Help Me With My Working & Child Tax Credits

delboyuk2005uk

Back in 2007 we got our tax rewards which state there was an overpayment in april 2007 of £1097.68. Well that was fair enough, And what it seemed to us was they lowered our payments to £70 a month over this year to reflect them getting money back from us.

Now as I have not been paid anything this month april 08. I rang up to enquire this. Based on what they are telling me is that the overpayment they made they are actually going to claim back now and not what we thought last year.

The guy on the other line seemed half asleep so I never carried on the conversation, but I assumed they was getting this money back over the years by lowering our payments. But not been paid a penny in working & child tax credits for the next 2-3 years we cannot survive on as we budgeted with this income coming in.

Can anybody please give me my girlfreind and my nearly 2 year old baby any advice?

[Deleted User]

If they are recovering the full amount towards the overpayment you are probably only on the minimum amount of CTC which is around £10 p/w.

When you have completed your renewal they will recalculate your award again.

You should check your most recent award notice (even if it is an 07/08 award) as it will show you what your payments will change to from April '08.

jai_2

They do have the descretion not to recover an overpayment.If you are struggling to pay your priority expenses such as rent, mortgage, council tax etc then tell them so. They may find a better solution for you such as to not recover at all..or reduce the recovery amounts so you will still recieve something this year.You could also request they supply you with further information relating to the 2007 O/P and how the 2008 award was calculated. This may help you indentify an error or help you understand why 2007 to 2008 was reduced by £70. Be warned They do not respond quickly to these requests and their explainations are not very helpful either

delboyuk2005uk

well from them being reduced from £140-£70 last year we thought that was it, it cannot get any worse, now this happens. How do I got about telling them that we cant afford the change?

[Deleted User]

Did you have a higher household income in 06-07 than you did in 05-06? This may explain why your payments went down.
The higher the household income, the lower the tax credit award.

jai_2

Telling them you are unable to meet your priority living expenses can be done over the phone.....but i would advise it was in writing. (keep a copy)You will need to explain why their recovery is causing you hardship eg what you are having to pay out as priority expenses. Ask if they can refrain from total amount recovery or would they accept either partial recovery or a significant reduction in the repayment instalments but expand the period over which they intend to recover

delboyuk2005uk

so who do I write too to do this please?

sineadgraham

i received an overpayment in july 2005 of £1500.it was my mistake as i gave them the wrong details on my hubby's P45.i contacted them to tell them of this error and they then informed me that they would reclaim the money.I was more than happy with that as it was my fault.However, i was only receiving £545 a year in WFTC from them.i havent received any payments now since september 2005 and was wondering just how long this will go on.if they havent made any payments to me for nearly 3 years surely the overpayment should now be finished.Also, im expecting my second child in 5 weeks and wonder if i will receive any money at all for this child or will they penalise this money too.Unsure how it works.

jai_2

Write to HMRC, TCO, Preston, Lancs, PR1 0YP

delboyuk2005uk

jai wrote: »

Write to HMRC, TCO, Preston, Lancs, PR1 0YP

will they start checking our accounts or anything? As I do have some savings and that.

jai_2

I have never come across a case where they have checked stuff like banks., and i would be surprised if they did...