Hi all,

I have just received a letter asking to pay a tax credit debt of £2777.

The debt goes back to April 2004 and was from a previous relationship.

I can remember something coming through to me well over seven years ago and i said i would dispute it and did a SAR for paperwork which they sent through but i didn't hear anymore from them so just left it.

The letter today says we have written to before to tell you that you were paid too much through your tax credits, which they may well have done although i have never responded.

Does the debt become statute barred after a period of time as with other debts if not acknowledged and should i do anything in response to this letter?

Thanks for any help/advice.

overpayment/gov't debts do not become SB'd

so did you prove or disprove you owed it before?

Pre-enforcement: limits in enforcement proceedings: limitation legislation

England and Wales

Debts that are not tax

In England and Wales only, the Limitation Act 1980 provides that recovery action for debts should commence within six years from the debt becoming payable. But Section 37(2) of the Act excludes proceedings for recovery of tax or duty and interest on tax or duty thus there is no time limit for those debts.

Other debts that are not tax, for example

contract settlements

tax credit overpayments

Child benefit overpayments

National Insurance Contributions

Statutory payment recoveries (Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay)

overpaid Child Trust Fund contributions

Student Loan repayments and

National Minimum Wage Act penalties

are subject to the Limitation Act, and action must be taken within six years “from the date on which the cause of action accrued”. In this context an action is the lodging of a complaint in the magistrates’ court, the issue of a county court claim form or the levying of distraint. In this same context the date on which the cause of action accrued is the original due date of the liability.

If an action is not taken within the time limit, it could be defended successfully on the grounds of limitation.

The date for limitation may be advanced by a number of means:

payment made against the debt (where tax and NIC are being collected alongside each other, unless a debtor specifies otherwise, assume that any payment on account is made against both)

acknowledgment of the debt - the acknowledgment must be both explicit and unequivocal

where the debtor has concealed any material facts in relation to the debt which prevented the creditor pursuing the debt from the date it should have been paid.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/debt-management-and-banking/dmbm595080

Hi,

Google The Tax Credit Code of Practice (COP 26), page 11 could be relevant to you here

If you and your partner separate and your joint claim ends we’ll

work out if you’ve been overpaid. If you have, we’ll write to you

both, usually at the end of the tax year to:

• tell you how much we’ve overpaid you by

• ask you to contact us to arrange to pay back the money.

You and your ex-partner are both responsible for paying back an

overpayment from your joint claim. The letter sent to each of you

will show the total overpayment that you both owe

This is the sort of thing that you need to check in the SAR, if you still have it.

For what it's worth I found that they had made up a phone call and overestimated my salary. Once you have found this information you can start the appeal process.