Debt by accident.....

raggy_2

I'm pretty new to this board. Been on and off the site loads of times but never posted. Anyway......

I'm struck with how much debt some are in and how damn easy it is to get there. I have recently cleared some very minor debts (about £600 in total) I do have a few hundred pounds on my credit card, which, as I rarely use, I have just cut up, paid £150 off it and set a standing order up to clear the rest over the next 6 months.

However, what's really got my goat is a letter from the Tax Credit peeps. It would seem I've been over paid two years ago to the sum of £2999.70!
I have phoned them up and apparently, it's correct. So now, having managed to somehow avoid serious debt all my adult life, I've got 3 thousandish to find.

Now, in the scheme of things, it's not much compared to some on here and I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm comparing my circumstances to theirs. But I'm fairly :mad: at the thought of how it's happened. Has anyone else suddenly found that they're in debt, quite by accident/ someone elses error?

I actually feel quite sick.

loubie_lou

Are these tax credit people imbeciles???? I know how you feel...sort of! My mumfound out last month that she 'owes' nearly two grand!! My dad wasn't happy I can tell you!:mad: :mad: :mad:

duncans-mum_2

Not been in that situation myself, but a friend of mine is. Told last year she was underpaid and had to pay back X amount back each month, and now they are saying it was wrong again. I think she has been in touch with CAB for some help and to get it double checked. Its quite frightening how they can make such big mistakes in a lot of peoples cases.

ReportInvestor

Here's some background from the BBC

You are not alone.

In two consecutive years they overpaid £2bn each year.

That's an average of £1,000 overpayment per claim.

You couldn't make it up . Tax credits are great in theory, but in practice they produce mind-numbing bureaucracy and are impossible to understand for both civil servants and beneficiaries.

Gordon Brown simply set the civil servants an impossible task. If he was the chief executive of a company, he would have been replaced for such a mess.

lynzpower

this is the worst.

Theres a big long thread at the top of the Families board I think about tax credit ball-s ups. I think this is a national scandal

Merlin139

Tax credits and Childrens Tax Credits have been a disaster for so many people. How do they expect people to manage!!!!!

I have been lucky in that I have only been overpaid £324.00 in Childrens Tax Credits from 3 years ago. We don't get it anymore both kids now adults. I can pay this off in one go very easily but I asked to pay it over 12 months by direct debit.

3 years and 5 letters later I have still not recieved any paperwork but it still appeared on our Tax Credits reveue.

One day they might ask for it. and I will still go down the route of paying it off in 12 installments.

needaspirin

HMRC should not recover Tax Credit overpayments in certain circumstances.

According to the Code of Practice, an overpayment can be written off where the claimant can show that it resulted from a mistake by HMRC, or in exceptional circumstances, recovery would cause hardship to the claimant or her/his family.

A claimant will need specifically to ask HMRC not to recover an overpayment.


However, in practice, HMRC always tries to put the blame on the claimant by stating that they should have known that they were getting too much. I always suggest to claimants that even if they believe they are getting the correct amount, they should WRITE questioning the amount and asking if this is correct. Keep both a copy of the letter and the reply in case HMRC "lose" theirs. Use this in evidence if overpayment occurs, and provided that the claimant provided all the correct information initially, the overpayment should be written off.

I have had thousands of pounds of claimants’ overpayments written off by following this simple procedure.


Code Of Practice, COP26. Here

brodymaddison

I personally think that it's their mistake not yours so why should you pay it back. If they got it right in the first place, you wouldn't be in this situation.

Idiots!

msmicawber

I agree with you brodymaddison. If the benefits agencies had to write off overpayments every time it was their fault then, because it would be such a waste of public money, something would be done about their inefficiencies and incompetence. As things stand, the claimants are often forced into debt or loaded with bank charges, which is very wrong and those without first hand knowledge of the benefits system don't realise how serious and widespread the problem is.

raggy_2

The way my 'overpayment' has worked is that in the tax year 2005/2006 joint income into our house was over 27k. The Tax Credits paid to 'us' were 'X' amount. As it was initially awarded based on my earnings alone, roughly just over 15k, that is how the overpayment occurred.

However, I claimed as a single person, as me and the other half had separated. I actually went to a local tax office in September of last year and had it all done by a tax office assistant. All I did was sit there, giving the required answers and provide wage stuff etc. She logged all the details, me, kids and so on. That was it.

Now, she did ask me for husbands earnings with regard to me and him splitting back in the January of that year. I wasn't even earning at that point, being still at university. So, if you look back to 04/05, any credits paid for that year were joint but done on one wage. His.

So, I'm confused. The TC peeps say it's because it goes back two years, that we are all paid 'behind'. I'm confused. Me and him split in January 2005. In the tax year 04/05, we were together for most of it and did claim together, as you do.

However, as I stated earlier, I wasn't earning, and haven't for three years previous due to being a full time student. I didn't have a job. So, if, when I claimed last year, in September, I claimed as a single person, how the hell did his earnings come into it? He wasn't there, I only gave my earnings and circumstances, not his.

Plus, this years tax credits are based on my wage from April last year to April this year(05/06). So, how come they've used my 05/06 earning twice??

Massively puzzled here!

cattie1

have you wrote to them stating all that?
I did exactly the same as you split with partner went into office and woman did it all-she even said "they've made a mess of this you have about 10 claims" from when my circumstances had changed, i got back 2gether with partner INFORMED them but are saying i didn't tell them anything, so i wrote to them and the told me i had "no right of appeal" and wouldn't take the money off my weekly money as now it was a joint claim instead of single! they just like to baffle you until you give up but with everything you've just wrote surely you should be able to appeal due to their stupidity-sorry but they get on my nerves so much!