Child Tax Credit Overpayments

[eylau]

outrageous

[WAVE_131]

HMC&R have been trying to reclaim an alleged overpayment of over £1000 for some time.

My response is the same....the claims are becoming less frequent....
1) Show me the document where I claimed the money (It is an old over payment and was awarded to me without a claim from myself, in short I took their word that the ammount was accurate)

2) Show me the calculations which gave you the figure of £1000. (They have not)

[simmo40]

hi, new to this but need some help
My wife and i used to recieve family tax credit but we seperated in april 2003 and our payments were payed into a joint acc, but in may of that yr my wife phoned them and changed it to be payed into her new acc and i bleieved she must have told them of situation.
When i phoned them as payments were not going in joint acc i told them of situation and the person i talked to even told me the acc number which she should not have done.
Right got a letter in that yr saying we owed money to them told them what had happened , was told i should have rung and told said i did when money was not being paid into joint acc
Did not hear from them for 4 yrs then today got a letter saying i owe them £650 but sppoke to them saying not had any money from them since we split, they say you did not tell us of changes bloody nightmare.
Where do i stand as it was a joint claim but they changed bak acc without oermission and i told them i left and thought wife had done too
Can anyone give me clue what to do next as waiting for thm to send a form to appeal cheers simmo40

[campaigner]

Please google-search 'tax credit casualties' and you will find plenty of help and advice! I can't give full details here, despite this being a user group and entirely voluntary. This isn't a poaching exercise, as any concerned moderator who knows 'Savvy' can check out with her. Please spread the word. Just as the banks have chanced their arm and robbed the public with extortionate charges and need to be fought, so has HMRC hurt those it was entrusted to help with overpayments of its own creation. It is a dangerous, abusive system defying Human Rights legislation, having no accountability whatsoever, and to be armed with knowledge of your rights as a claimant is to have a fair chance of fighting financial ruin and serious health consequences from the ongoing stress and worry. Do that search, find those who can help FREE, and pass on what you find! Good luck!

[JustM]

Last year I promptly informed tax credits of two changes of circumstance.I reported both on seperate days. It took a month each time to alter my payments. This year I have been forced to pay back nearly £1000, as they have demanded 8 weeks full payments, even though the amount actually over paid was afew pounds. I have had to inform them of another change this year, again it took 4 weeks to alter my payments, for afew pounds, therefore I expect to be demanded to pay another 4 weeks full payments next year, when the annual calculation is done.

They tell me this the law and there is nothing they can do to change payment amounts more promptly or to only claw back the amount actually owed.

Child Tax Credit is my main source of income, so full suspension of payments until they have done their paperwork is not an option and this continual clawing back of an excessive amount of money, every time I inform them of the slightest change of circumstances is causing me and no doubt thousands more, severe hardship.

I urge people to sign this petition to the Prime Minister to stop this practice.

Petition to: stop HMRC clawing back more than has actually been overpaid. | Number10.gov.uk

	Hardship By and large the "harship" provision in the FSA waiver is a myth which is intended to create a sense that the banking industry is sufficiently well-intentioned to act fairly towards its customers even though their right of access to the courts has been blocked. In fact there are very few guidelines as to procedure and very little definition of "hardship". One unfortunate spin off is that many people in difficulty get their hopes up and go to considerable lengths to plead hardship to their bank in order to get a refund or partial refund of their bank charges only to be refused. Neither the courts nor the FOS have the power to order a bank to make a charges refund on the basis of hardship. We hear of some people obtaining a partial refund quite easily. Others have obtained money by being very persistent - but mostly we hear that people are refused. Even benefits claimants do not automatically receive hardship refunds. By all means try to get a bank charges refund on the basis of hardship - but don't bank on it!

[rubio]

I have received letters informing me that i have been overpaid when in fact i really haven't. I returned the signed dec's back confirming the amount i received for the previous year, 3 months after the deadline i received a letter saying they had not received the declaration and that i owed them over £3,500 in overpaid payments. I requested another form for us to sign but they could not do this as the deadline had expired. To date i am replying with the same letter that they have treated us unfairly.

[romanlady123]

hi. all this has been very interesting but my case is sl;ightly unusual. The tax credit office are chasing me after marital break up for £7200 they say we were overpaid as a couple for 2007/2008 because they (and they have admitted and apologised) input £20000 as £2000. They say that I should have told them that the figure was wrong but i didn't pick it up or didn't receive it whatever - evey copy that I have gives the right figure and I contacted them at least 4 times during the year but that isn't good enough and they kept overpaying even after the correct figure was given and are asking for it back. What can I do? (m note all the correspondence to me and not us!)

