tax credit overpayments new report published

chris_&_pete

can anyone tell me if you made a joint claim and they are telling you you have been over paid do you both owe them because we are both receiving letters saying we have been over paid?

Fran

Yes you would be jointly responsible for the full amount.

chris_&_pete

we are both getting notice of £200 owed back but is it £200 each=£400
or £200 total? :rolleyes:

Fran

That will be the total.

Dazzieboo

I have known for just over a year that I had been definatly overpaid. I had a lump sum paid into my bank account in 2003 and queried it many times and was told it was a back payment and my payments were now correct. As I knew I had given the correct figures and we were on a low income, I spent the money throughout the year. I had the first phone call a week after my Husband left me in May 2005 and explained I was in no fit state to discuss it over the phone, but I disputed the overpayment and they sent me a claim form. I sent this back via recorded delivery. In April this year I had an Inland Revenue officer turn up on my doorstep with a demand for £9000. :mad: I asked what had happened to my claim and was told it never arrived. So, I had another one sent and sent it back by special delivery, I had a letter in return thanking me for the claim and in due course I would be asked for further information. That request never came and today I received another letter saying they had decided because I notified them late in the year about a child care cost change I should have noticed my payments were wrong. So now I am liable for the return of the whole amount. The letter goes on to say I have no right of appeal but I can complain about the way my claim was handled. I spoke to someone from the Preston office who is sending me out a claim form and I have the details of where to find my recorded telephone calls to back up my claim. They have admitted they did not have any further information forwarded so I have the right to ask where they got that information from. Another thing which worries the life out of me, is, I am now a single Mum with an 8yr old and a 10 yr old, I earn between £350 and £500 per month and I have to pay childcare costs, at the moment I get about £500 in tax credits, it was a joint claim so both of us are liable, but according to the info I got today, although it is a joint claim, everything is in my name, so it is up to me to get the money from my Ex :mad: . He is a broke as me. :eek: If I lose my final appeal, what is next ?, how long is the maximum amount of time to pay it back ?. A friend told me the IR have until November to get the claims out, as after then, they can only claim back a set amount, is this true ? Thanks and sorry about the long post.

furby-2003

a lot of people talk about obtaining the phone calls but ive contacted data services and they do not exist, i have a letter saying so. I have roughly 6900 to pay back but im at my last resort the mp. I'm not sure how she'll get on!

but because it's not indispute they have said ill have to pay. I have given them my budget which clearly shows we are already out of our depths money wise so the only this they suggested was he was going to send a court letter. yes very helpful!!

furby-2003

i tell you what really bugs me. that my ex can get away with not paying 6 years of maintainance and doesn't get hounded for it!!!

donnalove

furby-2003 wrote:

a lot of people talk about obtaining the phone calls but ive contacted data services and they do not exist, i have a letter saying so. I have roughly 6900 to pay back but im at my last resort the mp. I'm not sure how she'll get on!

but because it's not indispute they have said ill have to pay. I have given them my budget which clearly shows we are already out of our depths money wise so the only this they suggested was he was going to send a court letter. yes very helpful!!

i am sorry but the phone calls do exist, i have 8 cd's with recorded information that i asked for dating from april 2004 till may this year, i also have copies of all notes that were wrote regarding the telephone calls a file 4-5 inches thick.

if i was you i would get back in touch as they certainly do have the phonecalls and you are entitled to them.

donnalove
xx

Dazzieboo

What a farce. :mad: despite them asking for £9000 after phoning and speaking to 3 different people, finally I spoke to someone who wanted to help. I was told they were NOT asking for the £9000, and they have no idea where this figure came from, the £6000 overpayment was under appeal, what they want back at the moment is £1800, after a brief discussion it was found out only myself signed the joint claim form, rendering it invalid, so although they paid me, it was an invalid claim and they want it back. All I have to do is sign the form again along with my ex husband, re-provide the figures for 2004 - 2005 and it should all be sorted. It was also mentioned I had working tax credit paid through my employer, but I left that employment in the August, but apparently the company still carried on claiming it, so I have to provide proof that I actually left. At least I can breathe a small sigh of relief, for the moment anyway.

pj72

I had problems when I initially claimed for tax credits in 03/4 which eventually settled down to give myself and my girlfriend (now wife) the basic ctc and no working tax credit (initial I had been told we would receive quite alot of working tax credit, which prompted me to phone the helpline on numerous occasions until it was corrected). However on the tax credit statement there was mention of a payment via my employer, which i started to receive. Again I called the helpline to ask what the payment was for and if it was correct. After a complerte lack of a clear explanation all I was told was that the payment was correct and "don't worry about it". This payment continued for a few months and then stopped around summer 2004.
I then started to expect an overpayment notice but nothing happened, until earlier this year.
The first I knew of the overpayment was when the money didn't go into the bank, no notice was received by post. I called the helpline again for an explanation but I was informed that they could stop the payments like that as I had been overpaid.
I then appealed that the overpayment was their fault not mine so should be written off. This appeal was rejected on the grounds that I should have known the payment was wrong! So despite my repeated calls asking for an explanation of the payment it was my fault!
I was told that I could dispute this decision and that I would be sent the form needed (a COP1). I received leaflet COP1 which doesn't contain a form on six seperate occasions.
Eventually I was told to write to the Directors Customer Service Team, PO Box 145, Preston PR1 0GP (not sure if this is national or just for the north west) explaining the details of my case. I wrote to them around three weeks ago, including a threat to involve my MP and have now been told the overpayment has been written off. Even then they tried in on though. The overpayment was spread over two tax years and initially only the second years overpayment was written off despite the whole overpayment arising from the same mistake.
Hope this isn't too long and contains some hope and useful information.