Grounds for write-off?

rubuhoeikanaika

Hi there,

This is on behalf of my parents. So the situation is - they were overpaid tax credits to the tune of £3000, and the tax credits people have demanded repayment, at £300/month. I don't really know any details other than that - they have kept next to no records, which is frustrating.

This is causing hardship to the 'rents, as it's a lot of cash. I'm also slightly unhappy with the way the collections people bamboozled them when they were sleeping after a nightshift and obviously groggy.

I've called the tax credits helpline and requested an appeal form.

My question is- is the hardship alone enough for them to reduce or abandon the overpayment reclaim? Or is this insufficient grounds.

Cheers!

rubuhoeikanaika

System

Hardship is not grounds for having the overpayment written off. However hardship does mean they can negotiate repayment over a longer period. Effectively they can ask for "Time To Pay" and they will have to provide income and expenditure details.

However if they don't know how the overpayment occurred I would advise asking for a full explanation before disputing the overpayment.

The dispute form is at this link http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/forms/tc846.pdf