Child Tax Credits - Dual recovery

JustRaider

Hi,
I've received a letter from HMRC Debt Management and Banking regarding a direct repayment of a child tax credit overpayment amount covering 2 years. The letter code is IDMS99.

However we are still receiving Child Tax credits monthly as normal. The only difference this year is that our son has started Further Education at a Sixth Form College. As he is in full time education HMRC have notified us that we are still entitled to Child Tax credit.
For many years now (back to 2006) we have had to accept a reduction in our child tax credit payments to pay back a regular amount of various Overpayments.

As we are already paying back the Overpayment through the ongoing method, why are we being asked to also pay the whole lot back by direct payment ?

I think the term is 'dual recovery'. I thought HMRC phased out the 'dual recovery' process a few years ago. I thought the way that overpayments could be recovered now was by either :
a) The ongoing method (reduction of payments on current tax
credits being paid)
OR
b) The direct method (A request to pay all the Overpayment
money back at A.S.A.P)

BUT NOT BOTH.

Has the law recently changed so that 'dual recovery' is now an option ?

Is there anyone else who has recently been involved in this 'dual recovery' process ?

Thanks,
JustRaider

pmlindyloo

The only new legislation that I can find about recovery of overpayments is this

http://www.revenuebenefits.org.uk/pdf/Info_for_CABx_advisers_cross_recovery.pdf

which comes into force in October.

Does that fit your circumstances?

Blondbubbles or Icequeen might know more about this.

FBaby

Could it be that your son starting 6th form has triggered the fact that there are only limited time left to recover the amount with the ongoing method?

pmlindyloo

Having read the two links and based on the information you have given I cannot see that you should be asked to pay back by the dual recovery method.

None of the circumstances which trigger the dual recovery seem to apply to you.

Personally I would ask under what circumstances dual recovery has been applied.

It could be that they applied dual recovery because they believed that your son was leaving full time education thereby ending your claim.

JustRaider

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Having read the two links and based on the information you have given I cannot see that you should be asked to pay back by the dual recovery method.

None of the circumstances which trigger the dual recovery seem to apply to you.

Personally I would ask under what circumstances dual recovery has been applied.

It could be that they applied dual recovery because they believed that your son was leaving full time education thereby ending your claim.

Hi pmlindyloo,

This is what I can't understand. We've not had an overpayment from an old award which has ended. Any overpayments have been made on our existing award which was started years ago when our 2 children were at primary school.

Thank you for your good advice, I now have information I need when I contact the Child Tax Credit office.

JustRaider

JustRaider

FBaby wrote: »

Could it be that your son starting 6th form has triggered the fact that there are only limited time left to recover the amount with the ongoing method?

Hi FBaby,

Yes, this is a good point. I do understand that eventually any outstanding overpayment has to be paid back, but I did assume that this would happen when my son left full-time education, not when he's just started it !

Thanks,
JustRaider

JustRaider

blondebubbles wrote: »

Page 14 of their COP26 mentions it - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.pdf

Hi blondebubbles,

Thanks for this link.
There is some useful information in here.

JustRaider

zagfles

The links above just seem to concern old awards eg where household change adults etc.

OP I imagine what's happened here is that the award would have ended had your son left education, and they don't update the system to reflect he isn't till Sept. So maybe before Sept TCO passed the debt onto HMRC debt management because your award looked like it was ending.

Just a guess...

JustRaider

zagfles wrote: »

The links above just seem to concern old awards eg where household change adults etc.

OP I imagine what's happened here is that the award would have ended had your son left education, and they don't update the system to reflect he isn't till Sept. So maybe before Sept TCO passed the debt onto HMRC debt management because your award looked like it was ending.

Just a guess...

Hi Zagfles,

Yes, this scenario could explain it. I guess the TCO and HMRC Debt Management and Banking have their own computer system. Like
you say the details on the TCO system, haven't been updated on the
Debt Management and Banking System.

Thanks,
JustRaider