Tax Credit Briefing discussion

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  • sarahf3112 wrote: »
    Can anyone help me to claim back payments last October, not as a response to any information provided by me? My previous year's payments were all accurately paid, and then for no apparent reason payments were stopped last October. When I ring the helpline they say there is no reason for the stoppage, and are 'awaiting' guidance on how to restart! They were quite a significant part of our monthly income and despite numerous calls to the helpline it doesn't seem to be progressing. Any suggestions?!

    Contact your MP and CAB. Submit a complaint and copy that to your MP. This is not acceptable - they should give you a clear reason why payments have been stopped and you might wish to remind your MP of Stephen Timms (Treasury Minister) offer to investigate problems on behalf of people where the problems has been due to HMRC error.
    The independent woman's checklist for success :
    1. Look like a lady, 2. Act like a man, 3. Work like a dog
    Life instructions : 1. Breathe in, 2. Breathe out, 3. Repeat ad infinitum
    [strike]2008 - £4k challenge member 063[/strike] gave up halfway thru, not sure I even earned that much, so probably achieved it :confused:
  • Thank you, I'll give it a go!!!
  • Contact your MP and CAB. Submit a complaint and copy that to your MP. This is not acceptable - they should give you a clear reason why payments have been stopped and you might wish to remind your MP of Stephen Timms (Treasury Minister) offer to investigate problems on behalf of people where the problems has been due to HMRC error.


    I've done what you suggested, I've also written to the tax credits complaint manager, although I don't hold out much hope for a reply!!!
  • Well done you! Even if you do get a reply from the TC manager, it could well be months so you need to keep hassling them - I would ring the helpline every few days and ask for an update, and ask for the number of the Tax Credit Office (TCO) to contact them and find out the reason. Although it is inconvenient, they should put you on manual payments as an emergency measure so start insisting on this.

    It does occur to me that sometimes payments can stop because HMRC have decided that they have overpaid you or there is some irregularity with your claim, however, they should certainly have informed you of the reason for this by now and it is negligent of them not to have done so. Don't panic if as a result of chasing them for payments, they suddenly do inform you that there is an overpayment, as you can dispute this and again, they should not have stopped your payments suddenly without informing you.

    For more information, do go to www.taxcc.org (Tax Credit Casualties website - a support group for people having TC problems through no fault of their own) and have a good look at their site and at their forum. It might be worth posting in the new members section of the forum asking for advice as there are some very knowledgable forum members who might be able to give you more advice.

    If you haven't heard from your MP within 2 weeks, I would telephone them and say that this is urgent - unfortunately it is a bad time of year with MPs being on their (extended) summer break but they should still be dealing with constituents problems, but you may need to give them a "push".

    Good luck and don't get discouraged by the lack of immediate response. Make sure you keep notes of all contact and copies of all correspondence and from now on copy every letter you send to your MP and send correspondence recorded delivery so that HMRC can't claim that they didn't receive it.
    The independent woman's checklist for success :
    1. Look like a lady, 2. Act like a man, 3. Work like a dog
    Life instructions : 1. Breathe in, 2. Breathe out, 3. Repeat ad infinitum
    [strike]2008 - £4k challenge member 063[/strike] gave up halfway thru, not sure I even earned that much, so probably achieved it :confused:
  • thank you, that's all really helpful. I'll let you know how I get on, but don't hold your breath!!!!!
  • Well I'm gobsmacked, but today I received a reply from my MP!!! My letter to him was dated 8th August, his reply was dated 12th August which I think is remarkable!! Anyway, he tells me he has 'immediately written to HM treasury about this issue" and will be in contact as soon as he receives a response. Almost enough to make me vote for his party (although note I'm not disclosing which party it is!!!!).
    Will keep you posted.....
  • i earned less 2008/09 and was award more tax credit, should this result in having to pay more council tax.
  • i was informed that a loss on my property rental had to be deducted from other income in the current year but when the relevant form & helpsheet arrived it said that the loss had to be carried forward to next year to be deducted from same source income and could not be set against other income this year. i sold one of my rental properties and informed wtc and tax office of the capital gain. wtc told me it only wanted to know how much interest i'd made on the amount while it was in my savings account and the capital gain was of no consequence to them as it's a capital gain. i now have put the money in to shares & according to wtc helpsheets it only wants to know if i get any dividends but if i sell shares i make a capital gain, some wtc staff say this is income, some wtc staff say inland revenue will say how much if any is to be declared as income. should i follow the helpsheet info or the staff of wtc that seem to be making rules up as they go along? i don't want to fall foul of the system but don't want my wtc/ftc calculated using a capital gain as income as the capital gain won't be a regular income, once the property or the shares are sold i don't have another lot to sell! answers would be greatfully received as my accountant doesn't know,ftc staff don't know so who knows?
  • I too had a huge overpayment, but after 3 years of fighting i've had it written off. it does take some work though, I had to get copies of all my phone calls from data protection and write several letters and make many phone calls. however in the end it was one phone call that sorted it and brought the tax credit office's mistake to light. It sometimes depends on the person you get on the phone. never give up if you really believe it is their fault and not yours I knew it wasn't my mistake but theirs, and it came down to a human error on their part, of one digit missing from the figure they put into the computer.
  • Im clutching at straws here but I have exhausted myself trying to find out and the tax credit helpline is useless! Does anyone know If I would be entitled to claim child tax credit if my partner does not work (but also does not claim any benefits) and I work 22 hrs? We have a child who has just turned 1. I have read everything I can get my hands on but everything refers to partners who dont work but DO claim benefits:confused:

    My partner does not work and also does not claim benefits. I work 37.5 hours a week (although currently on Maternity leave so not actually earning money, still classed as working) and I get everything (approx £520 per month.

    I'm sure they prob have it wrong but....

    Anyway - yes it still counts if your partner earns nothing and does not claim. They base it on your total income for both of you.

    Claire x
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