Child tax Credits overpayments

[Billy0911]

Hi All
the last financial year we applied and recieved child tax credits, we moved to Australia a few months ago and told all the relevant departments

well since we are now staying in Australia we know we are not entitled to any uk benefits

well the child tax people have now paid money into my uk bank account and today i recieved a statment (to my oz address) telling me how much money i will be getting from them

we did not apply for child tax benefit we have not submitted any salary's etc and i don't have a clue why they are paying me

now i know i will have to pay this back so how do i do this
surely they ctc computer must have some sort of alert when a statement gets sent out of the country

any advice would be great


Billy

[maggieboo]

Did you write to them telling them you were moving out of the country? If you did then could you send them a copy of that letter and a cheque for the amount that they have given you so far?

If you phoned them to tell them you were moving, then again I would write to them explaining what has happened sending the money back.

I get tax credits and when they wrote to me to renew them for this year, they said that if I didn't reply by 31st July 2008 then payments would automatically stop and I wouldn't be entitled anymore, so as you say you have not renewed them, they may not pay you anything else.

Phoning them isn't really an option as they are so hard to get through to in the UK let alone australia!

Maybe they have a fax number you could use, or do you have anyone in the UK you could trust to deal with it on your behalf. You would have to send a letter to the Tax credits people giving someone authority to act on your behalf, but it might a bit easier.

Good luck!

[leetwin]

I have had loads of problems with tax credits so know my way round the system a bit and the best way to get this sorted is to make an official complaint to the complaints department as you then get to speak personally to the person who's dealing with your case... You will also find that this way they prioritise your case too... The best way to complain is to fax them as this always gets the quickest response... If your still not happy with this contact your old MP on thier website and explain the situation and they should be able to speed things up for you a bit... hope this helps..

ps: Don't forget to include your new and old address and a phone number that you can be contacted on in your fax... if you can't get the number PM me and i'll send it you

[Billy0911]

Hi Guys
Thanks for your answer's i will get a fax off to them in a few mins

Billy

[MARTIN3030]

Have a look at stickie at top of these forums for overpayments