single working mother not entitled to tax credits

Mammato1

Hello, so sorry - I know how stressful it is as I am overpaid over £3000K and slowly paing back. The system put my earnings as 0 for the year before I started claiming, along story, not worth boring you with.

Anyway, I was in the same situation and I could either have 0 or still get something and then pay back. I did my calculations - and that showed I would have gone in debt with high interests pretty quick. So actually being overpaid was better - it is still debt but without horrible interest, if you see what I mean.

All the best to you - whatever you decide to do.

have you rang Gingerbread (an organisation for single parents)? The are very helpful, in my experience. They may have some more advice.

gabby71

Hiya Fiver

Yes she does walk sometimes, if her friends who also live outside the catchment area are also walking but most days they get a lift as they go early to their grandparents house.
All her other friends have bus passes so I feel it is unfair for her to walk on her own on those days that there is no one else to walk with!

Gab

joyzaphinengexpert5

Mammato1 wrote: »

Hello, so sorry - I know how stressful it is as I am overpaid over £3000K and slowly paing back. The system put my earnings as 0 for the year before I started claiming, along story, not worth boring you with.

Anyway, I was in the same situation and I could either have 0 or still get something and then pay back. I did my calculations - and that showed I would have gone in debt with high interests pretty quick. So actually being overpaid was better - it is still debt but without horrible interest, if you see what I mean.

All the best to you - whatever you decide to do.

have you rang Gingerbread (an organisation for single parents)? The are very helpful, in my experience. They may have some more advice.

Well if I'd started work in April instead of November they would have told me to put my prev. years earning as zero also. I can see what you mean about being overpaid being better than interest. I'm blessed that I have wonderful parents who I SWEAR must put money aside for just such this situation because they're right there ready to help. I might ring gingerbread actually, I've heard of them but didn't think. Thanks!

bbjohnny

This caught my eye and I feel angry for the OP. I have been in a similar situation in the past. Here's a woman doing her utmost in a respectable profession and what does she get for it? Into debt.

While most people would say you should always pay your rent before everything else - I would consider paying it last in this situation. You can't make yourself homeless and expect to receive assistance from the local council, but if you fall into rent arrears because you simply do not have enough money to cover your rent (and you clearly don't) then they will have to help you.

A move into affordable housing would be a big upheaval in your life but it could cut your rent almost in half.

Clearly the other option is to find cheaper childcare alternatives though I appreciate you've said you've tried everything you can think of in that respect.

Wish I could help more. Your situation is so unfair :mad:

Mammato1

bbjohnny wrote: »

This caught my eye and I feel angry for the OP. I have been in a similar situation in the past. Here's a woman doing her utmost in a respectable profession and what does she get for it? Into debt.

While most people would say you should always pay your rent before everything else - I would consider paying it last in this situation. You can't make yourself homeless and expect to receive assistance from the local council, but if you fall into rent arrears because you simply do not have enough money to cover your rent (and you clearly don't) then they will have to help you.

A move into affordable housing would be a big upheaval in your life but it could cut your rent almost in half.

Clearly the other option is to find cheaper childcare alternatives though I appreciate you've said you've tried everything you can think of in that respect.

Wish I could help more. Your situation is so unfair :mad:

Yes, absolutely agree and just hope it all will be worth something in the end (or am I naive?).
As for the childcare I don't know your situation but when they messed me up so badly first year I just took one of our students as a live-in babysitter. She was happy as she had a room and food and I had no childcare costs (but I did pay her weekly 'pocket' money), had a room to give away and she only worked set hours. Now I am better off on child and working tax credit that pays towards the nursery (even though I still am paying back - and will be for another 3 years!).

SuziQ

I live in Havering, and have had a similarly useless experience with CAB in the liberty! I am trying to hang onto my house-people keep telling me to let it go in the divorce but I can't seem to get people to understand how expensive renting is-you are the proof, as my mortgage is half your monthly rent payment! I do feel for you. There should be support for people like you (or lets face it-your ex should be forced to cough up maintenance! Mine never has in 14 years!)

koppita

To the OP - not sure if I have understood correctly but are you saying you advised them when your salary changed immediately so they were slow in applying changes and this led to the overpayment?

If so, ask for a CD with all your calls to them on it. I did this when I knew an overpayment I received was NOT my error. I also got itemised bills from BT so that I could see every time I had called HMRC just in case they failed to give me any calls. It does help to keep a record of every time you called and who you spoke to, I have learned from past experience

Spendless

Fiver29 wrote: »

Why doesn't your daughter walk? We live just inside the 3 mile boundary for free buses and DS (13) and DD (11) both walk. Although not together or they'd be pushing each other under buses.

:rotfl:That did make me laugh. Is cycling an option for your dd gabby?

joyzaphinengexpert5

koppita wrote: »

To the OP - not sure if I have understood correctly but are you saying you advised them when your salary changed immediately so they were slow in applying changes and this led to the overpayment?

If so, ask for a CD with all your calls to them on it. I did this when I knew an overpayment I received was NOT my error. I also got itemised bills from BT so that I could see every time I had called HMRC just in case they failed to give me any calls. It does help to keep a record of every time you called and who you spoke to, I have learned from past experience

The point is my salary has never changed. I simply told them when I started work in November 09, and updated them in the ?July reasessment as one does when their circumstances haven't changed.

The problem is that tax credits take a year to be april to april, and as I started work in November, the amount they had for Nov-April was around £10,000 so they called that my yearly wage. Clearly 6 months of work isn't a year to you and me but to them robots I guess it is.

I'm currently trying to dig out all my letters from tax credits. I like the idea of getting a CD because I'm sure my original claim and 1st update were done by phone.

I'm still waiting to hear from the housing benefit and council tax benefit people. If that leads nowhere I'm not sure what I'm going to do.