CTC investigation

LindseyM

Hi, I was just looking for some advice please...

I started claiming CTC in April 2006 and they backdated it to Feb 06. I've received a letter saying that they're investigating for the period Feb 06 - Apr 06 and they need my income information.

Thing is, when I claimed, all they ask for is your P60 income details, which I provided. Now they're asking for mortgage statements, utility bills, loan agreements, credit card/bank statements, childcare agreements, wage slips, all kinds!!

I'm not really worried because I have nothing to hide and I gave them the right figures - I still have all my paperwork for the period they want, but I was just wondering if anyone else had been through this? Why do they need all this information when its not a means tested benefit and goes on income/childcare cost only?

Any input would be great, cheers
Lindsey

LindseyM

not sure if this is allowed but i think this has probably been lost under all the other posts, was hoping someone might see it and have some input...?

many thanks

babyboo42

have to say this does sound odd,my experience is with DWP so i'm not a CTB expert i'm afraid.When you initially claimed and they backdated did you ask for it to be backdated? As far as I can understand they have no right to ask for information other than is requested on a claim form.Anything else is irrelevant.You are not required to provide anything else apart from information requested on a claim form.
I could be wrong but when any dept tries something like this it's usually to try and prove another person was in residence at the address during that time frame or that you were resident there.
all very odd ....

Trafficcone

I would guess they are looking at either undeclared partner or undisclosed income source.

They have links to every system including electoral roll, who pays your bills, they can do credit searches to who is linked to the House

Hope this helps

System

Could be that someone else is using your National Insurance number in a Tax credit claim either deliberately or by mistake and they are wanting to verify your identity.

shaunkate

:mad: Hi
Iam in the same situ as you and i dont know why they want all details but like you i have nothing to hide but i think it all wrong and lack of privacy. They do access to the sytems to find out our details and i think this is awful so iam in the process of asking the CAB if they are allowed to do this. regards :mad:

LindseyM

Well I do have a partner but they are not living with me and certainly have nothing to connect them to my house.

I'm sending the stuff off tomorrow so i'll see what I hear back - i just feel really miffed that I've got to send them all my bank statements and whatnot, it feels like they are imposing on my privacy!

Oh welll........:rolleyes:

DazzerG

.....or they could just be checking to make sure you are who you say you are, and earning what you say you've earned.

They are required to protect Tax payers money by making enquiries about claimants, this would be done as a random selection or following up on a compliance issue.

LindseyM

Hi guys,

Got my response back and all is well - isn't it awful when you feel guilty when you haven't done anything wrong?? I suppose I should feel glad that they do these checks to make sure people aren't claiming what they shouldn't be - I am a taxpayer myself after all...

Thanks all for your input!!

Linds

jadzia

Hi,
i just wondered,can you tell me how long it took to get your response back from them once you sent them all the stuff they wanted?,i posted mine off a couple of days ago,just wondered how long it will take!!,thanks

troublegum

Chances are there is something about your claim which has generated a "risk" (for example a large amount of child care costs, an unusually low income or any number or things) which in turn causes your claim to appear on a list for the Tax Credit compliance officers to investigate. A lot of the time, this is a random thing and doesn't in any way mean that you have something to hide or anything to feel guilty about. It is merely a way to reduce the instances of incorrect tax credit claims (whether by deliberate fraud or accidental negligence) by selecting certain claims and investigating them.

Much the same sort of thing is done to taxpayers within the Self Assessment system.