universal credit with extra deductions added

I just finished speaking to the young Universal Credit claimant I wrote about earlier in the week. Readers of this site will be familiar with this woman’s story. This woman must carry out her Universal Credit compliance activities through Croydon jobcentre even though she lives in Colchester. She’s also been having £100+ deducted from her Universal Credit payments each month to repay a Universal Credit advance payment – the advance payments that David Gauke assures us will help people avoid (don’t laugh) the debts caused by delays in Universal Credit payments.

Now, the DWP has landed another debt on this young woman. This is a tax credit debt that she is sure she does not owe.

http://www.katebelgrave.com/2017/10/universal-credit-and-tax-credit-debt-collection-wtf-is-going-on-here-my-god/

Then last night, the woman looked at her Universal Credit account – and saw a message saying that £25 would be taken out for tax credit overpayments.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tax-credits-debt-in-universal-credit/tax-credits-debt-in-universal-credit--2

The legislation limits how much money can be deducted from benefit to recover an overpayment.

This is to ensure the recovery process does not cause claimants significant hardship. The actual amount deducted will be shown on the award notification once the Universal Credit payment has been calculated.

Customers will be advised via a letter called ‘Your tax credits overpayments’ (TC1131), a copy is included in Annex A. The letter will display the overpayment amounts and explain that HMRC is sending details of the amount customers owe to the DWP, so DWP can recover it from their Universal Credit payments, unless DWP tell them otherwise.

When will the letter called ‘Your tax credits overpayments’ (TC1131) be sent to the customer?

At the point the tax credits debt is transferred to DWP. This will ensure the recipient is aware of their debt position before any deductions are made to their Universal Credit payments.

What will happen if the claimant does not agree with their share of the debt showing on the letter called ‘Your tax credits overpayments’ (TC1131)?

The internet address on the letter TC1131 will direct claimants to specific www.gov.uk ‘overpayments’ web pages’, which include advice on where to go if they wish to dispute or query the amount on the letter called ‘Your tax credits overpayments’ (TC1131).

The letter will contain a phone number in case they prefer to contact HMRC.

Where is the claimant's letter and where in legislation is the DWP allowed to bypass sending a letter and posting a message on a UC account instead?