Tax credit overpayment - Recovery by HMRC

[tsv1860]

Hello all, just joined the site, so I'll give it my best shot, please be patient!

I have suffered with an on-going Tax credits dispute with HMRC since August 2012. I feel I have quite a good case, as they acknowledge that I told them of my change of circumstance during a call to them late March 2011. At this time, I started employment after being out of work for 2 years following redundancy. They did not take any action after I informed them of my change of circumstance (I gave them new hours worked, salary etc). I received a provisional award notice a couple of weeks later, which apparently did not include my new salary details, but I paid little attention to it as I'd already told them of my changed circumstances. I trusted that since I had informed them a couple of weeks earlier, they had all of my relevant & up to date details, & must know what they were doing. (I had very little to do with these people previously, how wrong I was!!)

 

They are now hounding me for repayment of many thousands of pounds, & I have got nowhere through their dispute process, despite my MP being involved.

 

The case is now with the Adjudicator's Office, but still HMRC continue to send ever increasingly threatening letters demanding repayment, despite the Appeals Process not being exhausted, as per their own COP26.

 

I have sent in numerous letters of Complaint to them, rang them, tried to get my MP & the Adjudicator's Office to contact them, but they refuse to halt the recovery process. The last letter received from HMRC indicates that they will start a recovery of possessions action if I don't put in place a repayment plan, which would be refunded should my appeal be successful.

 

Should I hold my nerve & just continue to send in letters of complaint about the recovery, or put a repayment plan in place with them? I feel that by doing this I am admitting some guilt, of which I have none, & that they are totally going against their own COP26.

 

Can they actually start a recover of possessions process with an appeal still in place?

 

Any further help or advice you can give would be very much appeciated.

[catzeyes79]

 

By your own admission you didn't check the paper work so whilst HMRC made a mistake you are not absolved of sin because you didn't do what could be reasonably expected of you.

 

If you stopped using Sky for instance and they didn't cancel the DD would you expect your money back?

 

I would set up the repayment and await the outcome of the Adjudication. There is no admission of guilt in this.

Edited March 29, 2013 by citizenB

[scotgal68]

 

?? What do these symbols mean please?

[scotgal68]

How much did the income on the provisonal award notice and your final award notice differ by?

How long between the provisonal award notice and you/HMRC notice the income not being taken into account?

[antone]

?? What do these symbols mean please?

 

They're HTML codes that seem to have ended up in the post by mistake.

[jadeybags]

I gave the LA everything they asked for, including a works contract with hours & pay details on, they still managed to over pay me for 2 years, like you I had been unemployed previously, in fact I had been on income support raising children for 10 years so had never claimed benefits whilst working.

I still had to pay it all back, because I didn't check the award paperwork (I questioned it, but only on the phone & was assured it was right)

I would still advise someone to fight it though. What have you got to lose.

[tsv1860]

How much did the income on the provisonal award notice and your final award notice differ by?

How long between the provisonal award notice and you/HMRC notice the income not being taken into account?

 

To be honest, once I told them of my change of circumstance, I foolishly presumed that anything they sent me took all of the changes I informed them of into account. All subsequent notices from them just looked like longwinded mumbojumbo. As I had littlle/no previous dealings with these people, I misplaced my trust in them that all was ok after I had 'done my bit' & kept them informed of any changes, as was expected of me.

It looks like the income difference between provisional & final notices was some 38k.

It only came to light in August 2012, when they sent me a very large bill, some 16 months after the original provisional award notice.

 

I received a CD of calls I made to them, but the one where I told them of my changes had conveniently not recorded 'due to technical reasons'. They did, however, accept that I did make the call, & inform them of my change of circumstance.

 

I also notice in their COP that there is something relating to 'exceptional circumstances'. My wife, (joint award), has been fighting aggressive breast cancer throughout the ordeal, which has certainly had our minds focussed elsewhere.

 

My overiding concern at the moment is that after the most recent threatening letter from HMRC, is that we could get a knock on the door from the repossession people, as they have threatened in writing, when we have not yet exhausted the appeals process? Surely this is just plain wrong.