tax credit overpayment/bailiffs!

gazz7878

need a bit of advuice here if poss...

a while ago..about 7 month i looked a dispute against overpayment of tax creditss...didnt hear anything back then moved house..phoned the inland revenue tax credits dept and asked if there had been any letters sent to my new address and they said no and just wait, i gave them my new address and just waited, still hadnt heard anything, no letters, calls or anything, until today, just had a hand delivered letter saying bailiffs have been to collect the money...surely this cant be legal, without any contact at all?

System

Ring them up and find out if they actually received your dispute letter and if so when was it processed and a decision sent out. If they did receive it and a decision was issued to your old address prior to you telling them of your new address then that could be the problem. Also if a decision has already been made ask for a copy and if you have new evidence to refute their findings you can ask for a review of the inital decision.

If they didn't receive your dispute letter then as far as they are concerned you have ignored the overpayment. Ask for a dispute form and Cop26 and get it in as quickly as possible. Recovery of the overpayment should be suspended whilst the dispute is being dealt with.

gazz7878

if they have rejected the dispute will they make me pay back the full ammount or will i be able to make small monthly payments?

C_Ronaldo

my mum had a letter saying she had been overpayed by X amount and shes making payment over so many months

phone up and say "look i cant afford to pay the whole straight away as its been spent, but i could set up a direct debit for x amount each month"

System

If you still have to pay it back ask for Time To Pay on the grounds that you can't afford to pay it all at once because it would affect your ability to pay your normal household bills like food and fuel etc. They should come to an arrangement with you.