A man has described the stress of feeling “in debt” to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after he was overpaid thousands of pounds in Universal Credit despite repeatedly reporting the mistake.
Frederick Day, from Ipswich, was paid an extra £2,169 between February 2025 and January by the DWP due to a system error.
The 68-year-old then succeeded in stopping the DWP crediting his account with a further £1,400 he was not entitled to in May, only for the payment to land in his bank account in July.
DWP said it looked to arrange affordable repayment plans when overpayments occur, but Day said the overpayment should be waived due the stress the ordeal had caused him.
According to the government, overpayments of Universal Credit can be written off at the discretion of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
Day, who is retired due to health issues, said: “I’m a genuine bloke and 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.
“I did the right thing but millions of people wouldn’t bother – they would just keep the money.”
If he was allowed to keep the cash, Day said he would put a few hundred pounds to one side and use the rest to pay off bills and “have a good Saturday down the pub”.
