Repaying child benefit overpayment

jayII

TELLIT01 wrote: »

What are you seeing where the OP says they have items they can sell but won't?

I was wondering that too. A few pounds worth of stuff that losing/selling would cause disproportionate hardship to the OP and her family.

John-K wrote: »

A sense of entitlement, mainly. Why, what do you see?

I didn't see them trying to avoid paying back.

The OP just seems to be in a really tough situation (chronic illness with young children to care for is no fun) and is trying to pay back at a more manageable rate than the 12 months HMRC are asking for.

meer53

John-K wrote: »

So you have things that you could sell, but won’t, and will just not pay the state back for the money you took when not entitled to it then?

This is not attacking you, I’m just appalled at the priorities that some people have nowadays.

You have your opinions, fair enough, but your posts aren't offering any constructive advice. Please stop.

Libbyd

FBaby wrote: »

Yes, they can do that and most likely will, so be prepared for it. Hopefully you will be entitled to PIP and this could make the difference.

Thank you.

Fingers crossed PIP get intouch soon, it's been 8 months and still no decision. It's such a long process.

Libbyd

jayII wrote: »

I was wondering that too. A few pounds worth of stuff that losing/selling would cause disproportionate hardship to the OP and her family.



I didn't see them trying to avoid paying back.

The OP just seems to be in a really tough situation (chronic illness with young children to care for is no fun) and is trying to pay back at a more manageable rate than the 12 months HMRC are asking for.

Thank you Jay

it really is a tough situation we are in, we have no support other than just the 5 of us and with me being chronically ill it's so hard on us. We are not trying to avoid paying like you are saying, just some extended time would be helpful.

Thank you for your support. I wish I never posted.

Libbyd

John-K wrote: »

So you have things that you could sell, but won’t, and will just not pay the state back for the money you took when not entitled to it then?

This is not attacking you, I’m just appalled at the priorities that some people have nowadays.

As others have said I have items I can't sell. No I won't' sell my home when I am chronically sick. No I won't sell my only tv when I have 3 children with a chronically sick mother and I need the tv so they can be entertained when I am bed ridden with no support all day. No I won't sell the wedding ring from the man who has been my rock through it all.

trishandbubs

Can i just ask from completing the income and expenditure with HMRC how much was shown as your left over income? HMRC can and will agree to longer than 12 months for a time to pay when it is deemed suitable and as you are currently not working this would be deemed suitable. I presume that if they are asking for £250 then that would mean your disposable income would be at least £500 per month. Is your husband still earning over £50k? Have you now cancelled your child benefit if he is?

I would suggest phoning HMRC back and fully explaining the circumstances but if they are unwilling to budge to make sure you make payments to chip away at the debt. You will be charged interest on this debt and penalties if you can't agree to a payment plan so this debt can spiral very quickly.

I would advice getting in touch with your local CAB office to see if they can offer any advice as well.

xylophone

Is your husband still earning over £50k? Have you now cancelled your child benefit if he is?

He might consider increasing his pension contributions as soon as he can.

Libbyd

trishandbubs wrote: »

Can i just ask from completing the income and expenditure with HMRC how much was shown as your left over income? HMRC can and will agree to longer than 12 months for a time to pay when it is deemed suitable and as you are currently not working this would be deemed suitable. I presume that if they are asking for £250 then that would mean your disposable income would be at least £500 per month. Is your husband still earning over £50k? Have you now cancelled your child benefit if he is?

I would suggest phoning HMRC back and fully explaining the circumstances but if they are unwilling to budge to make sure you make payments to chip away at the debt. You will be charged interest on this debt and penalties if you can't agree to a payment plan so this debt can spiral very quickly.

I would advice getting in touch with your local CAB office to see if they can offer any advice as well.

My husband went through the money with them, as it's his tax code they are discussing. I don't know figures discussed but no we don't have £500 disposable income every month after bills, food etc HMRC were just very awkward and he was put through to 5 different people over 3 hours on the phone. They are now refusing to take any payments from us so my husband has had to send them £100 for the last 4 months and force them to take it off what we owe. He said he has no idea what the issue is but they want it all upfront and they won't take into consideration I am unwell as in their eyes it's my husband they're dealing with.

Yes the child benefit was of course cancelled a long while ago, as soon as we were notified of this.

Thank you

Libbyd

xylophone wrote: »

He might consider increasing his pension contributions as soon as he can.

Why is this?

pmlindyloo

Libbyd wrote: »

Why is this?

This is why:

https://www.unbiased.co.uk/news/tax/how-to-avoid-the-child-benefit-tax-charge

If he paid more in pension contributions then you may still be eligible for child benefit.

Can't see that this is particularly helpful for you at the moment.

Since you do not want to share your personal financial situation with us then I do not honestly think there is much more advice we can give.

They will usually ask for a lump sum but you can try to make arrangements to repay it over a period of time.

You husband has been dealing with this and spoke to them about your financial situation.

I do not know exactly what was said (obviously!) nor whether he has completed an Income & Expenditure form for them.

If you want to try again to get a repayment plan that you can afford then perhaps you need some help completing the I&E form. I realise that you cannot get to CAB yourself but could your husband take a day's holiday and try to get some help?

I do feel for you but I cannot honestly think of much else you can do.

Some ideas possibly (other than reducing your expenditure to the bare bones)

Loan/ from family/friends/bank/credit card which would allow you to pay it back more slowly (not ideal but a debt is a debt)

Ask for a mortgage holiday/go interest only for a while/extend your term lowering repayments

Will come back if I think of any more ...........