tax credit nightmare again - please help

confused!_13

hi there,

i am furious with tax credit office again.- long story - bear with me!

can someone help/advise before i end up in a mental institute?

I git a letter in April 2007 about an overpayment for £450, i called them straight away and asked them why/when is it from. they couldnt answer.they said they would look into it.
In April/May 2007 i told them i had moved i my b/f. in with me. and i didnt want to continue claiming, he moved in in April before we went on holiday - 2 weeks away on holiday, then told them about him when came home, at the same point i re-enquired re the overpayment.

He moved in, i changed my bank account details as old account was in joint names with ex-partner form years ago - somehow now it didnt feel right using joint bank account with ex when living with new b/f.

Anyway got a letter from them last week asking to give p60 details for last year which i did.

Then got a letter .saying i had overpayment of £1600 from 2003 for not returning my forms on time *i have to pay back the April to October payments they said.

Rang them again they say yes that is correct and how am i going to pay it back, i say leave it with me i will see about borrowing from bank etc, dont want to owe them money would rather pay interest etc. They then send me a letter today saying 'thanks for writing to us in April 2007 re the £450 overpayment, basically i owe it as i didnt send back my forms on time for 2004 - IT HAS TAKEN THEM FROM APRIL/MAY TIL JAN TO GET BACK TO ME!!

So, off i go to the bank to beg for loan to pay it - lady is going throgh my bank accountS for income and it seems that the tax office continued paying me tc from april to July THIS YEAR despite me asking them to stop. I hadnt noticed the payments, as i say i changed bank accounts so the one they payed into i never used/looked at as there should be no money in there!

Now, i know i told them he had moved in and i didnt want to claim anymore and i remember being told the process would be my claim would cease they would send form out and we could re-apply as a couple *i never intended to re-apply as we can manage without the credits and i would rather struggle than deal with them ever again. never remember if they sent the pack for a joint claim, as i say we did not want to claim

Now, my question is the money they paid that i never knew i had £489 i didnt want - i want to give it them straight back and tell them it was paid in error - can i do this???

I am going to call them on Monday - they say i wote to them about the overpayment, i am not sure that i did - i am sure it was all done over the phone, but cannot be certain (a lot has happened in that time, both my parents took ill, i was seriously illyself etc) i told them at the same time my b/f had moved in. we have just moved house again, luckily my mail is being re-directed or else i would be none the wiser about al this

sorry for rambling but does anyone know the proceedure?
Can i just pay the £489 back as it is now sat in my bank account, - i took my name of the ex account whilst i was there and obviously wasnt going to leave the money in!

I want to pay back the £489 and have nothing more to do with them, then pay the overpayment back from 2003 or whenever it was. I feel ill thinking about all the rigmoral i will have to go through now. knowing them they will tell me i will get an overpayment letter about the £489 but i dont want to do this.

can someone shead some light on this for me please?

It doesnt help that my b/f is narrow minded about tc etc and i cant tell him about it as he would go mad . pls help
Thanks

System

Don't bother calling TCO the staff on the helpline have call time targets and so do not have the time to fully examine your record and sort out the overpayment. Write to TCO (recorded delivery) and ask for an explanation of each overpayment against your name. When you get that you can then dispute what they say if you disagree. You also have the right to make a "Subject Access Request" whereby you ask them to provide copies of all correspondence, household notes and phone calls. This might help if they say you didn't call them when you say did.

CAB are quite helpfull when it comes to disputing an overpayment, they have plenty of experience.

BTW when you actually dispute the overpayment they set a suspension signal so that you should not receive any demanding letters.

[Deleted User]

You can actually call and request a recovery reason explaination. The letter takes 10 - 12 weeks to arrive. If the adviser seems a little dim and cant do this request to speak to a team leader as you are unhappy about the advice being given (I work in call centre and there are some idiots - usually managers - who care more about call times than actually helping).
Request that the manager sends an "IR RECOVERY REASON WAM".
If contacted by the debt management dept, ask them to put a temporary hold on the recovery action until you receive the letters explaining the overpayment.

And as previously stated, request a copy of all your notes and calls by Subject Access Request - this must be done in writing.
Write to:
Data Protection (SAR) Unit
Business Services
Room BP4302
Benton Park View
Longbenton
Newcastle Under Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

State everything you want clearly and include your address, national insurance number, full name inc any middle names and a contact tel number.

Good luck

sarahluv

don't get a loan from the bank! you'll get at least 12 months time to pay from hmrc with no interest payable at all.

confused!_13

Hi all, thanks for replies.

The reasons for the overpayments were for not sending the paperwork back on time - i just want to pay it and get rid of them forever!

i know i have 12 months to pay it, but to be honest i would need more than that to repay at a comfortable rate - i know i can give them an SOA and arrange a plan but i dont want to even speak to them.I would rather pay interest on a loan and not let them make me ill (they have done beofre now!!)

What can i do about the payments that they made between april - july 07?
i didnt want these, shouldnt be getting them.

i am going to call them today but because my experiences with them have always been bad i get all worked up about speaking to them i havent slept since friday thinking about having to deal with them (im not like that in normal life, infact quite the opposite but the words HMRC make me feel c~**p)

Will they accept the £489 that they paid me for 07-08 back now, today or will they tell me to wait for an overpayment?
As i say - i shouldnt of been recieveing them so it is really worrying me - i know it was their mistake but getting them to admit they are wrong is like blood from a stone! Will they be in a position to let me pay it today or will they make me wait?

Thanks all so much