Overpayment of tax credits..£8603.39!!?

[MRWHAM]

I am extremely concerned that the Inland Revenue have advised me that I owe £8603.39. This occured a few years ago when I was with my ex partner, a self-employed thatcher. I was unemployed myself. I firmly believe that they have made a mistake as they consistently did, even when I later started full-time employment and gave them my fixed salary-they still overpayed. I really need to know what action I need to take. Can I ask for proof that they overpayed me? I do not have any paperwork as my ex took it with him and no longer has it. I need dates and how they calculated my claim. Can I offer to give them copies of my ex's accounts to prove that he only earnt a certain ammount? He is willing to assist me in this although we have been separated for 4 yrs. There is strangely no mention of him on the letters which means they are only chasing me for the whole ammount. I am now being threatened with court action and am certainly not in a position to re-pay this enormous ammount of money. Please can you help. Liz

[midge61]

hi

The last post on this thread may well be of help
Child Tax Credit Renewal - Can they do this?

Good luck

[Spiceskull]

Hi,

From my own experiences with HMRC, I can advise that the worst thing you can do is ignore them, or hide away from the situation, whether it is real or erroneous.

My first suggestion would be to get together all the paperwork that you do have, and check through all the figures as they stand.

I would then write to HMRC, explaining first that you acknowledge their letter, and asking that they refrain from further action until this issue is resolved. They are not an ogre, as some would have you believe, but genuinely want to help where they can, and correct mistakes if they have been made...

Next, explain the situation and position as you see it, asking them to clarify any points that you are uncertain of, or that you don't have information for. Give as full an explanation as possible regarding your ex, the situation with him, and your lack of information due to his actions.

Ask also that they check their figures and calculations, and that they provide you with a complete breakdown, with explanations where necessary.

It is possible that this claim is down to human error, it is also possible that the claim is valid. However, whilst doubt remains, they will be unwilling to proceed further until everything has been checked out first...

I had similar issues with HMRC, although this was about personal taxes...court action was threatened, and indeed instigated, but further enquiries revealed that HMRC actually owed me the sum that they claimed I owed them...!

I'm not suggesting that the claim will be dropped, or even that the result will be to your liking, but unless you deal with them directly and candidly, you will just be another statistic...doing as I suggest will present them with a real person, with real problems, and I promise you that they will treat you accordingly...

Good luck.

[redsonja]

Hiya,

As spice says...you must contact them and ask that they send you full breakdowns of how the overpayment etc has been calculated.

If it is down to their error, you can appeal against the overpayment and they have the power to write it off.

If it is not an error then some repayment agreement can be arranged with them. They will go through your income and outgoings and see how much you can afford to repay on a weekly/monthly basis.

[Paintball]

Sorry, off-topic ...

Sonja, you're back, how wonderful!!

[redsonja]

[Paintball]

Originally Posted by redsonja

Double

I shall email you and we can have a right proper old catch-up!

xox