Tax credit fraud!!

[Doomed]

thanks doomed, just want it sorted, I can prove i pay mortgage, bills etc but as he is registered here and i've no way of proving another address as he stays in digs I think it will come to this, fingers crossed I get a similar outcome to yours x

 

Hi ecb ,you will do got a letter today from hmrc saying £50 payable until 2032 lol ,but no interest or penalty ,you will not be prosecuted so relax and enjoy your time with your children

[ECB49]

thats brill doomed, fingers crossed for me please x

[maud26]

Can anyone advise on what HMRC say in that first phone call please? I have to call them on monday and i'm dreading it - had a migraine since i opened my mail this am and i cant face eating at all. I dont know what i would do without this forum xx

[Doomed]

thats brill doomed, fingers crossed for me please x

 

Hi ecb ,put it this way my name doomed is when i thought i would be going to prison ,now im happy again let is know how you get on

[ECB49]

I will do, as sson as I find out

 

and Maud, when I first phoned up they asked me if I knew the pwrson whose name was on the letter, I replied yes then asked me if I could supply proof of where hes been staying, I replied no and then she said someone will contact you within 2 weeks, which to me is the worse part!!! I know its scary but at the end of the day its not going to go away, I have been ill all week with it, just want it sorted, good luck to you, let us know how you get on

[maud26]

Ecb49 - thank you for your reply, i've had no sleep at all and dont know how i'm going to face work tomorrow as well as calling in between

I know they probably have a date of when they think he has been living here since and i dont want to make things worse by saying the wrong thing! If i tell them the truth chances are they wont believe me anyway so its prob easier to let them go by their info - i really dont have much fight in me.

Thank you for your help - good luck to you too xxx

[Doomed]

Thought i might add that cause we and my husband have got back together we have been able to do a joint claim backdated 3 months so all in all we are getting more than £50 so not costing us anything

Wish they could say leave the £50 a month and dont claim lol

[ECB49]

Hi Doomed, sorry to keep asking questions but did you have to supply them with any paperwork when they first spoke to you or did they just say we dont believe so therefore you have to pay us back?? Also when they did get back to you and you had to give details of incomings/outgoings did you have to supply bank statement etc or just fill in a form?? Also what office were you dealing with and if you can remember what was the name of the person?? Sorry for all these questions, just want to be prepared x

 

and Maud keep ur chin up, hopefully it will all come right in the end and we will be able to get on with our lifes without this hanging over us

[jadeybags]

Thought i might add that cause we and my husband have got back together we have been able to do a joint claim backdated 3 months so all in all we are getting more than £50 so not costing us anything

Wish they could say leave the £50 a month and dont claim lol

 

Would make sense wouldn't it! They don't do things simply though, which half the time is what causes us all to end up with over payments from claiming benefits in the first place! I guess all you can do is receive that 50 off them & pay it straight to them, job done.

[worryb]

Hi, I had the same letter on monday, they phoned me thursday, didnt ask for any bills etc. said mine was 2010-2012, my husband was living at his parents and his work rotas, pay slips went to him there but because he had taken out credit in this address and his car was insured at this address they said i have to pay back. I explained that he still owns half the house and still on mortgage etc and thats why he used this address (his parents have poor credit rating at there house) but she said it doesnt matter, she wouldnt take into account that for 10 months during this period he was working away and his company could provide proof of this, she said he still could have been sending money home. You cant win.

waiting to find out how much they say I owe and comeup with a plan, I just hope they are lenient with payments because times are hard.

I am glad i got the phone call out of the way, i was feeling like ending my life but feel a bit better now, I just wish i had looked into things better and read the small print, then i wouldnt be in this mess, good luck

[ECB49]

wooryb you got a call back really quickly, I called them on monday and they said it would be 2 weeks, which office were you dealing with?

[maud26]

Ecb49 - i thought that was quick too, my office is Preston, really not looking forward to making the call. Did they say why it would take two weeks to call you back?

Xx

[ECB49]

maud26 - mine is preston too, they didnt say why just that it would be 2 weeks, the lady that took my call was ok but would not really let me give any explanation just said to wait until they called me back, the stress is really getting to me x

[maud26]

It is to me hun and i havent even called them yet i am so grateful to you all for the advice, just to know someone else knows how you feel makes it slightly easier. I will post back as soon as i've made my call, i still cant eat properly - my brain just wont switch off! I've even taken beta blockers to try and calm down but they only work for so long. I hope tomorrow isnt too traumatic, fingers crossed.

