A disabled former schoolteacher who was told a year ago by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he must repay £36,000 in disability benefits he was not entitled to has now been told he was entitled to the payments after all.
John McHugh, 60, of Barnhill, says he has gone through a year of “hell” trying to get the “appalling” DWP to back down, and finally they have and he will not have to pay back a penny.
Mr McHugh is delighted with the U-turn however, he is angry that he has been put through the mill for a year and is also worried in case any others have been wrongly told to pay back their benefit money.
He said: “I was told in 2010 that I was entitled to disability benefits because I have Type 1 diabetes. I told them I had a teacher’s pension, but they said I was still entitled to it.
“Then last year I got a snippy phone call from a woman at the DWP saying I shouldn’t have been told that and I wasn’t entitled to the benefits.
“She said I had to pay back £36,000, which was a big shock. I could never afford to pay back that amount of money.
“She said I hadn’t told them about my pension, but I had and I could prove it, but she said to send me a cheque.
“I went to Welfare Rights and I can’t thank Louise Ross there enough she has been a star.
“Yesterday, after having this hanging over my head for more than a year, I got a telephone call from the DWP saying I was totally exonerated.
“They said: ‘It’s our fault and you don’t have to pay a penny’.
“I’m delighted with that, but I also want to highlight this in the paper because there must be other people out there who have been affected and never challenged it. I just think it’s appalling.
“There can’t be others in Dundee sitting with the Sword of Damocles over their head, not knowing who to turn to.
“This is for other people who might not know that there is an organisation called Dundee Welfare Rights who are tremendous at supporting you with these people and they should get in contact with them.
“Also do they know that the law is going to change and unless they put their appeal in very, very quickly, whether you were in the right or not, you will have to pay the money back.”
A spokesman for the DWP said: “We apologise to Mr McHugh for the error we made when processing his claim and we’ve confirmed that the overpayment does not need to be paid back.”