tax credits asking oh to payback from 7 years ago

jessie1135

my other half has a letter today in the name of him and his ex who split up in 2004,,,,,saying he owes nealr 500 pounds and giving him one month to pay up,,,,,no idea bout this and first he knew either,,,,he has called them and theyve said its from 2003,,,,,,hes offered to pay back 10 a week by direct debit and they said that its half the amount and his ex is paying the same amount aswell......... how do we know thats true??? and can they do this after so long? im preety peeved as thats 40 a month out of our household now gone.

bunny999

Money owed to the tax people is never written off.

jessie1135

im just shocked after so long to get a letter out of the blue like this,,it also says on latter aout ways to pay see previous demands for payment letter but this is the first one hes had? does this mean they have been chasing his ex all this time aswell for it and eventually tried my other half? thy asked if he knew his ex address...she no longer gets tax credits as their daughter lives with us so guessthats why they dont have her most recent addy but they would have known where she was as she claimed till last summer when sd moved in...... it just seems very odd to have taken years to off acted on it.

broxiebear1

jessie1135 wrote: »

im just shocked after so long to get a letter out of the blue like this,,it also says on latter aout ways to pay see previous demands for payment letter but this is the first one hes had? does this mean they have been chasing his ex all this time aswell for it and eventually tried my other half? thy asked if he knew his ex address...she no longer gets tax credits as their daughter lives with us so guessthats why they dont have her most recent addy but they would have known where she was as she claimed till last summer when sd moved in...... it just seems very odd to have taken years to off acted on it.

i think its this !!!!ing goverment clawing money in i recieved a letter last week demanding money for overpayment £1900 pay in 10 days or we might go to court for it

jessie1135

thats what his letter said about court to?? weve bee clamining tax credits as a couple for 2 years and hes always been employed so he would always of been traceable tp pay this back which is why it was a bit of a shock ho huuuum least he only has to pay 10 a week as would be stuffed to pay within a month hhmmnn

AnxiousMum

broxiebear1 wrote: »

i think its this !!!!ing goverment clawing money in i recieved a letter last week demanding money for overpayment £1900 pay in 10 days or we might go to court for it

It's not THIS government's fault....it's the previous government that let it get so out of control that so many overpayments have gone uncollected, and now to try and sort the mess out, overpayments from previous years are being collected. Unfortunately, they probably have to demand the money and threaten with court in order to get people to contact them. As the other poster has done, I'm sure they will be open to a suitable repayment schedule. Better to do it now than have it deducted off of pension monies years down the road!

fermi

Who is the letter from exactly? Direct from them, or has it been passed onto a debt collector?

Depending on when a final decision on the overpayment was made, the debt may be statute barred.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=25_liability_for_debts_and_the_limitation_act

If the debt is statute barred, that doesn't mean the debt isn't owed. It just means that they cannot take legal action through the courts to recover it. As explained in that link, they can if necessary deduct from future entitlements.

fermi

bunny999 wrote: »

Money owed to the government is never statute barred.

Not true.

You are thinking of Income Tax/VAT/duty. They cannot be statute barred.

Tax credits CAN be statute barred.

fermi

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/dmbmanual/dmbm595080.htm

DMBM595080 - Pre-enforcement: Limits in enforcement proceedings: Limitation legislation

Limitation Act 1980

England and Wales

Debts that are not tax

In England and Wales only, the Limitation Act 1980 provides that recovery action for debts should commence within six years from the debt becoming payable. But Section 37(2) of the Act excludes proceedings for recovery of tax or duty and interest on tax or duty thus there is no time limit for those debts.

Other debts that are not tax, for example

• contract settlements
• tax credit overpayments
• Child benefit overpayments
• National Insurance Contributions
• Statutory payment recoveries (Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay)
• overpaid Child Trust Fund contributions
• Student Loan repayments and
• National Minimum Wage Act penalties

are subject to the Limitation Act, and action must be taken within six years “from the date on which the cause of action accrued”. In this context the date on which the cause of action accrued is the original due date of the liability.
If an action is not taken within the time limit, it could be defended successfully on the grounds of limitation.
The date for limitation may be advanced by a number of means;

• payment made against the debt (where tax and NIC are being collected alongside each other, unless a debtor specifies otherwise, assume that any payment on account is made against both)
• acknowledgment of the debt - the acknowledgment must be both explicit and unequivocal. Contact the Enforcement Technical Team, Shipley if you have a case to which this might apply
• where the debtor has concealed any material facts in relation to the debt which prevented the creditor pursuing the debt from the date it should have been paid. Consult the Enforcement Technical Team, Shipley if you have a case to which this might apply.