Thankyou so much for your advice xxxx

[ECB49]

maud26 - How did you get on today?

 

 

Have been thinking today that when people apply for tax credit there should be something on the form that states clearly that if you have any financial ties whatsoever, even if you dont live together please do not apply!!!!! It would have saved an awful lot of stress, thats for sure x

[worryb]

I agree, I cant believe I will have all this debt hanging over me now for years. It was preston who dealt with me, they didnt ask for any bills or anything which was suprising, i told her my bank account could show all bills including mortgage coming out of my account but she said 'your husband could have been giving you cash' there doesnt seem to be any way out, i was going off my head with the stress of it, still am really while waiting for the next letter. They should make it clear when you claim that any ties have to be severed. trouble is how are you supposed to take them off the mortgage, my husband still owns half the house so no way would he take his name off and also if he owns half the house then why cant he get credit at this address? seems to be a lot of people suffereing bad stress over HMRC, also, why send a letter then expect you to wait 2 weeks for a reply, dont they realise the effect this has on people, I dont know how i will manage now, bet before long i will have to sell the house and end up in rented on housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support, x x

[ECB49]

worryb - Its seems so unfair re whats going on but on similar posts the minute you say you will appeal they say they will start looking back further, think they have us over a barrel, because they know if we cant provide evidence for the last 2 years we aint got a hope in hell of doing so if they go further back, pi##es me right of, they've certainly got us by the short and curlies thats for sure, just wish they would get back to me so I know my fate!!!

[maud26]

I called them at 12.30 and spoke to a really snotty man, very condescending! And he advised someone would call me back asap - probably this afternoon! At this point i really panicked cos i knew they had told you 2 wks and began to think they must be taking mine very serious!

 

 

Well i had a call back within half an hour (couldnt post on here as i was at work) from a lovely lady who said that the overpayment would now be calculated and the overpayment team would contact me by letter and i then need to call them to arrange a repayment plan. She advised me to make a joint claim tomorrow - cant see much point but worth a try i guess. She was very reassuring and said there would be no penalty or prosecution so i feel very relieved in that sense. Just need to wait now - a huge THANK YOU to everyone here for your advice, i really appreciate it xxxx good luck to you all too

[maud26]

P.s i will update as i hear xx

[worryb]

glad you heard back maud26, are they taking your re-payments back to 2010 too, that seems to be what they are doing to everyone, its a massive amount to be in debt for, i am still sick with worry about the re-payments x x so glad i found this site, i was going mental with stress until i read other stories on here, good that most people give the end results too so others can read and not worry too much

[maud26]

Hi worryb

Yes back to 06/04/10 so alot to repay - will be paying it till im elderly lol! I just hope they are lenient on the repayments as we dont have much spare at the mo. i would have done something very silly if it weren't for this site over the weekend - i am truly grateful.

Xx

[worryb]

me too, i was at my wits end, shaking, crying, worrying about prosecution, prison, name in paper , all sorts, I think from reading on here they are reasonalbe about paying back, I hope so..... times are hard enough. Me and hubby only just got back together in January but all the stress of this is causing more problems, I think I would be better off living as a single parent, thank god for sites like this, have they said how long it will be before they get back to you, they told me a week or so....it seems like there are a lot of people in the same boat...makes me wonder if it is worth working,

[maud26]

No timescale - i dont think anyway as my head was pretty mashed

She said i would get a letter from her stating that my curreng claim ended today etc but then it would be the overpayment team dealing with it. So im not sure of their timeframe - let me know if you hear?

I have been just the same myself, still cant eat to be honest. I broke down at work so had to tell my friend - the shame!

From what ive read people pay £50 ish a month - is that what you've read? I could just about afford that xx

[worryb]

Thats what I am hoping for, I cant afford any more, if they ask for more then I would have to re-mortgage the house to pay them. I have read on here that other people have been told to make a joint claim but she never said that to me, just that she was ending my claim and i would hear from re payment team. God what a mess, I have never been as scared in my whole life......I couldnt talk to anyone about it because I felt ashamed, I cant stop thinking about it and its just making me ill. I cant believe they said i had made a false claim when my husband wasnt even here, he was at his parents. I told hm not to use my address for car insurance etc but he said he had to, he wants to phone them but i wont let him, it might just make things worse, will post when i hear anything back,x x

[ECB49]

I wish mine was sorted as quick, i'm worried now as mine is taking longer, that mine might be serious, its seems its different for everyone, I've truly had it, dont think i can take much more