Tax credits say they haven't paid me enough for 05/06

jus71_2

I'm a bit confused (not difficult!)

I recieved a letter today from the Tax Credits office saying they didnt pay me enough for 2005/06 and will be sending the payment to me. I havent claimed Tax credits since then as I had to pay back over £1000 overpayment for 2 years I didnt tell them about my partners bonus (my own fault) After some calculations it seemed we were only entitled to about £6 a week tax credit so I haven't bothered claiming since 2006 for fear of another mess like that!

Has anyone else had this letter? I can't think why they have got in touch after almost 4 years. And how do they know they have underpaid me if I haven't been in touch with them?

frosty

Hi,we have just received the same letter,we had to pay back £3500.00,we notified them of all changes and they said everything was fine.Then 18 months later they wanted the money back.Knowing our luck it will be a few pounds underpayment then they will write to us next year and ask for it back because we werent entitled to it.

jus71_2

Well i rang them to find out why and they started asking me security questions from credit agencies, like year i moved into current property, last employer etc. Then she says 'oh sorry you have failed the questions' Now I have to go to my nearest jobcentre plus with 2 forms of id to get security checked! I'm not touching any refund until I know exactly what its for. They made us pay back 2 years worth over 12 months. but I'm sure I read somewhere they can't ask you to pay back more than one year at a time?

DreamerV

The new security is to reduce fraud. The information from experian cannot be seen by the advisers. They just type in your answers and then click ok, then the system will tell them at the end if it's pass or fail. They can't tell why answers were right or wrong. That system has already cut down on fake callers pretending to be the genuine ones (last I heard, the reduction was from 7-9% of callers, down to 0.06%), so it's basically to protect your identity, your claim. You only need to pass the system once, and then you can set up passwords for future use. If you refuse, they'll use hmrc data instead, but sometimes there isn't enough data to pass you, or you fail the questions asked, and you need to go to an enquiry centre for them to verify who you are in person. Then you can set up passwords for the future.

Most overpayments are caused by people underestimating their income or delaying in telling the tax credit helpline about a change in circumstance. Most underpayments are due to overestimating income. If you're being told about an underpayment years later, it's usually because of a tax credits review...but usually you would have got a letter telling you your claim was going to randomly be looked into and if you were underpaid they'll give it to you, and if overpaid they will not ask you for the overpayment back if found out through the review. Did any of you get a review letter?

frosty

We didnt receive a review letter.

Marli

There has been lots of work on old cases going on that were finalised wrongly due to the system. We have been working on them for a while to make them legal, I don't know how much I'm allowed to say so won't say much. It is probably that though and they should be able to tell you when you phone if this is why. There are a people in for a nice wee surprise!!

jus71_2

well i'm with frosty - too scared to spend it in case we get asked for it back again! I never got a review leter - just one that said i've been underpaid and will be getting a refund soon

jus71_2

well i got my payment today - £43.75. May as well spend it, wont break the bank if i have to pay it back!

frosty

I got mine aswell £95.70

fifipat

I got a letter in saying they were reviewing the award for 2005-06. I split with my husband in August of that year and when I phoned them they stopped my tax credits despite the fact that I was on Incapacity Benefit at the time. I eventually got the payments in December! Not sure if I was underpaid or not. Can anyone tell me what the rates were at that time? Since then I get paid by 4 weekly giros and have not received any annual statements. I periodically get a letter informing me of payment schedules.