A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits claimant who was overpaid thousands of pounds in Universal Credit due to a system error has been ordered to pay the money back, despite having repeatedly reported the mistake.
Overpayment details
Frederick Day, from Ipswich, received an extra £2,169 between February 2025 and January 2026 because of an error in the DWP's system. The department now wants the full amount repaid. Day, who says he is a genuine person, stated: "If I have to, I'll repay it, but I want the overpay from July to be waived, which I'm entitled to. It's not right us customers have to pay for their mistakes and I would be disappointed if they asked for the money back."
Financial and emotional impact
Day described the stress of the situation: "You struggle every week to keep your head above water and then all of a sudden you find yourself £3,500 in debt through no fault of your own. I find that incredibly stressful and it doesn't help you sleep at night - it is extremely frustrating." He noted that he could have spent the money on a new wardrobe but refrained because "it is not my money, it's theirs."
System issues and call for action
Speaking to the BBC, Day said: "If the system is broken there's no good sweeping the problem under the carpet at the expense of your customer. You need to get a maintenance man in there to fix it." He added that he did the right thing by reporting the overpayment, but millions of people would not bother and would simply keep the money.
DWP response
A DWP spokesperson said in a statement: "Where overpayments occur we are committed to working with customers to agree affordable repayment arrangements, taking into account their individual circumstances. Through our Targeted Case Review, improved reporting and verification and better use of real-time data, Universal Credit overpayments are now at their lowest level since the pandemic."
