Overpaid Child Tax Credit over £1000??? Help!

staceysteve

I'll give you the whole story...
My partner and his ex have a son and he has always received child tax credit and she has always received child benefit, at the end of last year she had a baby and obviously put in a claim for the new baby and put their son on the form too.
They have joint residency and we were sent a questionnaire by HM and sent that back pronto with my partne's declaration way back in February.
In April my partner got a letter saying his child tax credits have been stopped and he has been overpaid by just over £1000???!?!
We got straight on the phone, they were very unhelpful and said they had never received his declaration which is so wrong as we DEFINATELY sent it back so they sent out another declaration, we filled it out and sent it back pronto via a Recorded delivery.

We have yet to hear from them and I'm wondering what to do?
We can't afford to pay them that money but more importantly its wrong he doesn't owe that money and he should still be being paid CTC!

Any help would be so appreciated HM is hard to deal with!

ann1971

Do not deal with them direct. Go through your mp.

They are very willing to take cases like this on just now and as you did notify them and return details they requested it is most likely they will admit error and write this off

ann1971

I was in this position before and had to pay it back but have now receive a refund of the amount as it was found to be their er$ror. Without the involvment of my mp who kept on fighting unbeknown to me I dont think i would have got it back

staceysteve

Really? That seems so unusual...I mean seriously as long as we can get it written that's fine, even if the whole residency minefield is to much for HM to understand plus his ex will be no help and we are so used to drawing the shrot straw as his the father.

inneedofcash_2

Ask for a COP26 appeal from and appeal under section 26 and go and see your MP and ask him to write to support your case.

More people need to stand up to these fools and make them do there jobs correct

Zara33

Who is the child's main carer?

staceysteve

I'm so scared though we are just about to be interviewed for a council house that we have been waiting years for I'm scared they're going find out about this and take it all away from us!

Zara33

staceysteve wrote: »

I'm so scared though we are just about to be interviewed for a council house that we have been waiting years for I'm scared they're going find out about this and take it all away from us!

Find out about what a tax credit overpayment...I very much doubt this will have any affect whatsoever so stop worrying

staceysteve

But aren't tax arrears very bad? I know they will refuse if you have rent arrears which we don't I just feel so stressed by this whole thing, surely HN should know more than us not us having to hold their hand with all this!

Zara33

staceysteve wrote: »

Really? That seems so unusual...I mean seriously as long as we can get it written that's fine, even if the whole residency minefield is to much for HM to understand plus his ex will be no help and we are so used to drawing the shrot straw as his the father.

If your child lives with more than one person

If you're responsible for a child who sometimes lives with you and sometimes lives with someone else - for example your ex-partner - then only one of you can get tax credits for them. It's up to you and the other adult involved to decide who claims for the child. If you can't agree and both of you make a claim then the Tax Credit Office will decide after contacting you both. Child Tax Credit is usually paid directly to the person who is the child's main carer.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/who-qualifies/children/children-taxcredits.htm

Zara33

Your child lives at more than one address - claiming tax credits
Only one household can claim tax credits for a child. So if you look after a child who sometimes lives with you and sometimes lives with someone else, you'll have to decide who'll claim.
Who can claim tax credits?

It's up to you and the other person the child lives with to decide who'll claim. If the child doesn't live with you at all you can't claim, even if you're paying maintenance.
You're not the child's parent - can you get tax credits?
You have children - can you get tax credits for them?
What happens if you can't agree?

If you can't agree who'll claim, we'll decide for you. We'll contact both of you so that we can work out who the child's main carer is. The number of days the child lives with you is important but we'll also look at other things like:

• where the child keeps most of their clothes and toys
• who buys their clothes and food
• who gives them pocket money
• who takes them to appointments with the doctor or dentist
• which address is registered with the child's nursery, school, doctor and dentist
• who has legal custody of the child

If you're already getting tax credits for the child

If someone else makes a claim for a child you're getting tax credits for, we may ask you to tell us why you think you're the main carer. We'll then decide who should claim, based on the details that you and the other person give us. We'll keep paying you while we make our decision.
If you disagree with the decision

If you think our decision is wrong, you have the right to appeal against it. You can download the appeal form from our website.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/start/claiming/claim-children/more-one-address.htm