What happens if you don't pay an overpayment invoice

We can then discuss your situation and the repayment options that may suit you best.

If you don't pay your invoice and don't get in touch with us, we can recover the debt in one of the following ways:

• Deduct the money from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits you may be claiming or may claim in the future, such as universal credit, job seeker's allowance, employment and support allowance, state retirement pension, income support, disability living allowance or carer's allowance
• Deduct the money from housing benefit you may be receiving from another council if you move out of Rushmoor and make a new housing benefit claim elsewhere
• Deduct the money  from any future housing benefit we may pay you, if you make a new claim
• By asking your employer to take the deductions directly from your wages. This is known as an attachment of earnings, which we can do this without having to take court action.  The Attachment of earnings table shows how much you can expect your employer to deduct from your wages. For employers affected by this please see our Employers' guide to direct earnings attachments
• Take court action. We can use a range of enforcement options through the courts. If we take court action, we will add any court costs to the existing debt

If you have financial difficulties or debt problems, do not ignore them in the hope they will go away - they won't. There are various agencies that can offer help. You can find further information on our Money and debt advice page.

If you contact us early, we can help you set up a repayment plan that you can manage, based on your ability to pay.