn’t be expected to know about (although these were determined pre April 06….)
On the one hand it seems logical that they pay back what’s been paid to them, regardless of where the money went (ie to the rent account or towards and exisiting debt) but then again……..help!
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