Tax Credit Problem can anyone help I am now desperate?

bindweed_2

I am one of the many who have wrongly been overpaid tax credits. I'll try to keep it short, here goes - in a nutshell. I'm self-employed with my husband but I also have a full time office manager job. 1st year my accountant filled TC forms in. Each subsequent year as soon as I received P60 and notice of our net profit from the accountant these details went on the new TC form. the 05/06 year the TC Office only put my self-employed income down; i notified them immediately. My tax credits go from £10 to upto £70 per week. They then put my employed income down, but not my self employed income. I again informed them (this is after several phone calls with the engaged tone) Told by TCO it would be updated. My tax credits remain £70. I ring again say that I am being paid too much. Told that if I've told them both my income and my husbands it would be right. Can't check as computer system is being updated and is 'down.' Tax Credits go up again. Ring again to raise my concerns, told by operator that they have all my details correct. Still receiving too much. Beginning of 2006, TV programmes highlighting the problems of overpayments, I once again ring to ask if these payments are correct. Receive another award with wrong income on again. Ring again and they say they will amend it. Given new award in June 06 wrong amounts again, inform them again of the mistake. They amend the amounts and I receive new award 19 August 06 with the right data. 22 August receive another award you guessed it - wrong data. Rang them again, told them youngest daughter had now left full time education at college. Send new award this time with £4900 overpayment:mad: After several calls, and letters I have been told that I failed to notify them of my changes and I should have rung back when the computers were up and running:mad: . After cancelling my tax credits (my choice as it had dropped to £10) I didn't want to incurr anymore overpayments I have received another letter from yet another customer support officer apologising that I felt I had been mis advised and that I felt I had been treated unfairly:rolleyes: . They still want the repayment back. I have always paid my taxes, VAT and National Insurance and feel that because of my situation home owner in full time employment and share husbands (owner driver, who only makes enough income for a decent salary himself)profit we are easy targets. If anyone can give any further advice I would be really greatful

aussielle

Hi, sorry to hear of your troubles.

The best advice I can offer is to gather all your award notices, and copy letters together and go and see your MP. My experience of the Tax Credit helpline is typical of that experienced by many...they're useless!

After many stressful months of phone calls and letters being exchanged between us and the tax office our situation remained unresolved. We looked in the local free paper for the MP's surgery dates and took all the documentation along with us. Our MP was equally horrified upon hearing the details of our complaint and assured us he would get things sorted out once and for all. true to his word, he took all the papers and the stress that went with it and as a consequence, the matter was resolved within 3 months of our intial meeting with him. We even got compensation for the stress the whole fiasco caused us and our costs of telephone calls and postage reimbursed. HTH

Homework

We went through their complaints procedure, took nearly a year and had to go up the chain to complain that nothing was happening before something eventually did. Our payment was reduced for an overpayment the previous year when we had no changes but they had processed 40 changes of circs and issued payments incorrectly. We called after each payment and questioned it and at one point were told we had been underpaid, they then input someone else's wages in for my husband and stopped the whole award. We were repaid the amount that had been taken from that year's award and a small amount compensation. We had to threaten MP and did mention the collection of award notices we could provide just as it was all sorted out.

Good luck, it was hard work, hope it is easier now.

bucksliz

I can't agree more with aussielle. Contact your mp on www.WriteToThem.com and they will take up your case. Mine contacted the Paymaster General and I received all my back payments in a matter of weeks.

Good luck op I know how stressful this can be.

bindweed_2

Thanks everyone. I've never slept all week worrying. Never thought of going as far as the MP resort but I feel so exhausted of trying to explain my situation to them that I will definitley take this route now. Watch this space.

crazyangel_2

Same thing has happened to me Im paying back an overpayment from 2005 then low and behold Im overpayed on child tax credits.so its costing me £140.00 per month in repayments.

Callisto

Have you disputed the overpayment? If not, you will need to call and ask for a TC846 (dispute form) and a COP26 form (includes details of the Adjudicator's Office, will come onto that in a minute!)

Complete the dispute form and return to tco, your argument will be that you phoned x amount of times and no action was ever taken to rectify the claim. In the meantime also ask the helpline for the System Access Request (SAR) address to write for your telephone records that prove you called in to tell them your payments weren't right (can take upwards of 30 days for these to be sent to you, so request asap).

If the initial dispute fails, you can then appeal using the telephone transcripts as new evidence. If the appeal fails, you can then contact the Adjudicator's Office who are completely independent from tco and investigate mistakes made by them.

If you've already gone through the above steps, the only thing you can do is complain loudly!

Hope that helps, I'm currently working for tax credits... hopefully not for much longer, it's pretty bad for the staff as well as the customers! :mad:

bindweed_2

Thanks Callisto, my next line of action was to check all my telephone invoices for the past two years. This could save me some time. However it doesn't indicate the amount of times I came home from work and tried to ring and couldn't get through or was holding on and on and on to an answer machine. Anyway thanks again. Your not all bad!

*BABYPUPPY*

Hi Bindweed, and anyone else who is reading this.

Tax Credit Casualties are the ONLY user group set up to specifically help people with Tax Credit Overpayment problems. Everyone with an overpayment should go to the Tax Credit Casualties website http://www.taxcreditoverpayment.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk , where there is a step-by-step guide to disputing your overpayment - and a forum which offers fantastic advice, based on your case, and much needed support.

Please follow this advice, and start to sleep again ! And please spread the word to anyone else with overpayment problems.....