Benefits saga victory relief

Jamie-Ray Oakford has won his case against DWP after six years of court cases.

AN Oldham man has won a six-year "David and Goliath" battle against the Department for Work and Pensions.

Jamie-Ray Oakford (45), of Launceston Close, was dragged through the courts over claims he owed more than £20,000 in benefits.

The shocked resident said he has experienced "hell on earth", fighting and appealing against false claims since 2010.

The Pearson Driving Assessments employee fought the case at Oldham Magistrates' Court, Rochdale Lower Tribunal and the High Court in London.

A decision notice showed Mr Oakford must pay a significantly reduced sum of £300 to the DWP due to a four-week period of overpayment before he told them of his employment.

The DWP said that they recognised the conclusion of the Appeal Tribunal and will contact Mr Oakford once they receive the decision.

Mr Oakford said: "On Monday, October 17 in Rochdale, a judge saw I did everything on my part and all the errors were by the DWP.

"It has been a personal war and I have been fighting this for seven years."

In September, 2001, Mr Oakford began claiming Incapacity Benefit and Income Support after he was declared medically unfit to work due to mental health issues.

In March, 2006, he was permitted to commence part-time employment of up to 16 hours each week and secured work with Pearson Driving Assessments.

On informing the DWP of his new role in Ma,y 2006, he was told he could still claim IB and would be contacted if any further information was needed.

Mr Oakford continued to claim IB until June 2010 when he was sent a letter stating that he owed £22,379.39 in benefits for working and was accused of receiving IB fraudulently.

The case went to the Court of Appeals in May 2011 but no evidence could be brought forward to discount the accusation of fraud and the charge remained.

But six months later, the case was brought before Oldham Magistrates Court where evidence was found to show Mr Oakford had informed the DWP that he was working.

He accepted a caution for the overpayment of benefits between March 2006 and May 2006, the nine-week period before he declared that he had started working.

He said: "Providing I accepted a caution for the over-payment of IB, the case would be dismissed.

"I agreed that as long as the debt was recalculated for this period and the remainder disregarded, I would accept the caution.

"But the recalculation and amendment of dates as promised in the courts were not adhered to.

"The DWP refused to abide to the decision claiming that the cautioning officer in court was in no position to make this promise."

In the aftermath of the case, the DWP continued to request more than £20,000 from Mr Oakford in letters dated September 2012, October, 2012, and July, 2015, and began deducting money from his benefits each month.

Mr Oakford said: "They said I didn't have to pay it back, then I did have to pay it back.

"I launched an appeal to the Upper Tribunal in London in February, 2013.

"It nearly drove me to commit suicide.

"The DWP were found guilty of 11 errors of law and it was sent back to the Lower Tribunal in Rochdale.

"The amount of errors they were accused of is shocking.

"It has been hell on earth for the last seven years but now I'm finally free.

"There is nothing better than winning this."

In March, 2015, the Lower Tribunal accepted Mr Oakford's appeal and waited for evidence from the DWP.

Then, on October 17, this year, the appeal was granted by Rochdale Lower Tribunal who determined that Mr Oakford had notified the DWP he was working.

He said: "They accepted I did notify I was working and the over payment was no longer recoverable and the errors were down to the DWP.

"Since 2010 they have been trying to take £20,000 from me.

"And finally, I get justice. I cannot tell you how relieved I am.

"There are a lot of people in Oldham who aren't claiming benefits they are entitled to because they aren't being informed correctly.

"I think it is worth people knowing that it is worth the fight."

A DWP spokeswoman said: "We recognised the conclusion of the Appeal Tribunal and as soon as their decision is received we will contact Mr Oakford to discuss his benefit claim."