GULP! I have no proof.

bookend

Yes that's everything that I gave at the outset.

Cate1976

Don't know if HMRC would accept it given the circumstances, but if you're still in contact with any of the other parents of children from the playgroup, ask them to write a letter saying that your child attended the playgroup.

The trustees of the nursery will still have records for this tax year. so contacting them should get the information you need. Even though you were only given a piece of paper each week, is it possible that you were given the top copy from a duplicate or triplicate receipts book? If the playgroup was, then the trustees will should still have the bottom copy of each piece of paper they gave you. They then put it in writing how much you paid each week.

It would be worth you contacting tax credits to explain that you're trying to get proof of child care costs but it will take time and if the letter you have says you only have a month to get the information back, ask if the deadline can be extended.

hope this helps & that you get the situation sorted soon.

bookend

Thank you Cate1976
Yes I had the top copy and they kept the bottom copy.
I don't really know any of the other mums as I moved here from my home town of London and didn't know anyone, but I'm sure now that I can track them via the link given or maybe our priest.
Fingers crossed it gets sorted. My silly mistake throwing stuff away. I just thought "well my claim has ended so won't need these"
Massive lesson learnt.

FBaby

MacMickster wrote: »

If you paid cash, can you show that amount of cash being withdrawn on the same day each week and stopping when the nursery closed, or at the very least demonstrate that you are now, on average, withdrawing that amount of cash less from the bank weekly?

At the end of the day, if they tried to claim these payments back from you and you took your appeals as far as the courts then the matter would be decided on the balance of probabilities.

If you can provide evidence that the nursery closed when your claim ended, and you were clearly drawing more cash from the bank prior to that date then you should be OK.

Surely that's the obvious response! Try to find a parent who still has one of those receipt, which I would assum stipulate number of hours/sessions. This can then be matched to what you would have paid which should match to the nearest £10 the amount you withdrew regularly?

NYM

From reading the links that dori2o has provided I think your best course of action would be to contact one of the Trustees. They will have retained all the records to enable them to comply with their own obligations to HMRC.

Poppie68

The best route is to contact the trustees and ask them to provide the proof of attendance and payments.
Bank statements are only going to prove you took money out regularly, if you took £100 out every Monday and the nursery fees were £100 It still doesn't prove you paid a nursery. HMRC want absolute proof and not probabilities.

bookend

Thank you to everyone for your responses.
I recognised a name on the trustees list. I found her 9 Facebook and sent her a message and I now have full contact details for their new nursery. So after half Term I'll pop in and see them.
I also spoke to tax credits in Belfast who said I have until March 10th to provide evidence. Hopefully a letter without the receipts will be enough. Wish me luck!