Help! Tax credit over payment with a twist

foxy330d

A few weeks ago I got a letter from Tax Credits saying Id been overpaid £1100+ in 2015. Ok, I went to the .gov website and appealed however their options only go back as far as 2017, anyway... heres the thing... Ive never claimed tax credits in my life.... ever. So I thought by appealing they had to realise it was a mistake.

Wrong! Now Ive had a letter from DWP with an attachment of earnings... I really have no idea what to do. They will take 20% of my net wage, which will leave me unable to support myself.
Anyone else had a similar thing happen to them? I cant get anyone on the phone to speak to and DWP are unhelpful.

pmlindyloo

This is very unusual.

Are you absolutely positive you have never claimed tax credits - either a single or joint claim?

Have you received any correspondence about this at all? eg a breakdown of the overpayments?

Have you moved home during those years? Have you checked all the personal details on any correspondence to make sure they are correct?
Who are the letters from? HMRC or DWP?
Who Have you telephoned and what did they say?

Sorry to bombard you with questions!

If you have tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with HMRC (not DWP- they only collect debts) then I would be contacting my MP to ask for help.

Icequeen1

foxy330d said:

A few weeks ago I got a letter from Tax Credits saying Id been overpaid £1100+ in 2015. Ok, I went to the .gov website and appealed however their options only go back as far as 2017, anyway... heres the thing... Ive never claimed tax credits in my life.... ever. So I thought by appealing they had to realise it was a mistake.

Wrong! Now Ive had a letter from DWP with an attachment of earnings... I really have no idea what to do. They will take 20% of my net wage, which will leave me unable to support myself.
Anyone else had a similar thing happen to them? I cant get anyone on the phone to speak to and DWP are unhelpful.

As pmlindyloo says this is quite unusual. 

Neither an appeal or dispute would be relevant if this is not actually your overpayment and you have never claimed tax credits. Also, you will be out of time now for both. 

The most common scenario i have seen when people say this is that they were on a joint claim with an ex-partner. 

However, you really need to phone HMRC and speak to them, explain your situation and ask them for more information. You can also do a subject access request to get copies of all information relating to the claim. If you then still think that someone has claimed fraudulently using your details, then you will need to raise this with HMRC and perhaps the police. 

foxy330d

Ive never claimed any and as far as Im aware, never a joint claim as Id always been in full time employment.

I have moved and am now living alone and the details are correct. Ive had no evidence of my so called claim presented to me. First letter was HMRC, I appealed online and 2 weeks later the DWP are hitting me with an attachment of earnings.

Its all rather perplexing, I called HMRC but couldnt actually speak to anyone after multiple attempts. I figure theres little point calling DWP....

poppy12345

foxy330d said:

Ive never claimed any and as far as Im aware, never a joint claim as Id always been in full time employment.

I have moved and am now living alone

Being in full time employment doesn't mean you couldn't claim tax credits in the past. Lots of people work and claim them. You say you're now living alone, so you were in a relationship in the past? Could your ex partner have claimed and you didn't realise?

Icequeen1

foxy330d said:

Ive never claimed any and as far as Im aware, never a joint claim as Id always been in full time employment.

I have moved and am now living alone and the details are correct. Ive had no evidence of my so called claim presented to me. First letter was HMRC, I appealed online and 2 weeks later the DWP are hitting me with an attachment of earnings.

Its all rather perplexing, I called HMRC but couldnt actually speak to anyone after multiple attempts. I figure theres little point calling DWP....

Did your ex-partner have children? You can claim even if you are in fulltime employment. 

DWP won't be able to help. 

[Deleted User]

Call tax credits and ask them for proof? Tell them your disputing. Then maybe call DWP to advise what you have done. Maybe also send an email to your MP and ask if they would get involved too. 

foxy330d

Thanks for replies.

Ive tried calling them but cant seem to speak to anyone, I just go round in circles. 

My ex partner is adamant she didnt put me on her tax credit claim. 

poppy12345

foxy330d said:

Thanks for replies.



My ex partner is adamant she didnt put me on her tax credit claim. 

This ^^ if your ex partner claimed tax credits when you were together then it would have definitely been a joint claim, if you were living as a couple.

Spoonie_Turtle

foxy330d said:

Thanks for replies.

Ive tried calling them but cant seem to speak to anyone, I just go round in circles. 

My ex partner is adamant she didnt put me on her tax credit claim. 

If you were living together it would have had to be a joint claim.  If she fraudulently claimed as a single person that would most certainly explain an overpayment, and as her partner at the time I gather they can chase both parties (for half the debt each, I think, but others will be able to confirm).

Edit: perhaps not explain the overpayment, in light of Icequeen's post.  But either way, this is not as simple as you having never claimed.

Icequeen1

foxy330d said:

Thanks for replies.

Ive tried calling them but cant seem to speak to anyone, I just go round in circles. 

My ex partner is adamant she didnt put me on her tax credit claim. 

Were you living together in a relationship? If so, it had to be a joint claim. If she continued to claim as a single person when she was part of a couple that would be a fraudulent claim. However that wouldn't explain your overpayment - the most likely position is that she did put you on the claim (which would be correct if you were living together as a couple). HMRC will be able to confirm if it was a joint claim when you get through to them.