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Tax Credit Fraud


jacquieh
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Hi

i am hoping someone reading this will be able to help me and give me some desperately needed advice.

Basically, for around 2 years i have still been claiming and receiving additional tax credit payments to cover childcare costs i no longer pay. My son stopped going to his childminder around 2 years ago, he used to go after school and school hols. I didnt inform tax credits that i no longer paid for childcare and now am terrified of the consequences.

I am too scared to ring them as i keep reading horror stories of people being sent to prison and am convinced this will happen to me.

Can someone please please give me some advice or personal similar experiences.

I cant sleep, eat or do anything for worrying.

I am a single mum, and work full time, but struggled without assistance from my ex. This is no excuse i know, but really needed the extra money involved. Now, i guess i am in big trouble.

Please help someone

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The short answer is that you need to declare it, because sooner or later they are going to discover it, and the longer it is left, the bigger risk of a criminal invesitgation. They write to childminders periodically to ask if they still care for children registered on the claim. There is no childminder who is going to admit to caring for children that they no longer have because to do so would bring tax implications upon the childminder and place the childminder also at risk of being prosecuted for fraud. Once they write to your former childminder for a review of childcare costs, she will of course inform them that she no longer cares for the children. She will then be required to provide the end date of care along with any further evidence she has of when the contract terminated. This is only one manner in which you will be caught.

 

Childminders are self employed and have to complete a tax return to HMRC - the same people who are paying your tax credit. Which means the risk of them discovering your fraud is higher because not only can it be discovered if they do a review of your childcare claim (and they don't always tell you they are doing this), they can also discover a fraud during a data match because the childminders tax return figures will not match the income figures claimed for tax credit childcare element against her childminders registration number. Not only are you placing yourself at risk, but also your former childminder. Although this fraud is nothing to do with her (assuming she's not in collusion with you) she can still be investigated because they will seek to establish if she is party to the fraud if they find out about it without you coming forward of your own accord.

 

Tax credit prefer civil investigations to criminal investigations. If you declare it now and provide a full disclosure there is a very good chance that they will recover the overpayment with a penalty on top - which can be reduced if you disclose matters fully, and without criminal proceedings being brought against you. If you don't declare it now, and they find out (which they will sooner or later - I have dealt with claimants who have been caught and prosecuted for fraud years after their claims ended), the chances of them performing a criminal investigation and raising prosecution proceedings gets higher every day.

My advice is based on my opinion, my experience and my education. I do not profess to be an expert in any given field. If requested, I will provide a link where possible to relevant legislation or guidance, so that advice provided can be confirmed and I do encourage others to follow those links for their own peace of mind. Sometimes my advice is not what people necesserily want to hear, but I will advise on facts as I know them - although it may not be what a person wants to hear it helps to know where you stand. Advice on the internet should never be a substitute for advice from your own legal professional with full knowledge of your individual case.

 

 

Please do not seek, offer or produce advice on a consumer issue via private message; it is against

forum rules to advise via private message, therefore pm's requesting private advice will not receive a response.

(exceptions for prior authorisation)

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Im in exactly the same position as you - i have done the same thing and claimed for child care costs for nearly 2 years and now have just received a letter asking for proof of my childcare costs. Im so frightened that im going to end up in prison. I know Ive been really stupid. Please can you let me know the outcome of your situation??? Thanks

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I have recieved a letter this weekend from the compliance team asking me to send in receipts for my childcare between 2010 - 2011

My childcare stopped last september however I completely forgot and didn't tell them until March this year. My childcare costs were on ave 50 a week, I am now really frightened of being sent to prison and I don't know what to do, I can't even speak to anyone until Tuesday which is a nitemare. I am preganant with my 2nd child & fear I am harming the baby by over stressing.

 

Please can anyone help.......xx

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Thank u for your reply, will they start an investigation or do I just phone them and explain I failed to tell them in time (as soon as i realised in march I did phone & cancel the child care claim) before I recieved this letter so will that go in my favour?

How will I have to pay it back in 1 lump sum or will they take money from my tax credits or will this be stopped now?

 

Thank u very much for helping, this feels like the longest weekend ever, wish I had the letter Friday so I could have rang then. xx

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I would be honest with them, if you go saying you forgot childcare had stopped, sorry but that's just going to come across as a bit far fetched. Others on here have been upfront & said they were skint & took the p basically, & have only had to pay it back. No mention of prosecution. I think they got CAB to communicate with the Tax office for them. x

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Thank u 4 your response, do u think I should let CAB ring them or would I be ok to just ring them and explain on Tuesday, I am just so so worried and can't function so just desperately want to know what is going to happen to me. If my claim is stopped I will loose my home, I only work part time so can't live without my tax credits. I know all of this is my fault I just want to get it sorted before anything else bad happens.

 

Thanks again xx

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If you think you can deal with it ring them yourself, I just remember someone recently saying they went to CAB & got them to ring on their behalf. And it was sorted.

It is a worry, but by the sounds of it, yours is not a kings ransom compared to some. 1200 pounds roughly? Not worth the tax payers money to take you to court, I wouldn't think. Especially if you offer to pay it back.

