I know it will be really uncomfortable having to go into detail about your situation with a stranger but try to be as honest ask you can about the initial separation so they understand that the single claim was required for a time.

If we could offer the reassurance that nothing further would happen then we would. You're about be 5th person in the last week to come here with a similar story and we've had to say the same to them.

HMRC are more focused on getting the money back than prosecution, especially if it's only been a few months.

Penalties are charged if it is deliberate or negligent. The fact you called and asked for help proves neither are the case. If a penalty was to be charged you could easily use this call as grounds for appeal.

As for prosecution, it does happen but rarely. Most of the ones I've seen in the past have been government staff who would definitely know better.

Thanks Blondebubbles. If the grounds of COP26 could be argued in terms of Op's disability, how would this affect the 8k overpaid amounts?

They would either reduce it, cancel it or leave it as it is.

The fact that the OP knew to call the month before to change to a single claim probably won't go in her favour unless her condition deteriorated after the partner moved in.

If the letter is from concentrix you need to call them. They will tell you if documentation is stil needed (sometimes if you agree that it should be a joint claim then they don't need it, sometimes they do).

An overpayment is likely all it would be but ultimately it is up to them.

Another link to read -

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ccmmanual/CCM15035.htm

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ccmmanual/CCM15000.htm

Tax credits define a married couple as follows:

A couple means a man and a woman who are married to each other and are not:

- separated under a court order, or

- separated in circumstances in which the separation is likely to be permanent

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/tctmanual/TCTM09320.htm

At the point the separation was no longer permanent would technically be when a joint claim should have been made.

It is unmarried couples that they would consider differently in whether they keep separate homes etc.

Best thing to do would be to now close the single claim to claim jointly and explain the situation and tell them you sought advice at the time. They would need to then consider based on the evidence if you should have ended the claim earlier.

The OP has admitted they are not single. Other than lying about this there is not grounds for appeal. She isn't single and claimed to be even if this was in error.

The appeal form is very clear on this.

"You can’t ask us to reconsider a decision asking you to pay back an overpayment. But, you can ask us to look at our decision again if you think the amount of

tax credits you were awarded in the first place was wrong.

Although you can’t ask us to reconsider a decision asking you to pay back an overpayment, you can dispute an overpayment if you think that we gave you wrong advice."

There could be grounds for dispute due to illness as outlined in the COP26.

If a penalty is charged this can be appealed.

Yes which these amendments refer to:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111109571

Your advice doesn't apply in this case. There isnt anything to review or appeal as the claim is incorrect and the decision to end the single claim is correct.

An appeal or review would apply where you disagree with their decision.

What I think you really want to suggest is an overpayment dispute. This is where the overpayment is correct (and it is because the OP is not single) but the OP does not believe they should repay it.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/463492/COP26.pdf

"[ 21B.— Late application for a review

 

 

(1) The Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs may in a particular case extend

the time limit specified in section 21A(1)(a) for making an application for a review if all of the

 

 

following conditions are met.

 

 

(2) The first condition is that the person seeking a review has applied to the Commissioners for an

 

extension of time.

 

 

(3) The second condition is that the application for the extension—

 

 

(a) explains why the extension is sought, and

 

 

(b) is made within 13 months of the notification of the original decision or of the date the

 

 

original decision was made if not notified because of section 23(3) .

 

 

(4) The third condition is that the Commissioners are satisfied that due to special circumstances it

 

 

was not practicable for the application for a review to have been made within the time limit specified

 

 

in section 21A(1)(a).

 

 

(5) The fourth condition is that the Commissioners are satisfied that it is reasonable in all the

 

 

circumstances to grant the extension.

 

 

(6) In determining whether it is reasonable to grant an extension, the Commissioners must have

 

 

regard to the principle that the greater the amount of time that has elapsed between the end of the

 

 

time limit specified in section 21A(1)(a) and the date of the application, the more compelling should

 

 

be the special circumstances on which the application is based.

