I would ring them but unfortunately because his name is still on council tax, bills etc this to the HMRC is proof that he lives there, I know as I have gone through the same thing!!!! Unless you can prove he is at another address i.e tenancy agreement, bank statement etc they wont believe you. They will only want back what years they mention on the letter - for me it was 2 years - and they will allow you to pay it back in monthly installments but your tax credits will stop as a single person and if you still want to claim them it will have to be as a couple, as in their eyes you are still a couple - even if ur not!!!! Doesnt make sense does it, but it is so black and white in their eyes, good luck to you, hope it works in your favour xx

Just thought I would give you all an update, rec'd my notice to pay which was £13,000 and have just phoned them, spoke to a really lovely lady who asked me how much could I afford to pay, told her at a push £50 per month, she then asked me for my income/expenditure which I had ready and after we went through it all she agreed with that amount and has set up a direct debit :) I'm so happy its finally been sorted out, its like a weight of of my shoulders, I know its going to be a struggle but after all the stress and worry over the last few months I might actually get a nights sleep without waking up and the first thing I think of is the bloody tax credit office! Good luck to you all out there and I really hope you all get the outcome you want!! xx

gildo bless ya, you made me laugh then why not pluck up the courage and give them a ring, the lady I spoke to was called Joan and was really lovely, fully understood the situation we are in but its out of her hands really, i felt if she could have helped in anyway she would have

Hi gildo - it was just over 3 weeks when i rec'd 2nd letter telling me they had tried to ring me, so now claim has stopped and now waiting on demand letter. Lets hope you sort out ur legal aid, you dont need that hanging over you as well

Sorry to put more worry onto you but even though you may give them a date he moved back in with you, unless you can prove he has been at another address up until the date you give them, and it needs to be a bill or bank statement etc, your claim will be stopped and you will be made to pay the years they are looking into back!!! I know because it has just happened to me, god knows how I will be able to do it, but as they say they cant take what I havent got!!!!! Just waiting now for the demand for payment then hopefully I will be able to sort some type of payment plan, even though I have done an income/expenditure form and I am -£77 per month for what I need to live on and pay my bills

Doomed - Did you offer this amount to them or was it them that decided after you gave them income/expediture? Can just about manage that amount but will be paying it for years, I hope they accept this from me

Gildo - I do feel a bit better about it, fingers crossed they will accept minimal amount or i'm in trouble!!!!! Hope all goes well with you, I'll keep you updated with the final outcome, and fingers & toes crossed for you

Thought I would update you, rang the 0151 number this morning and spoke to a really lovely lady called Joan, basically because I cannot provide evidence of another address they have cancelled my claim as from 2010-2012!!!! (thank god they didnt go back further as wouldnt have been able to give any evidence for that either) So will now be waiting for a letter to confirm this and then I will be ring the helpline to set up a payment plan as think it will be about £12000 - She did say that they are so busy and there are loads of people in the same situation as all of us. Thank god this nightmare is nearly over, as I said to her, I will do my best to pay something back but they cant take what I haven't got!!! she also said they will take into account my husbands earnings when payment plan arranged but with my calculation we are -£77 short a month after we pay everything, so good luck to them on that front!!

Just to give you an update, rec'd letter from TC office yesterday morning - 29th March - , letter dated 22nd March stating that they have tried to contact me and I was to ring them back before 29th March!!!!!! so as i had been at work all day and I didnt get in till about 4.30pm I got straight on the phone straight away but surprise surprise the lady I had to speak to finishes about 4pm and wasnt going to be in until monday!!!! So therefore another weekend of worry. The lady I did speak to was really nice, wish it was her that was dealing with my case

gildo - lets hope we hear something soon

I'm still waiting to hear from them - arrrg!!! I am losing the will to live

my actual letter was regarding my change of circumstances, as tried to phone but either engaged or answering machine. Then I rec'd another tc payment in feb so rang them at beginning of march and advised them of the change but they aid I had to rig a different num as another dept was dealing with it, didnt think anything of this so was waiting till the monday to ring then lo and behold the review letter landed on my doormat on the monday morning to rang them and spoke to a lady who told me that someone would ring back within 2 weeks - still waiting - hence my call today. Gildo I cant see any harm in writing a letter, it might be better to do this, especially if you go to pieces on the phone, and write ur circumstances down but make sure you send it recorded delivery so that you have proof of posing as things do tend to go astray at HMRC!!! Let us know how you get on, fingers crossed I might hear from them tomorrow

Have tried to ring them (review letter tel num) several times today but got the 'dealing with an influx of calls' answering machine message so rang the tc helpline, spoke to a really lovely lady (wish i could deal with her re this) she advised me that my letter and subsequent tel call has been logged and she would log todays call highlighting that I was concerned and wanted things sorted (good or bad) so fingers crossed i might hear from then soon and might be able to get a none-restless nights sleep for a change!!!

gildo I so relate to you, just want it sorted so I can get on with my life, its the most horrible feeling, everytime the phone rings I jump!!!! Have got it all written down what I have to say to them, though I know it will do me no favours but just want it over with, will give them a couple of more days then will ring them and see what they have to say!!!! - Good luck to you and keep ur head up, remember when we signed that declaration it did not say anywhere on that form about dissosiation from your ex so therefore we did not know it was wrong to let them receive mail etc at our addresses, they need to make the guide lines alot clearer and then so many people would not be in this mess!!

Its been 2 weeks since I called and they said they would call back when i received the dreaded letter - still waiting!!!!! Still received payment last week (even though I have advised change of circumstances that another adult is now residing at this address) so do I just carry on waiting or do I call them back (again)???? Fed up with tax credits and the misery they bring!!!!