single tax credit claim letter

[sandy123456]

I have received a letter stating people forget to inform of partners living with them and stating what is classed as couple etc . Is this letter a random letter or the start of a investigation as I seem to be the only one to have received it, it advises to call them

[honeybee13]

Hello Sandy, welcome to CAG. Can you tell us a bit more about what the letter says please? It's hard to advise with minimal details.

 

My best, HB

[sandy123456]

Thanks for quick reply, the letter states 'your single tax credits claim;is it right? We check thousands of claims each yr to make sure we pay right, not to much or to little. It is instant your claim is right before we start our checks. If wrong you may be over paid and have to pay a penalty. If you call us now we will help to make sure your claim is right before we start making our checks and you wont have to pay a penalty. You are claiming as a single person but we know a lot of people dont tell us about their partner. It then states the meanin of partner and you are still a couple even if you act as a couple, support each other financially etc. Remember that the longer you leave it to put your claim right, the bigger the over payment will be,if yo have been over paid we will work out how much you would have been paid if you had told us about your partner on time. We will help you to check the info is correct and if not put it right. Remember if you call now to put your claim right we wont charge you a penalty

[ErikaPNP]

Hundreds of thousands of those letters have been sent out to people claiming as individuals. It's part of a crack down on fraud because the largest volume of fraudulent claims to tax credit are from people who purport to be single when they are not, particularly so where there are also childcare costs being claimed. Some of the people the letters have been sent to are already under investigation without being aware of it, and others are not.

 

The letter alone does not necesserily mean an investigation is underway but it may form a part of an investigation if one is underway or carried out in future and covers the period the letter was issued.

 

I got one and I was less than impressed, I found it insulting as I felt it wasn't so much an enquiry as an outright accusation. I don't mind enquiries but this time I felt I was being accused and I didn't appreciate it.

[sandy123456]

I am slightly concerned and going to call monday, I have a partner but he doesnt live with me, but wondering if ex husband has tried to grass and cause trouble but if this was case would I not be contacted by job centre and council as well. I also worry if I call will I not be made to feel guilty

[sandy123456]

Also I get tax credits but child ones but they do not go to nursery

[leemack]

Calling any benefit department and using the word 'partner' to describe a person who doesn't live with you is a very bad idea. By calling you could inadvertently trigger an investigation. As Erika said, these letters have been sent out to thousands of single claimants. If you are single and living alone, you have no reason to call.

[sandy123456]

But it states to call, my partner has and does stay here but not all the time,i dont know what to do -there is no evidence to say he stays here unless they have been watching

[leemack]

Are you living together? If so call.

 

If he maintains his own household, has no ties to your house apart from sometimes staying overnight, has no mail going to your house, and does not contribute to the household, then personally I wouldn't call. But its your choice.

[sandy123456]

Yeah he has own place nothing comes here but letter states acting like couple socialising as couple which we do. I am certain ex has contacted them rather than just routine letter as none else in area same circumstances has had one

[leemack]

I wouldn't class socialising as a couple as anything to do with living together in legal terms. I'm suspicious that examples like this that have been given on your letter are examples of things most boyfriends and girlfriends do even though not living together. Surely you know if you're living together or not?

 

If the hmrc decide that you are living together - even if you're not - then your tax credits claim will end and you'll be expected to make a joint claim.

 

If you do call be careful of the language you use - unless you are living together, don't use the term partner. Don't be intimidated by the person on the phone and be very clear that he maintains his own household and doesn't contribute to yours. But I think you're being overly sensitive about thinking you've been reported. As Erika said lots of letters like this have gone out.

 

Edited due to further info from Erika

Edited January 30, 2011 by leemack

[ErikaPNP]

The letter specifically asks recipients to call. Compliance markers are placed on the records until a response is received. I called and it takes 5 minutes. They asked about a partner, I responded that I did not have a partner for their purposes but I was in a relationship and had been for several years with a man who lives miles away in his own home. They asked what name was against council tax, tenancy agreement, utility bills ect. I answered mine. I also advised them that he stays over approximately once every few months (long distance). I was reminded that I must inform them if I start to live with a partner. I asked them to go and check the history of my claim and they'd see that every solitary change is declared and I was still waiting for them to reduce my tax credit following a declaration that my childcare costs had dropped, which I'd been chasing for several months, pointing out that if I were trying to defraud them, I'd hardly be chasing them constantly to implement a reported change to reduce the money, and though I appreciated they had a right to check my claim, I did not appreciate the wording of the letter as it insinuated that I was commiting fraud, not just that they wanted to check.

 

You can see my thread about it here

 

Which is also how I know about the compliance markers. I did a SAR. I have some of my docs and recordings of phonecalls but not everything. HMRC think they have supplied everything but they haven't and another letter has been sent to them.

 

Initially I did not accept that it was a random check but I have since discovered via my circles that these letters are random and were sent to approximately hundreds of thousands of single claimants. They were planned to start in October last year. I am taking it further.

[sandy123456]

So i need to call them and state i am wondering why they have sent this accusation letter and do i can i ask if accusation has been made? I dont think i am going to win this though as partner does stay over i pay for bills etc we eat together sometimes- they would have to prove this though surely? I am feeling guilty and sure this is the whole point of this letter, what other questions did they ask?

[ErikaPNP]

You simply tell them that you don't have a partner, because you don't - not for tax credit purposes, from what you have said here. You have a boyfriend who you are dating but he maintains his own household with his bills in his name and you maintain your household with your bills in your own name. Tax credit criteria for a partner is very different to the criteria DWP use for a partner. So long as he has his own place and doesn't live with you (staying overnight now and then is not living with someone), he is not considered a partner for tax credit purposes.

[sandy123456]

I just hope its as easy as you say will soon know if its anything else if get housing benefit and income support on my door!

[ErikaPNP]

Well that's exactly it. If it were an investigation into your claim, the other authorities (such as DWP and the local authority) would also be taking an interest.

 

It also depends who you get on the phone and how you handle the call. I was lucky enough to get a lovely lady. I answered the questions but made it clear (firmly but politely) that I did not feel the wording of the letter appropriate for a random enquiry. She did make one throw away comment, which I very quickly pulled her up on and expressed that I didn't appreciate what she was insinuating.

[leemack]

Sorry OP did not say that the letter stated it was mandatory to call. Of course if a letter says you must call then you must call. However I've seen clients in the past who've responded to letters which have been fishing expeditions and have been convinced on the phone that they are living together (when they are not) and have ended up with their single claim cancelled and told to make a joint claim. Fixing this can be a long and difficult process.

Edited January 30, 2011 by leemack

[Kema]

i've recieved the same letter but i'm not sure whether it states that its mandatory to call or not it does say "if you call us now we will help you make sure your tax credit claim is right before we start making our checks". it also says "please call me ...... we will help you check that the information that we have is correct and up tp date and if not put it right"

 

i'm in a similar situation in that i have a boyfriend that doesn't live wth me or pay any bills for my household as he does this at his own address

[ErikaPNP]

Hmmm - that's interesting. Mine specifically states to call. This is the letter that I think is being referred to (identifiers omitted):

 

 

 

 

[Kema]

odd, mine is exactly the same apart from it says if you call......

so i dont know if i should ring or not