Can someone tell me where i stand with tax credits?
2 years ago i was reieving tax credits, i had a phone call today to tell me i was over payed by £2000!! and i have to arrange to pay it back!! can someone tell me if they are the ones who work out how much i'm entitled to how can they over pay me by so much! i don't have that kind of money... they've now said '
i'll have to filll in an income outcome form to decide how much i can pay back or they'll start court proceedings, does anyone know if i have any rights? and also what money do they take into account? i recieve child support surely they can't take this... it's not even garunteed money.. please help does anyone have any advice
Answers:
hi first of try and not panic easier said than done i know !! but you can appeal the decision as it probably was ther mistake and you will prob get it overturned as it wasnt you deliberately trying to defraud them go and see the cab or better still your local counsellor or mp ( mp would be better !!) but no they cant take your child support they can only take what you can afford to pay back of you existing tax credits as they will not stop they will just be reduced but you must appeal as it wasnt your mistake
good luck toots and dont panic !!!
x x x x x x x
This happened to me. I split up from my partner in feb and they said I didnt tell them til june. They then backdated my joint claim to feb but only started my single claim from June, thus meaning I owed them money.
I wasnt actually given this reason despite several phone calls until nearly 3 years later then was told it was too long ago to make a backdated claim.
I had left it until I was given a reasonable explaination why I owed the money until I agreed to pay it back (although still miffed as to why it was too long ago to make a backdated claim)
A man was sent on behalf of the inland revenue to work out how I was going to pay back the money.
He did a calculation of my in and out goings and we worked out a payment option. I now pay £30 per month back to them.
I would fill out the form and over estimate certain things so that you pay as little as possible. I dont think you ahve any rights, if it has been paid to you then you are to pay it back.
I would ask them for the exact reason you were over paid though - in laymans terms not in figures etc. If you dont agree then advise them of this and ask them to take you to court. You will get legal aid anyway.
Ask for a written explanation of why they think you've been overpaid by £2,000. Tell them that you are not in a position to pay it back and that if there has been an overpayment it's due to their incompetence.
If they say they are going to take you to Court, say that you intend to counterclaim for the inconvenience and worry caused by their mistakes. If it gets to Court and you make a counterclaim, the tax authorities will need to prove their case. That will cost them considerably more than £2,000 and it's likely that judgement will be made in your favour - or at least they'll make you pay it vack at 1p per week.
You must write to your local MP (if you are in the UK)... and ask for their help.They will help you. It will also be brought to their attention that this has happened which unfortunately is not uncommon.
oh god,dont get me started on tax credits, they reckon we owe them £10,000, we have been having an on going fight with them for over a year. we submitted not one claim, but two claims and they were allowed both times by them, we didnt hide any info from them whatsoever, they are now asking for it back, we think it is their mistake not ours and they still say we should of realised, surely their staff should have realised. anyway, you can appeal against their decision, and then if that fails you can make a complaint to them, and then you can complain to the ombudsmen. failing all that which we have done to no avail, you then can tell them that it would cause you extreme hardship to pay it back, especially if you have children, sometimes I am told that if it would cause you hardship they sometimes write it off or part of it off. it is like banging your head against a brick wall as we have found but good luck and dont let them get you down
contact your local mp, also the local paper, it has happened to me too, it's a total joke,i have told them all my updates every time, so how can they make these big mistakes, also go to your local citizen advice office they are great, all the best
I don't think it's fair that they made that kind of mistake and now you have to suffer because of it. But because it's government, they feel protected and any mistake they make like that, will be protected for them by the government, which is wrong in my mind, because who protects the person who has to suffer because of it. Just offer them $10 a month,that's all you can afford. It was there mistake and they should take what they can get and hope it dosen't happen again.
be very careful if you are going to challenge the o/p as if they have proof or evidence against you,if it did go to court it may be you that has to pay the legal fees and also they may start adding interst at that point also.
i work for tax credit dept, if i was in the situation you were in, i would call them and ask them to explain it to you in full, then ask them their opinion on whether it has a chance if u appeal against it, they will no, as they deal with them all the time. if they say yes they will issue with a cop 26 and you need to call debt management to inform them u are appealing so th o/p does not go into court in that time,
i then would ask them to send out a recovery referal( a breakdown of how the o/p happened) also all award notices during that time and lastly any telephone conversations u may have had with previous advisors, and i would take it from there.
they will not take any money that is supporting your children other than ctc which they do have the rights to take back i am afraid.
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