tax credits compliance letter, am scared, please help

[squidgemum]

hi there. i split with my ex in jan 2012. since he has left his mail has been coming to the house but he has been moved out since the day we split

 

he has now finally changed all his stuff over in the last couple of months, as he moved in with someone just after xmas. the only thing he pays for me is the Sky, and thats because i cannot get it in my own name due to poor credit. he does not contribute in any way, financially or otherwise.

 

everything is in my name, the rent, the council tax, the water, gas and electric, and he is not on the electral roll. i also pay for all my own food shopping and things for the children

 

however, at the weekend, i have received a letter from tax credits saying they have done a credit search and he is still showing as living at my address. so they are asking for loads of stuff from me, bank statements, bills, rent statements, etc, to prove he doesnt pay anything. we are completely financially separate, i cannot stress this enough.

 

i have all this what they are asking for, and am going to post it off today. but i am so scared it wont be enough as prior to living where he is now he did not have a fixed address and i am also worried that he pays the sky even though its only about £25 a month. i rang them and told them all this and even gave ex's new address, but the person i spoke to says i still need to send all the bank statements, bills etc.

 

has anyone ever been in this situation?? or have any advice for me? am so scared, i suffer from anxiety as it is and since i had the letter i can barely sleep or eat. please please help x

[Guest]

Maybe they need the statements etc to prove and back up what you have told them on the phone? and so that they have all the details etc. I am no expert on this and someone else will know more here, was just my thoughts on it.

[Lillibelle]

Has he possibly applied for a loan using your address?

You need written conformation where he went to live when he left (tenancy agreement /council tax bill in his name)

If everything you have is in your name thats a good thing.I don't think him paying the Sky bill will be too damaging.Try not to worry too much,,send off what they have asked for,and hopefully that will be that.

Good Luck

xxxxx

[squidgemum]

thank you both

 

i don't think he would have applied for anything using my address, but may have still had certain things registered here up until recently.

 

as i say, everything is in my name, i pay for everything, but i just hope what i have is enough. what i am concerned about is that he didn't have a fixed address up until the last few months, and the fact i gave them his new address on the phone but that was not enough

 

its making me ill with worry and i have small children to look after and they need their mum to be 100% and i am just not

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi squidgemum, and welcome to CAG!

 

At the moment just send everything they have asked for.

 

Please try not to worry too much at this stage. You seem to have lots of proof that you are paying all the bills, and I wouldn't worry about the Sky too much. There's no reason why he shouldn't be paying that for your children.

 

Go the search box at the top of the page, on the right just above 'new posts' and type in 'foolmum'. You'll find a list of other threads by people who are going through the same thing as you, and I think you should introduce yourself on foolmum's thread and also wendy1's thread which you'll also see listed. They are being very supportive to each other, as are others on their threads.

 

You are not alone here, as you'll see.

 

You must eat, for the sake of your children, and it's quite clear that a lot of men do seem to be 'of no fixed abode' after a split up, and I'm sure the tax credit people are used to that.

 

DDx

[jadeybags]

They likely do believe you, they just want to double check the bank statements. Hopefully after they have done that they will be satisfied & that will be the end of it.

It's getting crazy the way they are pouncing on people now, for one thing, it never used to be like that, as I have said on here before I still had a joint bank account with my ex up until about 3 yrs ago, we split 12 yrs ago, they didn't give a monkeys back then.

[squidgemum]

They likely do believe you, they just want to double check the bank statements. Hopefully after they have done that they will be satisfied & that will be the end of it.

It's getting crazy the way they are pouncing on people now, for one thing, it never used to be like that, as I have said on here before I still had a joint bank account with my ex up until about 3 yrs ago, we split 12 yrs ago, they didn't give a monkeys back then.

 

thanks daniella and jadey.

 

i can see that its good in a way that they now check everything, as i am sure there are a lot of people not being 100% honest. but this credit checking seems a really clumsy way of going about things, as i bet 10000s of genuine claimants have the same problem where their ex does not change their address for whatever reason

 

and at the end of the day its the kids who will suffer because they will have stressed mums and possibly end up with no money coming in, people could lose their homes and everything

 

anyway i am really trying not to worry too much but its hard. i will go and seek out those other posts. thanks again and i would welcome any more info or advice from any other posters x

[squidgemum]

just bumping again (sorry)

 

i sent everything i have off yesterday, which was, tenancy agreement in my name, rent statement in my name, bank statements in my name (along with notes on them showing when i made payments for food shopping, bills, things for kids etc), my council tax bill, my water bill, my housing benefit confirmation, my tv licence bill. all in my name. (i have gas and electric bills in my name but am waiting for them to send me copies then i will send them too) but still i am scared it is not enough because of ex only living at his new house last few months. also i doubt he will be on electoral role there or council tax as he is basically just shacked up with this woman, there is no rent agreement or anything

 

been doing loads of searching online and keep finding loads of horror stories where they have not believed people and they have ended up owing thousands. i cant stop looking

 

i am sick with worry

[Desperate Daniella]

Morning, squidgemum. Don't apologize for bumping.