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Thank u 4 your response again, I will phone them Tuesday just have to try and figure out what to say as I don't know how to go about these sorts of things, do I just say, I claimed for longer than I should have, I will pay back in installments?

Do you know if I will still be allowed to claim tax credits?

 

Thanks xx

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If you're still entitled to them, they have to pay them. They'll possibly take your over payment out of them in installments though.

But Tax credits aren't sanctionable.

Edited by jadeybags
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Do you know if I will still be allowed to claim tax credits?

 

 

If you receive maximum tax credits (you will be if you are reliant only on income based DWP benefit) they can only reduce your payments by up to 10%. If you receive less than the maximum tax credits, but more than the basic amount (which is £10.50 a week) then they can only reduce your payments by up to 25%. If you are receiving just the basic amount (£10.50 a week), they can stop your tax credits entirely until the overpayment is paid back.

 

There are some examples here - you'll need to scroll down the page to find them.

My advice is based on my opinion, my experience and my education. I do not profess to be an expert in any given field. If requested, I will provide a link where possible to relevant legislation or guidance, so that advice provided can be confirmed and I do encourage others to follow those links for their own peace of mind. Sometimes my advice is not what people necesserily want to hear, but I will advise on facts as I know them - although it may not be what a person wants to hear it helps to know where you stand. Advice on the internet should never be a substitute for advice from your own legal professional with full knowledge of your individual case.

 

 

Please do not seek, offer or produce advice on a consumer issue via private message; it is against

forum rules to advise via private message, therefore pm's requesting private advice will not receive a response.

(exceptions for prior authorisation)

 

 

 

 

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thanks for you're help, I am preparing myself to ring them tomorrow, just hope they don't cancel my claim and make me do another :(

What an awful weekend, can't wait for this to just all be sorted and never be in this mess again xx

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Brilliant, I tried ringing this am, the guy who is dealing with my case is on hol until next Tuesday, no one else can deal with my case, another week of stress, sleepless nites & not eating, god knows what this is doing to this baby, I am trying so hard not to worry but I can't, any advice on what I can do until then, is there a letter I can write to say what I have done or do I have to speak to them over the phone?

 

Thanks

 

XX

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You can send a letter to them if you prefer. Send it to the address on the letter they have sent to you, I'd advise recorded delivery.

My advice is based on my opinion, my experience and my education. I do not profess to be an expert in any given field. If requested, I will provide a link where possible to relevant legislation or guidance, so that advice provided can be confirmed and I do encourage others to follow those links for their own peace of mind. Sometimes my advice is not what people necesserily want to hear, but I will advise on facts as I know them - although it may not be what a person wants to hear it helps to know where you stand. Advice on the internet should never be a substitute for advice from your own legal professional with full knowledge of your individual case.

 

 

Please do not seek, offer or produce advice on a consumer issue via private message; it is against

forum rules to advise via private message, therefore pm's requesting private advice will not receive a response.

(exceptions for prior authorisation)

 

 

 

 

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jck:

 

I am in the same situation, claimed it foe two and a half years and had a letter saying the last year is under review, I am phoning first thing to admit everything, I am so scared of going to jail and losing my child, please please please keep updated with your case, I am so ill with worry an fear.

 

Good luck to you and hope everything works out okay

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I am in the exact same position, terrified isn't the word, haven't slept all night and I'm planning on phoning to say I have commited fraud for the last 3 years by saying my child still attended a childminder when she didnt. I have never been so scared in all my life , I reallyndont want to go to jail, I think I owe about 20,000. Please keep me updated o. Your progress and hope everything works out okay foe you, good luck

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I really hope so, I want to pay this money back starting now but I am so scared what to say to them. I'm terrified how much I owe and also that I lose my job and child. I have heard so many horror stories. I have been so scared to phone them incase they knew I was committing fraud, I have wanted to stop the payments for ages :( in a way I have relief knowing I won't be claiming the money I am not entitled too.

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  • 3 months later...
I am in the exact same position, terrified isn't the word, haven't slept all night and I'm planning on phoning to say I have commited fraud for the last 3 years by saying my child still attended a childminder when she didnt. I have never been so scared in all my life , I reallyndont want to go to jail, I think I owe about 20,000. Please keep me updated o. Your progress and hope everything works out okay foe you, good luck

 

Hi hope everything went well with you!Am in the same situation but with more money and am really scared!But am going 2 c a lawer next week!Can u tell me if u called them?And what happen .

My hearth is with you :)

Best of luck for all of has :)

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im no expert on tax credits or childcare claims and costs i do claim tax credits but not childcare but what i will say is ive seen pleanty of people posting about claiming childcare when they no longer need it (and personally know of people who have done it as well) there must be so many people over the country and although im not saying its ok cos everyone does it as its not ok, i think if they had to send everyone to jail it would have to be a pretty big jail! best thing i would do is write a letter send it recorded admitting everything, explain why and how sorry you are and you would really like to get the money paid back to them in installments say how scared you are etc and im sure it will be ok they will work out your overpayment and sort it out. I feel really bad for people when i read they are scared of loosing there kids and going to jail, we have all done things to make ends meet with our kids (i didnt pay my electricity bill this month so i could get my daughters school uniform). I hope it all turns out ok for you all and you can stop worrying about it xxxx

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