In some cases, these debts have been forgotten about for years, coming to light only when households are placed on universal credit.

They have no right to try to correct their own errors off the backs of people who are already paid so little that they need benefits to keep them hovering below the poverty line.

These debts exist because the system was designed by middle-class divots with no concept of the precarious, hourly paid work they’ve forced so many people into, and who were too idle to design a system that actually works for the people who need it most.

Absolutely disgusting.

Here’s my policy solution for this, make it illegal for DWP to reclaim overpayments from claimants, instead they should be reclaimed from the minister for DWP’s ministerial pay and the executive level members of the DWP pay.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

With about 1.5 million tax credit recipients set to be transferred on to the system from September, campaigners fear many more households will be alerted to years-old debts.

The charity Citizens Advice told the BBC an “illogical situation” had occurred in which households facing deductions were being referred to local authority hardship schemes - funded by the DWP - for support.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which managed Ms Crow’s tax credits, has previously admitted an error in calculating how much she owes.

Grace Brownfield from the Money Advice Trust charity told the BBC losing benefits income made a “massive difference” to those affected.

Sylvia Simpson, from the debt advice service Money Buddies in Leeds, told the BBC they had come across cases where deductions had been wrongly taken because of system error.

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