Thanks for responding. I previously used a registered child minder, tax credits people assumed I was using them again when I started back at work, however they should not have had this assumption! When you renew by phone or advise of change of circumstances, surely the questions should be asked. Paying back a year's child tax credit will financially finish me! I rang them and told them that I believe that I was getting too much money and they confirmed that they have this conversation on record, I was told it was correct without them asking me my circumstances. I think this is their fault, I notified them before they contacted me!

I became redundant Nov 2009 and I informed tax credit, I trained and became a registered child minder in April 2010 again I told tax credits, at no point did I tell them that I required child tax credits, however they started paying me £105 per week. I received my tax credit summary and like most years I did not look at it. I had no idea that I was receiving this payment at all, I received a letter from the tax credits just doing a spot check asking me for details of my childcare provider, if you knew me you would understand what am I like. Also one of parents of the children I was caring for told me her voucher payment to me didn't go through to me, me being me didn't even notice, she asked me to check bank statement and that's when I noticed the amount being paid to me!! I rang the tax credit office and told them that I didn't ask for childcare benefit. I rang again and they said that a decision will be made in due course. I followed it up with a letter as the payments were still coming. I think they've stopped as I checked my balance of my account and it was a lot less than I thought I had. I am about to receive a letter stating that I have had a year of tax credits which I was not entitled to and I will have to pay it back, I told them to check back at the recording of my conversation and they will see that I never asked for child tax credit. Paying back this money will be highly impossible as I have not got any savings what so ever and to top that I have lost one of the children I was caring for and have just one child now! Do you think I will have to pay back the full amount??