Government demanding over 12 thousand pounds.

ROCKMAN_2

Hello there, i have just had a letter from government demanding i pay them over 12 K because they apparently overpaid me back in 2018-2021 (Mainly 2018), funds for child tax credit, now i cannot even check that they did pay me and i honestly cannot remember that far back, i don't know what to do, what would you all do ?

kaMelo

You'll do better on the benefits board, I've reported the thread so a mod can move it.

Grumpy_chap

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6664478/government-demanding-over-12-thousand-pounds

Approach this rationally.

How much of the £12k is the initial (allegedly) overpaid tax credit? How much is penalties and / or interest applied?

Then start from the things you do know:

• Do you have children?
• Would you or a partner ever have claimed tax credits of any kind?
• Would you or a partner ever have claimed child tax credit?
• What sort of income level did you (and your partner) have in the years concerned?

From that you can start to assess whether the statements from HMRC about what was paid are plausible.

That is then the basis for your next steps or any discussions with HMRC.

born_again

You would need to ring the payment team.

tacpot12

You should calmly ask them for their calculations. They should supply all the data they have used, and all the details of the calculation. You may want to ask an advice charity for help to check the calculation.

peteuk

Its also worth noting that although they cannot take legal action after 6 yrs, they can still claim it from you.

If you have are currently claiming benefits they can take it back from your current payments. If not they can take it from your wage.

If you call them they will be able to advise you of where the overpayment occurred and you can then understand and challenge it. Its also worth noting you can set up a payment plan.