Working Tax Credit Overpayment

[Cheeseybob]

Hello Guys. I need a little bit of help please. This goes back to 2006/2007. Letter states 'You failed to disclose the material you were awarded Working Tax Credit.' Total amount £300. I was self employed and needed an operation. I was paid incapacity benefit for the period of sick time. I then went back to work and 3 years later received a letter from the DWP saying as stated above. I phoned and wrote to the DWP saying I had never claimed WTC. I finally received a court letter saying I had to pay this amount as I never informed the DWP. I then wrote to HMRC and explained the situation and they wrote back and said that I had NEVER claimed WTC in all that time. So, I sent a copy of that letter and a covering letter to the DWP and to this date they are still chasing me for the money. In actual fact, they owe me money for a payment made on the account which they deducted from my incapacity benefit. Apart from the obvious, what do I do know. (edit) Many thank in advance.

Edited August 16, 2011 by ErikaPNP
please refer to the 'this forum' sticky and the forum rules.

[ErikaPNP]

That is far from acceptable.

 

I'm assuming that they dropped the court proceedings? If so, get in touch with your MP and ask him or her to make represenations on your behalf (as a formal complaint). They don't ignore MP's so easily. If they have not dropped court proceedings and you have yet to file a response to the court, counter claim against them for all the time that you have spent in trying to rectify their error, and in preparing your defence.

[Cheeseybob]

I am getting 4-5 phone calls a day from the DWP which I refuse to answer, I have told them I am no longer in employment as my contract has finished and my mobile no longer has credit on it as I cannot afford it. They have not listened to the information I have given them, so maybe the MP is the other option. Thanks for your input. It just seems such a paltry amount to chase for when I clearly do not owe this money and even HMRC say I don't owe it. Hey ho. Stay tuned as they say.

[Nystagmite]

I would ask where they (DWP) got this from.

[Cheeseybob]

When I phoned the DWP they told me they were collecting the money on behalf of HMRC, hence why I contacted HMRC myself and they stated that I had never claimed it.

[ErikaPNP]

DWP don't collect money on behalf of HMRC. Are you 100% sure that it is DWP you are dealing with?

[Cheeseybob]

The foreign lady I spoke to said they were collecting it on behalf of HMRC. The letterheads are from DWP and I have spoken to the people there who bring up my file. According to HMRC I never claimed the WTC nor was I paid any. If the DWP don't listen/understand the HMRC letter, I am at a

[Cheeseybob]

Sorry, pressed wrong key - I am at a loss what to do now. I have stopped answering the phone, because I am fed up going through the same story each time, and each time them saying we will look into it.

[ErikaPNP]

They definately don't collect on behalf of HMRC.

 

HMRC have far more in terms of enforcement options available to them than DWP and use their own debt recovery services. I think she has got the wrong end of the stick and is claiming back what is alleged to be a benefit overpayment resultant of a failure to declare WTC.

 

Get your MP onto it and request financial redress for their maladministration. These requests go out of the main office to a particular team set up to consider consolotary payments where the DWP's errors have caused financial loss, delay or distress. They will need to look into the whole case from scratch because they need to look at what the maladministration is in order to consider awarding a payment.