tax credit overpayments new report published

sarz28

in 03/04 the tax credits made me pay back £3800 all in one go, we had to re-mortgage our home to do so and eventually the repayments became to much and our home was repossesed and we had to declare ourselves bankrupt. The error occured wit the tax credits because i told them i had child care costs of £72 per month they calculated £720 per week, who in this world pays that amount each week!!!
me getting this money back will help but is no compensation for losing my home.

creamtea_2

http://familytaxcredit.forumco.com/default.asp

Cee

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=544168

Sorry I added my thoughts on this here, before noticing this one down here, we just never got an option, they just told us that we owed x amount and would stop any credits paid to us until the debt is cleared.

We had confirmation 3 years later that we still owe money, I mean how long did we accrue so much to take this long to repay it?

Strange thing is i'm getting £10 in my bank account every month and don't know who's paying it, i'm assuming its these guys but I've nothing in writing from anyone telling me it is

dundeedoll_2

Had a nightmare myself since computer at TC decided I had no qualifying children instead of the 2 children I have in April 2004 - only received 1st payment into bank October 2006 since April 2004.

So, computer error for me too! Have 2 children (13 & 9 in April 2004)
April 2004 my payments suddenly stopped (no letter, just noticed no payment in bank) I rang & questioned this only to be told:
"Oh, your children have 'slipped off the system'. We'll send an e-mail to R&D & it should be sorted in a couple of weeks"

Here we are in September 2007 & guess what!! NO IT'S NOT SORTED!!!!

They sent me demand for repayment of £6000 because I got manual giros but because 'I have no qualifying children' they say I was not entitled and have to repay it.
I have written numerous complaints but have not had an answer yet.
I also asked for a "we understand the trouble we have caused you" gesture as I went without a penny from them from April 2004 until February 2005 and as a single mum was only able to work part time (for very little money) very nearly had my house reposessed. I lost 2 stone in weight (only 9 1/2 st to start with) and was very close to a nervous breakdown.
I could not get another job because of the children needing me and not being able to get (or pay for) childcare in my village area. I still have not heard anything from them apart from demands for the 'overpayment'

What a complete mess these benefits that are supposed to help people are in !!!!

creamtea_2

did you see the article in the Mirror? The mirror need your experiences

vanman7

Now my partner and i have been asked to repay over payment of tax credit just like milions of other families.
They are asking us to repay rediculous amonts of money over a three year period going back to 2003. they claim that we have already paid back over £1300 (of which we knew nothing about) and deducting £60 per week from this years claim and want us to pay another £1200+ by 14 October.
we have called them and they say they will send us details of the over payments. i have just done some resurch on the net and found that i can fill in a form to contest the over payments, but was wondering if anyone had any advice.

And how the hell do we prove that they cocked it up when we did all our renewal over the phone.
im self employed and if they !!!! it up like they do my self assesment papers then bloody hell.. i would love to hear how they have messed this one up.

chelleb87

Im a lone parent of 3 young children, my partner and i were claiming tax credits, the day after we seperated i informed the tax credits office, they advised me to put in writing, which i did immediatley, the credits were paid into his bank account and they carried on paying him, he didnt inform them, has had no contact with them but they are forcing me to pay it back as we are both legaly bound, i have appealed and basically been told pay it back, so after years of my x getting us into debt, i have clawed my way back to having my head above water, i have had to face the humiliation of filling in expenditure forms, we seperated 4 years ago, its took them this long to claim back, luckily as i am on benefits and its a new claim i recieve now they cannot stop my payments, i have offered a pound a week, its only 489 pound compared to what some poor people are expected to pay back not a lot but its the principal, and i guess he will leave yet another debt for me to pay.

Janet_1967

Hi all,
I have been told by the tax office that I owe them some 2300 pounds child tax credit that they allege I owe from 2004/5 and 2005/6. This is what they claim I received in child tax credit whilst I was a student at Uni.

There reason for my owing is that I was not entitled to it since I had failed to send in the correct forms-In actual fact, I had telephoned them and could even tell them the day, time and person i spoke to, and as I can recall-was told I did not need to send a physical copy of claim in.
I discovered this when my claim was canceled in March-I was informed I had to fill in a fresh claim which would be backdated (which I did and it was back dated to March) but then told I had been overpaid due to my failure to update the claim the previous year..

I have been through the appeal process including a letter explaining all this (they told me they could not accept proof of student status etc) and I am still informed I owe the revenue this money, and since it has gone to appeal I have no right to appeal further and have 12 months to pay.

This was almost 2 months ago, and I have buried my head in sand over it. I am now working, but only earning 1159 a month (until January when my income increases to 25k a yr in January 2008, assuming I pass further professional exams) and still have alot of debt to pay. I am struggling to manage each month without the added burden of having to find 200 a month to impart to the Inland revenue.

Surely, if I had no income AT ALL as a student (despite student loan) AND i was only getting 22 a week in child tax credit (due to overpayment from before) I was entitled to the money I received during this period, and their reasoning that they did not receive notification is flawed if I can tell them exactly who I spoke to and on what day????:mad:

What process is in place to gain representation to take this further? and who do i turn to? I am afraid that because I cannot handle it, I am just ignoring it and I know this isnt the solution. Added to which, the daughter I have been claiming for starts Uni herself in 2 weeks having finished college and I am really unsure whether I can claim for her anymore now.

Kind Regards.

Janet

guesswhoeve

I don’t know if this has been covered in another thread or I have missed it.

My problem is........
As a single parent for over 5 years that works over 38 hours a week on PAYE I am claiming family/child tax credits. When I first started claiming I was over paid but can’t remember but exactly how much the over payment was I remember having to pay a massive £25 back a week which was a lot for a single parent. I have always been honest and informed them of any changes that have happened within my circumstances’. When my credit where up for renewal I rang them on the day and got things sorted.

Having read lately about the BIG MUCK up the inland revenge have owned up to, I am lead to believe it would be possible reclaim the over payment back and how I get copies of my entitlements going back the last 5 years.

I have contacted IR and to be told they would get in contact with me in due course if this affects me ( not totally trusting )


ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT

THANK YOU

kmycock

My partner and I have just recieved demands for £1600 overpayment from 03-05. The money was paid to us dispite them knowing we weren't entitled. We will be disputing it, although I don't hold out much hope because lets face it the IR aren't exactly the most user friendly service in the world

Its been getting me down as I have no idea how we are going to pay the money back. But reading the posts on here has made me realise that I'm not alone in this and that there is at least a possibility that they will allow us to spread the payments over longer than 1 year.

Thanks - wish i'd looked on here earlier instead of worrying!