[sinking_fast]

I was overpaid £7000 in 2002-2003 so the TCO said, I have been though numerous appeals, been though the Adjudicator, and even took it as far as the local MP and Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, even though when it got to the Adjudicator stage the TCO decided that they were wrong about £2000!!!!! I've still got to pay the £5000 and the TCO have admitted in Black/white that they were wrong and human error meant they typed in the wrong amount, so because of my human error at not noticing the mistake (did anyone understand the award notices when they first came out? don't think the TCO workers understood them either) I've got to pay back £5000, does anyone know anyone thats gone to prison because of not paying back TC??? will watch this space, cause I'll fight it though court if thats what it takes!! So anyone who general believes they shouldn't pay back there overpayment, keep fighting, don't let them away with it GOOD LUCK

	The Financial Ombudsman Service For the most part, don't bother. The Ombudsman is an industry arranged service which is under-resourced, takes too long, lacks clear transparency. You have no idea what evidence the FOS has received from the bank or how your complain has really been handled. The FOS is the preferred complaints route for the banking industry. The county court is to be preferred by consumers for its speed, openness, the quality of its awards and also because it will award 8% interest on top of any damages won by you. The Ombudsman should normally be used to solving little technical difficulties or customer service problems which you have expereinced with your bank.

[Aretino]

I have overpayments from 2007/08 and now they stopped this years because I didn't return the earnings details in time. But I read the BBC report in the first post on this forum and saw this

If the income was greater, but by £25,000 or less, the HMRC will not claim back any tax credits in that tax year.

Is this an official rule? Are they claiming back money when they shouldn't be? Or is this just for Working Tax Credits?

Sorry for so many questions

[waccamacca]

i have a tax credit bill of £356 from 2003/4 i live in a foreign country i got my last letter form hmc 2 years ago is it safe to get a boat to england or will i be pulled by customs and if i am can i pay it there and then and still enter england

[saveabit]

Thanks for that - but what i'm actually trying to find info on is the article that apparently appeared in the Daily Mail earlier this year which quoted a reference for a form to enable working parents who had children born between certain years to reclaim anything up to £1500 from the the Inland Revenue. it wasnt widely publicised (suprise suprise ) and I had difficulty downloading the form at the time
I think the deadline was actually 31st jan or feb this year but there would be no harm in trying to get one in now IF i can find the form ar quote the details they want- even if I know who to addreess enquiry to (would it be the local tax office) Anyone done this successfully - ? friend of mine with one child had £600 back the other day !

[campaigner]

The reclaiming of credits for past years had to be submitted by 31st January, I think.

For people with tax credit overpayments, please google search "Tax Credit Casualties" and you will find the website you need, with free advice, guidance and templates.

[saveabit]

Umm thought so - I think i may still have a go at putting in a claim though - any ideas on what was needed information- wise?

[desperate lady]

hi not sure who to talk to about the sticky mess i am in to do with fraud can anyone help.

it is a long winded story and i will explain all to whoever can give me advice on it.

Yes. You have 30 days from the date of the notice to make your appeal in writing. After that the notice is normally final and cannot be changed.
Can the time limit be extended?

Yes, but only if you can satisfy us that there were special reasons for the delay, and that you will raise the matter as soon as possible.
If we are not satisfied with your explanation then a legally qualified panel member at the Appeals Service will consider your application. They will look at your reasons for appealing late and decide whether to accept your appeal. Their decision is final.
We will not accept any appeal more than 13 months after the date on your notice under any circumstances.
Website is www.hmrc/gov/uk

Go into the site and click tax credits. I found his on the leaflets link. You could also look at a COP 26 which is a booklet explainin what hapens when tax credits are overpaid.
Good luck!![/quote]

[Mary777]

Could anyone please help me? I have a long ongoing dispute over an alledged overpayement but last week received a letter saying the tax credits have revised and increased the overpayment because they say I sent my P60 to them late. This is a blatent lie. It relates to the period 2003/2004. They have never said anything about me sending them the P60 into them late before despite having been in contact with them about the other overpayment over the last few years. I am at my wits end with them. Should I appeal or dispute this new alledged overpayment? I sent the P60 to them well within the deadline but cannot find the RD slip of proof of posting 5 years down the line.