 

 

(7) An application to extend the time limit specified in section 21A(1)(a) which has been refused

 

 

may not be renewed."

 

 

NB: This does not say anything about HMRC making an error. It just alludes if there is good cause: s. 21B, Tax Credit Act 2002 (subject to upcoming amendments by the Welfare Reform Act 2012).

Apologies I was referring to S21 rather than S21B

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/21/section/21

Regardless, that is under appeals which is not applicable in this case. The claim is single, the OP isn't single therefore there is nothing to appeal unless the OP doesn't believe she should be treated as living with a partner.

Even if it was to apply that wouldn't be necessary as the decision won't be made until she contacts them.

Concentrix are not debt collectors, they are a company used by HMRC to complete their compliance checks.

The normal tax credit helpline will not be able to help at this point if it is with concentrix. You need to call concentrix and confirm when your partner moved in.

As mentioned you will be overpaid from the date you moved in until the date you report the change.

I doubt you could say you didn't notice. If the overpayment is £8000 for 7 and a half months that suggests payments from them of over £1000 per month.

You will not be able to apply as a couple until you end the single claim as you can't have 2 claims running at the same time.

If you and your partner have any future entitlement the overpayment will be taken back from that. Without knowing your income it's difficult to say if you could claim as a couple.

If no longer entitled you will need to make direct payments or they could change your tax code to recover it via your income. This won't apply to your partner as the overpayment is not his.

Asking for a review doesn't make much sense in your case. You are claiming as a single person when you are no longer single therefore the claim is incorrect. A review would be applicable where you disagree with HMRCs decision eg they say you live with a partner and you don't.

Section 21 also refers to HMRC making an official error which there is no evidence of here.

Bankruptcy seems like a very extreme option at this stage.

Oh god.

I knew this would be bad

i was gonna call but re read my letter and they want me to send documents? So should I send documents? council tax bank accounts etc.

The over payments are 6 month worth.

Call them first and admit your error. They'll tell you if they'll still need more.

This is a start for you and a good one. 6 years is a very long time to have done this. The amount could be significant and this may be seen as 'so serious' there are a number of options open to HMRC which includes penalties and prosecution in a criminal court.

 

There are a few options for HMRC on how they can recover the overpayment too. If you are called in for an interview under caution (IUC) you should always make a full and frank statement. Depending on the amount the amount of time it will take to recover could be substantial.

 

You could get sanctions and lose the ability to claim benefits in the future too. I will post this up when on a PC...

OP said partner moved in April.

No one can confirm what will happen. Each case is looked at in its own merit.

If he claimed as a single person when you were together he will need to report that too.

To be honest you will be making their life a lot easier if you admit it so you're unlikely to get much hassle from them.

As mentioned, there is no way to know for sure what action HMRC will take but it is highly unlikely they will prosecute for 6-7months worth of money. It is more important to HMRC to get the money back.

Call them, confirm the actual date he moved in May and let them calculate what you owe. You'll then need to discuss a repayment plan and ask for an eligibility calculator for a claim as a couple.

No reporting it or replying to them now will only make matters worse.

Don't bother reading Facebook or googling, you are only going to read the worst case scenario. They wouldn't post stories simply about overpayments.

 

 

 

How do HMRC know whether you failed to report the change deliberately or just forgot, have they added mind-reading to their array of powers?. 'Notional offsetting ' is your friend in this very common situation. The amount of overpayment will depend upon how much your partner earns, e.g if he was on benefits you'd have got the same amount anyway so no overpayment would be due, if he's on a decent wage you will have to pay back a lot of money which TBF you weren't entitled to anyway.

If anything like tax then it will be all about questioning why the error occurred. It is then up the officer to decide based on the evidence and information provided whether something was deliberate or not.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ccmmanual/CCM10750.htm

We have seen notional entitlement refused on many of these case recently. It all depends on the reason why it wasn't reported.

That call is irrelevant. No matter what you said about your 2013/14 income on that call, they couldn't do anything about it as the tax year had not started. They cannot update income for a year until the year starts.

