Alleged tac credit debt

amstel2

Hello

A relative has recd a demand to repay an alleged tax credit debt from 2008. He says he did get Tax Credits for his daughter while she was in college but he did not claim tax credits in 2008 as she had left college & moved away to become a full time mum.

I advised him to ring up & request that they explain the debt & send him all the evidence which as far as i know they are obliged to do under the FOI & Data Protection Acts.

He told me when he rang they where very vague & un-helpful & he got put through to several staff. The bottom line is that they told him they are not obliged to prove the debt & refused to send any evidence & just told him to pay it.

Surely this can't be right. He is very worried & says their is no way he can find this money.

Any advice please.

Thanks

Icequeen99

amstel2 wrote: »

Hello

A relative has recd a demand to repay an alleged tax credit debt from 2008. He says he did get Tax Credits for his daughter while she was in college but he did not claim tax credits in 2008 as she had left college & moved away to become a full time mum.

I advised him to ring up & request that they explain the debt & send him all the evidence which as far as i know they are obliged to do under the FOI & Data Protection Acts.

He told me when he rang they where very vague & un-helpful & he got put through to several staff. The bottom line is that they told him they are not obliged to prove the debt & refused to send any evidence & just told him to pay it.

Surely this can't be right. He is very worried & says their is no way he can find this money.

Any advice please.

Thanks

He can do a data protection request for his records, that isn't a problem. He just needs to send a request in writing.

He can also dispute the debt using the TC846 form.

However, neither action will stop recovery of the debt. So in the meantime he needs to arrange to repay whilst he goes through those two processes.

IQ

dodger1

Icequeen99 wrote: »

He can do a data protection request for his records, that isn't a problem. He just needs to send a request in writing.

He can also dispute the debt using the TC846 form.

However, neither action will stop recovery of the debt. So in the meantime he needs to arrange to repay whilst he goes through those two processes.

IQ

Surely he shouldn't repay something that is not actually owed. OP states demand is for 2008 and OP's relative states he didn't receive any tax credits in 2008.

bloolagoon

dodger1 wrote: »

Surely he shouldn't repay something that is not actually owed. OP states demand is for 2008 and OP's relative states he didn't receive any tax credits in 2008.

College normally ends in July and tax credits start from April, there could be a chance they were paid fur this short period of time.

Icequeen99

dodger1 wrote: »

Surely he shouldn't repay something that is not actually owed. OP states demand is for 2008 and OP's relative states he didn't receive any tax credits in 2008.

He has a choice not to pay, but HMRC will continue enforcement action for the debt.

If he successfully disputes it, he will be refunded any repayments.

IQ

dodger1

Icequeen99 wrote: »

He has a choice not to pay, but HMRC will continue enforcement action for the debt.

If he successfully disputes it, he will be refunded any repayments.

IQ

Obviously one has to be absolutely certain of the facts, but if it was me and I was certain I'd let them take me to court. HMRC aren't perfect, they do make mistakes.

Icequeen99

dodger1 wrote: »

Obviously one has to be absolutely certain of the facts, but if it was me and I was certain I'd let them take me to court. HMRC aren't perfect, they do make mistakes.

Having dealt with several tax credit county court debts, I would always advise someone not to do this. Most Judges believe that once HMRC produce a certificate of debt, the debt is owed and won't look much into the detail behind it. That is not strictly true for tax credit cases.

Also, Judges expect claimants to have followed the correct procedures - in this case disputing and then complaints process to the Adjudicator.

Finally, HMRC actually prefer not to use court action these days - their other methods of recovery include distraint and altering your tax code so not as simple as just going to court.

OP indeed needs to collect the evidence and ensure he follows the right process to challenge.

IQ

amstel2

Thanks everyone. I spoke to a friend who works in HMRC & they weren't suprises at the "attitudeproblem" of some HMRC staff. They say a lot of staff are bullied, not trained properly, & have to work with a system that doesn't work (glad i don't work their).

They advise write in using registered post (to prove HMRC have recd it) making a formal information request & request an an appeal form. They say the amount allegedly owed is peanuts to what they deal with & will prob just go round in circles in the rubbish system for ever more.

Icequeen99

amstel2 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I spoke to a friend who works in HMRC & they weren't suprises at the "attitudeproblem" of some HMRC staff. They say a lot of staff are bullied, not trained properly, & have to work with a system that doesn't work (glad i don't work their).

They advise write in using registered post (to prove HMRC have recd it) making a formal information request & request an an appeal form. They say the amount allegedly owed is peanuts to what they deal with & will prob just go round in circles in the rubbish system for ever more.

Requesting an appeal form is a waste of time. If anything you will need to dispute - which is a different form. The appeal time limit is 30 days from final decision or at most 13 months from final decision so the appeal time limit will have past. Also, appeals are for when HMRC have calculated incorrectly not when the person is asking HMRC to write off an actual overpayment.

Also disputes now carry a 3 month time limit from the date of the final award notice (new rule introduced this tax year). Which means depending on when he got his final award notice he may be out of time to dispute it as well.

IQ