high income child benefit charge grrrrrr

Mistermeaner

Hi all

Will try and keep brief

I earn 50k+ and claim no benefits or tax credit of any kind.

I have a son age7 was married but got divorced in jan 2011, son technically lives with mum who gets whatever benefit etc she is entitled to (not relevant but she has remarried) i now live alone.

Seen the news re child benefit charges and received some vague letters from hmrc about the need to register to self ssessment if i am receiving cb but stating i can ignore if i am not. I duly ignored.

Last letter some time in jan asked me to log on hmrc and declare that i am not receiving cb. Which i did

Should also mention i am straight paye and have no other income or savings

After doing form in jan i thought it worth a call to hmrc to confirm i need do nthing, this is where trouble started.

Unbeknown to me before this call, apparently the cb claim is in my name (despite it being paid to my e x for over 3 years) and i have never ever received anything from them in all this time. Even the vague letters i received saif IF i receive cb i must do xyz but as i didnt receive anything i didnt do xyz

Now im trapped in the hmrc wheels and been advised i will be fined for not having regidtered for sa etc even though i didnt think i should, their position being i should have known i was receiving cb (even though it was my ex not me!)

Had a few phone calls with people at hmrc who all say they understand and someone will call me but i keep receiving vague and confusing letters along lines of "our records show" they wont accept their records are wrong.

What probably happened (and neither me the ex or hmrc have any definitive records) is that at the time of divorce in jan 2011 the cb was put to the ex bank account but left in my name , at the time there was no cb charge so this wouldnt of mattered.

Now in the position of being fined for not doing sa and for receiving cb when i have not received cb and did not need to register for sa.... they avknowledge i have not been receiving cb but state in letters that clsim was in my name therefore i am liable , at no time before i phoned them was i made aware the claim was in my name.

Feel like . I am getting royally shafted. Help

Apols for bad tyoing but workin on kindle

StormyWeather_2

If the claim is in your name then you will be liable. You aren't being shafted, you should have changed the cb claim to your ex name.

How much is the fine?

Mistermeaner

Amount of fine not yet confirmed

Get that if its in my name i am liabe (thats what they are saying) but fact its in my name is because their records are wrong, it is my ex who receives it

If at any point in the last few years i had been advised it was in my name i would have changed it, but how could i know it was in my name when i do not receive anything?

StormyWeather_2

It can be in your name and the payment goes into your ex's bank account.

Which one of you applied 7 years ago?

Mistermeaner

As married at time we divided the labour, clearly it was me but this was in 2006 when son born

Role forward 4 years and we get divorced, we contact hmrc to sort all ta x credit and cb so that ex gets everything, clearly for whatever reason cb was left in name but paid to her

Point is that i did not know it was in my name, and though it was in their records they never told me.

At time of informing them if divorce was it not their place to advise us how to sort things?

As stated in op i have responded to each letter when required and told them i do not receive cb - it is their records that are wrong, their mistake the cb is in my name not hers

StormyWeather_2

ggb1979 wrote: »

As married at time we divided the labour, clearly it was me but this was in 2006 when son born

Role forward 4 years and we get divorced, we contact hmrc to sort all ta x credit and cb so that ex gets everything, clearly for whatever reason cb was left in name but paid to her

Point is that i did not know it was in my name, and though it was in their records they never told me.

At time of informing them if divorce was it not their place to advise us how to sort things?

As stated in op i have responded to each letter when required and told them i do not receive cb - it is their records that are wrong, their mistake the cb is in my name not hers

So your ex has been receiving tax credit since you contacted them re the divorce?

Stop making phone calls and put something in writing. Dig out whatever evidence you have that supports you informing them of the divorce and that the cb should go to your ex.

Send anything by recorded or special delivery.

Mistermeaner

Yes ex received everything since divorce over 3 years ago, ive not had a penny

Was looking into digging out info from 2010 but as you can imagine records arent great (it was 3 years ago and was in middle of divorce)

Thanks for interest and replies, i think i will have to write but i cant imagine i am the only one in this position, even if i had done sa i would not have declared cb as i did not know it was "me" who was receiving it

Bizarre they want people to do sa to tell them what they already know , but that they did not tell me that i am receiving cb