Tax credits & fraud

[Esheeha1]

Hi.. I hope I'm worrying unnecessarily but I need advice. My ex partner & children's father wanted to move to Sussex to be near to our children. He decided, to go back out on site as a bricklayer for this he needed his unique tax ref code. I allowed him to use my address as a care of address until he found a permanent place to live. Today a tax demand came through the door for him & I'm now terrified the tax office think he lives here, I didn't even consider that when I allowed him to use this address for his UTR code & job applications... Do you think I've caused myself a headache here?

 

Many many thanks.

[Life-Goes-On]

Does he use your address for anything else? (bank statements, car insurance, etc)?

[Esheeha1]

Hi, no he hasn't. He's now back in London anyways as he could find permanent work down here...

[Life-Goes-On]

When letting someone use your address you do risk problems as it can lead to an investigation.

But if there is nothing else, then it won't be much trouble as you can explain to them it was a one off.

[Esheeha1]

Okay, many thanks! I've telephoned him today & told him to get my address of his account. I don't think I'll stop worrying though :-/ ... Oh well I'm sure all will be okay.

[Esheeha1]

Off*

[Life-Goes-On]

I know it's easy to say, but don't worry.

Try and forget about it now.

[Esheeha1]

Thank you & I'll try!

[SKJP]

Hi.. I hope I'm worrying unnecessarily but I need advice. My ex partner & children's father wanted to move to Sussex to be near to our children. He decided, to go back out on site as a bricklayer for this he needed his unique tax ref code. I allowed him to use my address as a care of address until he found a permanent place to live. Today a tax demand came through the door for him & I'm now terrified the tax office think he lives here, I didn't even consider that when I allowed him to use this address for his UTR code & job applications... Do you think I've caused myself a headache here?

 

Many many thanks.

 

When allowing someone to use your address who could be reasonably suspected (rightly or wrongly) to be your (undeclared) partner, there are risks with TCs, benefits, and so on, but:

 

1) If you're genuinely not a couple and can go some way to proving it (showing he's been at a different address, etc.), you should have little to worry about.

 

2) His request for his UTR does not necessarily mean that alarm bells have started ringing at HMRC and that you will automatically be 'investigated'. Though both matters are dealth with by HMRC, they're different departments, and it's an enormous organisation. Pretty much every single person in the whole country has some kind of relationship with HMRC, as do businesses, and many, many other people and organisations overseas, too. They have hundreds of millions of unique accounts on their books, and they don't cross-reference absolutely everything as a matter of course or automatically - if they did, there'd be no undetected TC fraud at all - but the fact of the matter is that there is!

[Esheeha1]

When allowing someone to use your address who could be reasonably suspected (rightly or wrongly) to be your (undeclared) partner, there are risks with TCs, benefits, and so on, but:

 

1) If you're genuinely not a couple and can go some way to proving it (showing he's been at a different address, etc.), you should have little to worry about.

 

2) His request for his UTR does not necessarily mean that alarm bells have started ringing at HMRC and that you will automatically be 'investigated'. Though both matters are dealth with by HMRC, they're different departments, and it's an enormous organisation. Pretty much every single person in the whole country has some kind of relationship with HMRC, as do businesses, and many, many other people and organisations overseas, too. They have hundreds of millions of unique accounts on their books, and they don't cross-reference absolutely everything as a matter of course or automatically - if they did, there'd be no undetected TC fraud at all - but the fact of the matter is that there is!

Thank you very much. I think I worried myself needlessly, I'm a big worry wart!