The system goes down on 6th April to be upgraded for the new tax year. From then you could have updated 2013/14 income but not before 6th April.

So what figure was this? They don't make figures up so it must have come from somewhere.

I'm sorry to say but so far it sounds like you failed to give them an estimate for 2013/14 (as you say you weren't aware of the tax year dates). These aren't just for tax credits, they are based on the tax year dates for income tax purposes.

If you repay an overpayment, the claim you had will still be there. They can't simply delete it as a record must be kept of all claims made.

Tax credits overpayments are not repaid through attachment of earnings but can be taken back through your tax code.

The other thing you may need to consider is if your partner knew you was still claiming the benefit, if so they could go after them as well. you have done the right thing by coming clean now rather than later, this could have made the debt larger and harder to pay back.

 

 

Also you may want to remember that the Agency involved may apply to a Court for them to place an order on your home especially if you have profited from the claim. I am just pointing out what may happen, by the way did you claim a single persons allowance for your Council Tax?

They can't because the partner would not have been able to do anything about it if he did know, he would not be able to access her record to close it down.

It would not have been possible for you to provide them with the 2013/14 income until after 6th April 2013. You'd need to find a call after that date to prove you updated the income correctly.

You couldn't have updated this on 3rd April 2013 as this was still in the 2012/13 year.

I refer to your letter dated 21/11/2015 regarding an overpaymenticon and that I have to pay this back.

(This date cannot be correct.)

I am writing to request a review of this decision. I made a Subject Access Request on DD/MM/YY and I have received all of the paperwork and award notices relating to this claim period. I was also supplied with recordings of some of the phone calls I made however calls dated X Y Z have not been provided.

On 03/04/2013 I called to inform HMRC about the changes to my employment and income. I estimated earnings as £38,000 for myself and £10,000 for my partner.

I don’t know the figure I gave over the phone because the vital call recording is missing from the cds I received. There is a paper record of all the calls I made and the evidence is there to prove I made the phone call on that day. Below is the notes made by HMRC against this call.

(You can't say here that you don't know what figure you provided. Your argument is that you gave the correct figures and this was not acted upon. You later say the adviser didn't do their job properly but if you don't know what figures you gave them then you cannot state this. Instead say:

"The vital phone call that would confirm this was not provided as part of my Subject Access Request. However the paper record of all calls made does confirm I made this phone call as per the note below".

[ 03/04/2013 NR19 Claimant confirmed new employment details. System updated customer or partner started work 01-04-2013 CY income change updated on NTC, total HH income 19400 ]

The adviser I spoke to that day appears to have entered the wrong earnings for that year. I did not give them a total income of £19400 and I am unsure how this figure was arrived at.

I have met my responsibilities by notifiying HMRC right away of the changes, the paper phone record proves this. Your department has failed to meet their responsibilities by not updating this information accordingly and as such I request that this overpayment be written off.

(You will need to mention why you did not meet your responsibilities in checking your award notice after it was sent to you)

Just another thing to check, you said in your OP that the overpayment relates to 2012/13 tax year and that the relevant call was on 03/04/13 and that your change of job was only on 01/04/13.

Can you confirm that all these dates are correct as if you only changed job 4 days before the end of the year that couldn't caused such an increase in income.

Well, I do like the challenge of trying to understand things that don't appear straight forward..

Basically if your over 25, from April 2016 you must be paid at least £7.20 per hour.

If you are under 25, there is no change to the current NMW.

Isn't the voluntary living wage over £9.00 and from next April, this would be a legal requirement and thus making the minimum wage defunct by default ?

The voluntary living wage and compulsory living wage are different rates.

The compulsory one is the one that will be a legal requirement from April 2016.

It doesn't replace national minimum wage, it's essentially a top up for those over 25. This is compulsory from April 2016.

So they currently get £6.70 ph and the top up will take them to £7.20 ph so an increase of 50p per hour.

For someone working 40hrs that's a gross increase of £20 per week.

News stories today are about the voluntary living wage which is different.