overpayments appeal

charlieh11_2

Hi, hoping for some advice/opinions

Last year i renewed my tax credits, it didnt happen till the 8th of august as i just couldnt get through to them on the phone.

Anyway the week after they paid me around £200 extra, i thought this maybe a top up payment as i had not earned as much as i predicted. It took a further 2 weeks for the paper week to come through. I just glanced through it checking childcare costs amounts were correct and that my work hours had increased (as i had informed them) and that my partners working hours were correct.
Everything seemed to be correct.

Anyway they continued to pay me this extra £200 a week and after speaking to a friend who earns a similiar amount realised something didnt seem right. I checked the award certificate again only to realise they had my partner as working 40 hours a week which is correct but had his earnings as £0!

It took me another 2 weeks to get through on the phone again and i pointed out the error. So overall i had about 7 weeks of overpayments until they corrected the error and the amount payable dropped back down.

Now the problem is they are going to want this overpayment back when i renew this week.

I dont think i should have to repay as i see it as there mistake!!
Why when i told them my partner works 40hrs a week did they not question why his earnings were £0 ( i never once told them he earned £0, i gave them his correct wage)

What do you guys think?? Do i have a case not to repay?

Many thanks in advance

Nyfle

It's part of the deal that you check the award notice to make sure it's correct, I'm afraid. Given that fact, I don't think an appeal would get very far.

Sam____2

If you felt that something was wrong from the outset then perhaps you should have been putting the overpayment money to one side, in order to give it back once they had sorted out your claim. It's down to you to check the details on your renewal and inform them if anything is incorect. Yes you will have to pay it back...

DorsetGirl_2

Nyfle wrote: »

It's part of the deal that you check the award notice to make sure it's correct, I'm afraid. Given that fact, I don't think an appeal would get very far.

I agree. Sorry for your situation but I dont think an appeal will work because its up to you to check the award notice.

charlieh11_2

Thanks for your opinions

Not really what i wanted to hear lol

Just to confirm i wasnt suspisious (sp) about the increased payments, like i said i originally thought that this was because i didnt earn as much as i estimated i would.

I may ask them to consider (if possible) meeting me half way considering i gave them the correct information over the phone, the operator has obviously cocked it up regarding partners income but like you say it is up to me to check over the award certificate with more care! It just annoys me that it takes so long for them to send out award certificates and hours of trying to get through to them on the phone to correct/quiery anything.


Thanks again

skintandscared_2

As Martin himself was saying on Daybreak only a couple of weeks ago, check, check, check then check again the forms. This particular form of benefit is so notoriously bad for mistakes and everyone is aware of the huge repayments people have had to make. I think a lot of people are actually put off even claiming them for all the repayment horror stories there have been. But yes, you will have to repay all the extra money they have given you. If you discovered it a couple of weeks ago, presumably you have put aside the couple of extra payments you received while you were trying to get through on the phone, and can pay those straight back? So it should be 5 weeks x £200 = £1,000 to repay. They may well let you repay in instalments, but have you actually spent it all? That's an awful lot of money in just 5 weeks....

Darlyd

They missed a sum out of DH wages last year. End's up we have to pay back nearly 7k. So think yourself lucky! (first time claiming TC)

And check check check check.

Nyfle

darlyd wrote: »

They missed a sum out of DH wages last year. End's up we have to pay back nearly 7k. So think yourself lucky! (first time claiming TC)

And check check check check.

Yikes! :eek:

Hearing stories like yours makes me feel I did the right thing in not claiming tax credits..

katielife

I was in a similar position in 2004, however what was different was my forms were all correct, there was an error at tax credits end which resulted in the overpayment...they also had that my husband had no income, even though the award letter stated his actual income...we appealed and didn't have to pay back a penny...though it was a long fought process and involved out local MP...if you can prove you told them the amounts or sent the form in, I would appeal...I had phoned when I got my award letter querying it & was told it was correct, wasn't till I changed jobs that it was all re-entered and the mistake found! Good Luck!

zaksmum

Something similar has happened to my friend, too. She now owes 1K back to tax credits and is attempting to prove the mistake wasn't hers, but theirs.

Probably very little chance of success but worth a try as there's nothing to lose.

happy_lass

well we have a problem with them. I informed them of a change of circumstances on several occasions. I wrote down the name of the person i was speaking to, the date, the time and told them what our change was. Each time i was told that our award was correct and that everything was fine. I questioned them on several occasions about this change of circumstance cos i was sure that what they were telling me was incorrect. But each time they came back with the same answer 'no, everything is fine' . so i took their word for it. Then they hit us with a whammy and a 2K overpayment which we have got to pay back. With hindsight (such a wonderful thing) we should of put the money into a seperate account and just left it there just in case their was an overpayment and then we could just pay it back. But we didnt and now we have got to pay it. So always check check check. They are a nightmare to deal with and trying to get hold of them on the phone is like trying to get blood out of a stone !