Letter from Tax Credit Compliance Team

missteapot

Hi

Hope someone can reassure me this is nothing to worry about, just received a letter from the tax credit compliance team which states that they have "selected my claim for review". They are wanting me to provide information about my childcare provider and receipts of actual childcare payments. This information i can get from my nursery (they don't give me a receipt, i pay by cheque and just sign a book, strange i know but its the way they work!

Last May i changed my working days - was working 4 days but asked if i could work 3 days instead although still working the same hours which are 20. I tried to phone tax credits to notify them about change in childcare as i wouldn't be paying as much but couldnt get through so sent a letter to them and never heard anything back from them and my monthly payments continued as normal. To be honest it slipped by mind and on reflexion i maybe should have chased it up.

Felt sick when i opened this letter this morning, i am an honest hard working single mum (like many on here) and was dreading the renewing my tax credits award this year anyway what with all the cuts, etc that other people on here have been talking about.

Has anyone else had dealings with this??

Thanks.

DeeMarie89

Do you still have a copy of the letter you sent? Did you send it recorded delivery?

dundeediva

what was the cost difference?

Aarons_mummy

It's probably because you're claiming the childcare element that you have been randomly selected for a review.

As the others have said did you send the letter recorded delivery or have a receipt to prove that it was sent? If not you may have to end up paying back any overpayment that has arisen.

tinkerbell28

I wonder how many people on "reflection" would let it slip their mind and forget to chase ctc up if they thought they were owed money rather than suspecting overpayments.

The thing is you know really with less childcare, your payments should have gone down, you know that and know it's an overpayment.

Unless you can provide proof you notified them, then they may dig deeper. The compliance team are checking you aren't fiddling the childcare figures basically. For some they check if you really are single for example if something flags up, etc, etc. They are there to check the details of your claim, whatever the reason.

I expect you'll have an over payment.

lovesavingmoney

I had one last year, or year before, and I think if I remember rightly it was because hubby had changed from employed to self-employed, and although I had told them (had new award notice to prove it) what I was giving as earnings, didn't match up with the previous years. (Obvisouly as he was working as a paid employee etc...)

All ok, and took 5 mins on phone and perhaps a letter, but was nothing for me to worry about - although I paniced myself silly!!!

Missymoo6

I've had exactly the same letter!! I feel the same, it always makes me worry when I get a letter from them! Have you sent your info off?

Kimi31

Ive had one too and just posted!!!
Im not worried so much as im not fiddling the system. Just panicked cos i cant find the info they are asking for but it can be replaced once i speak to the nursery next week....

They are obviously just doing a mass of random checks....

dollyrose

Glad I found this thread! been googling since I got my letter yesturday, bit mean they sent them so they are received on saturday before the bank holiday!