Harry Potter teacher needs pension magic

I taught JK Rowling A-level English literature. Since teaching Jo some 40 or more years ago and am now retired.

After having received monthly pension instalments from the Teachers’ Pensions scheme for over 10 years, out of the blue came a letter from TPS in September 2024 informing me of an “overpayment”.

It said: “I am writing to inform you that, unfortunately, an overpayment of your retirement benefits amounting to £1,617.53 has occurred. Since your original benefits were calculated your former employer has notified Teachers’ Pensions of changes which have affected the calculation of your retirement benefits…Teachers’ Pensions are obliged to recover all overpayments incorrectly paid from public funds  for whatever reason the overpayment occurred and as such I must ask you to repay the amount of £1,617.53.”

TPS has since reduced my monthly pension payments by more than 50% for a year to recoup the “overpayment”. I rang TPS and was told the monthly deductions would be suspended until the case had been investigated, but it was too late to stop the first deduction, which would be made on 11 June 2025. Despite this promise, a deduction was made in both July and August.

I rang Gloucestershire county council, my former employer, and spoke to an administrator for TPS. Contrary to the claims in the 2024 letter from Capita, which administered TPS, she found no record of any changes.

Capita has provided no response to my letters. No attempt to communicate other than with financial demands. Please help.

You are too modest. JK Rowling described you as “inspirational”, and said that Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter books was based on you. I could see from reports by the pensions ombudsman that TPS has previously made mistakes in relation to teachers taking job breaks.

You told me you were employed full-time as a teacher by Gloucestershire county council from September 1977 until August 1984. You then took a year’s unpaid leave, during which time you continued to make full contributions to the pension scheme for “reckonable services”. This immediately set alarm bells ringing, as the revised statement sent to you last year indicated that Capita believed your pensionable service should be reduced, ending in 1984 rather than 1985.

I think this had previously caused confusion as in 2014, just before you started receiving your pension, TPS revised the average salary on which your pension was based from £9,132 to £10,205, and the service period from seven years and 212 days to eight years, even though you had long since stopped teaching.

I forwarded the letters and statements you received in 1984 and 1985 in relation to your superannuation payments to Capita, pointing out that you had made eight full years of contributions, not seven and a bit. A few days later it said: “We can confirm that the member’s Contributory Added Years (CAY) salary had been omitted but is now corrected. The original award has been reinstated, the overpayment resolved, and a refund issued. We sincerely regret and apologise for the inconvenience and concern this has caused.”

Capita has sent you payments of £293, £82 and £264, plus compensation of £500. Even then it made a mistake as the £293 should not have been sent to you, but it has decided, given the circumstances, not to ask for it back.

My partner received a bill from British Gas in March for an electricity meter that wasn’t his. He didn’t think much of it until he got a letter from debt collectors. He contacted both companies and provided British Gas with the photographic evidence they requested of his meter, clearly showing a different serial number to the pre-paid one he has with EDF. British Gas was apologetic and said it would amend its records.

The following month a new bill appeared with a larger amount, followed by a debt collector's letter. Once again, he phoned both companies and British Gas again said the case was closed. But this has happened again each month. It would be wonderful if you were able to help and put this all to bed once and for all.

This was a classic mix-up on the national meter database, where your partner’s address had been registered against the meter belonging to a different property. British Gas has now corrected the mistake, stopped the debt collection action and paid your partner £150 in compensation.

Email your problems to Jill Insley at your.problems@observer.co.uk