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Further to Bensup's contibution, COP 26 refers to different criteria where remission might be agreed. One refers to info given to HMRC but not acted upon within 30 days being an official error. However, all the official error routes to remission also require that the claimant did not know they were being overpaid. Difficult in this case because the action of the claimant when reporting the income change suggests they were aware there would be consequences on the amount payable!
The TC 846 challenge form has 3 boxes. The last one is for people who knew their award was wrong, but took steps to correct it. This is tricky ground, because using this box requires an admission in principle. If client did know that the award was now wrong, the point then becomes one of how many reports of changes are reasonable before the reasonable person gives up reporting? The social security case law is not very helpful, with some commissioners going on about "continuing obligations" etc. However, TC guidance does at one point refer to claimants having to make "several" reports before it might be ok to assume they had done their best and therefore not complicit in the overpayment, and therefore eligible for remission etc. You will need to judge the facts of the case by this.
I would agree that in the end your best hope might be the Adjudicator, but you can go COP 26 as well.
Dawn now says that challenged overpayments will not be collected immediately, as from next month. Pip Pip!
Steve
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