 

As he left only just over a year ago, I can't see you having to repay thousands, and provided they accept the evidence you have sent you shouldn't be paying anything. You have sent so much proof that they'll be able to see quite clearly what you have been paying for.

 

Please stop searching online for horror stories. You will make yourself feel 100 times worse.

 

What HMRC are looking for is people who are working the system and clearly you are not. There are people who claim tax credits while living with someone and I am sure if they are suspicious they do a lot of digging around to check them out. However, you are NOT one of those people. You have the proof they have asked for. Thousands of people will be asked to send in proof. In almost all of those cases I bet the documents are returned and the tax credits continue.

 

In your situation, you've come to their notice because of the credit check.

 

For anyone reading this thread. I understand that if someone is of no fixed abode they might need an address to get a loan, or something similar, but if HMRC are now doing credit checks it's very important that they no longer have any connection with the address of the person they are leaving, because this could lead to a perfectly innocent person losing the tax credits they are entitled to.

 

Hang in there and, I repeat, stop looking for horror stories. There are far more situations where everything has been resolved and is fine, you just won't find them online.

 

DDx

[squidgemum]

thanks so much for your kind, helpful words daniella

 

am feeling a little bit better about things now, i refrained from googling yesterday, which has helped, lol

 

i am trying to accept that it is just a waiting game now. x

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi squidgemum,

 

Glad you are feeling a little better.

 

You are right - it's now just a waiting game, so just take one day at a time. And, every day you must say to yourself: "I am not going to google horror stories today."

 

If you get wobbly about anything, just post and we'll try to help.

 

Try to get out this weekend, even if it's just a walk in the park. I've been in situations where I've felt even that is too much to cope with, but I've found that if I take my daughter to the swings or a walk by the river, and get fresh air I really do feel better. Let's hope the weather is good enough for you to do that.

 

DDxx

[squidgemum]

Hi squidgemum,

 

Glad you are feeling a little better.

 

You are right - it's now just a waiting game, so just take one day at a time. And, every day you must say to yourself: "I am not going to google horror stories today."

 

If you get wobbly about anything, just post and we'll try to help.

 

Try to get out this weekend, even if it's just a walk in the park. I've been in situations where I've felt even that is too much to cope with, but I've found that if I take my daughter to the swings or a walk by the river, and get fresh air I really do feel better. Let's hope the weather is good enough for you to do that.

 

DDxx

 

hi all

 

i just wanted to update, i called them this morning as i noticed my tax credits payment had gone in earlier than usual, so wondered if that meant they had looked at my claim. well - great news, they have processed my evidence and they accept that my single claim is indeed correct!! THANK GOD, i can not stress how relieved i am. so i wanted to update in case any one else is going through this and to let people know that i have had a good outcome so as long as are honest, you work with them and provide everything they ask for it will be fine

 

but most of all i wanted to thank everyone who has posted their support and advice, thanks again, squidge xxx

[Desperate Daniella]

That is fantastic news.

 

From what you had said, and the evidence you had sent in, I was pretty confident that it would be fine.

 

Thank you for posting that you have had a happy outcome. Hopefully when someone else is googling about tax credits, they'll find this among all the horror stories, and see that it can be okay after all.

 

Have a lovely week, and have something delicious to eat today in celebration, as I know you've been barely eating for the last week.

 

DDxx

[Lillibelle]

Oh,,now that is good news.....and now you can relax and EAT!!...

With all the changes with benefits etc just about everyone is getting random checks,or something out of the ordinary happening,,it's just a case of keeping all your paperwork up to date so IF they come looking again you won't have to fret trying to find stuff..

Well done

xxxx

[jadeybags]

It didn't sound like you would have a problem hun, but understandable to worry, glad it's sorted.

[scotgal68]

Great news xx

[Guest]

That's the best news....well done.