Child Tax Credit Over Payment

[mohmmad786]

Hello everyone.

 

I was wondering if anyone can give us any advice on child tax credit overpayment.

 

I am from Pakistan and my wife is British. My case was in the home office for around 2 years and got my residence permit in June 2011. I applied for national insurance number and got it 31 October 2011.

 

My wife and I got married in 2005 but due to me not having any paper work and due to problem with money we did not apply for my immigration papers till 2007. Because of all that my wife was receiving tax credit under single person.

 

As my immigration papers went in the home office. My wife told tax credit on 30th march 2007 that she was wanted to change her single claim to joint claim but the problem was that they were asking for my national insurance number which i didn't had. In the end wife spoke to some kind of manager at tax credit office over the phone who advised that the only way to get tax credit is for her to claim as a single parent.

 

As she was advised by someone at the tax credit office, my wife again made a claim under single parent so she can start receiving the money as the money was stopped on the joint claim as we could not provide tax credit with my NI number.

 

On 31 October I received my NI number. As my wife was and still suffering from depression and other health problems we decided that all the benefits would change under my name. As we thought the tax credit kind of knew that i was living over here, we left the tax credits till last and changed the income support and housing benefits under my name first. We also knew that we could have claimed more under a joint claim but that would have meant everything stopped at once and we would have no money to live on hence we thought that we would take less money rather than no money.

 

In may 2013 we received a letter from tax credit telling us that we have been Over paid from 31 October 2011 to January 2012. This was the period from which i got my NI number till the date we applied for the tax credit under joint claim.

 

We appealed against the decision which was turned down. We than tried to involve our MP who wrote the letter to tax credit and received the reply today saying that the overpayment is still due. Our MP asked them to apply the "NOTIONAL ENTITLEMENT" which was turned down as well.

 

It seems that the advice the wife was given about claiming as a single parent was under the table and the tax credit has totally denied any kind of advice given to my wife. However she must repay the overpayment of £2271.87, which occurred due to delay in her reporting her correct circumstances after 31 October 2011.

"In certain circumstances, we can apply 'Notional entitlement' where a customer has made a claim in the wrong capacity. However Mrs *****'s overpayment does not meet the criteria for Notional entitlement. Therefore, we are right to ask her to repay the overment."

 

From what i read over the Internet i thought Notional entitlement was applied as long as you have not gained from the situation, In our case we did not gain anything from claiming as a single person but actually lost money as we would be entitled to more under a joint claim.

 

My wife have got history of mental health issues and even at that time was taking medicines for depression. Even right now she is on DLA.

 

I was wondering if anyone can help us and give us some advice. I do apologize for the long post and would be grateful if anyone can help us.

 

 

Thanks.

[mohmmad786]

I have searched over the internet and i have found some more information.

 

 

 

Notional Offsetting

 

Sometimes, tax credit claimants who form a couple or who become single, either because they separate or because one partner dies, are slow in reporting the change to HMRC or have been mistaken about the need to report such a change. Yet in many cases, if they had acted promptly they would have continued to be entitled to tax credits, albeit in a different capacity.

 

Until 18 January 2010, HMRC would recover the whole of any overpayment arising on the old claim, but give no credit for what the claimant would have received had they made a new claim at the right time.

 

From 18 January 2010, HMRC introduced a new policy whereby tax credits recipients who start to live together, or who become single after being part of a couple, but are late reporting the change to HMRC, can reduce the overpayment on their old claim by whatever they would have been entitled to had they made a new claim promptly.

 

This new policy applies to overpayments arising from 18 January 2010, but also to overpayments that were still outstanding as of that date. So, if an overpayment has been repaid in full prior to 18 January 2010, the new policy will not apply. However, if any part of it remains unpaid, offsetting can be applied to it.

 

To request notional offsetting, claimants should contact the tax credit helpline to ask for their case to be referred to the ‘notional offsetting (or notional entitlement)’ team in the Tax Credit Office. If no action is taken, a letter should be sent to CSSG, Tax Credit Office, Preston, PR1 4AT.

 

Note that the notional offsetting will not cover the one month (previously three months) by which the claimant will be able to backdate their new claim. Normally HMRC will grant the one month backdating automatically, but if that doesn’t happen, the claimant will need to ask for it.

 

On the whole HMRC policy is to be lenient and not charge a penalty where the failure to report has resulted from a mistake or misunderstanding. If HMRC think the claimant has been negligent in not reporting, and there is a net overpayment even after notional offsetting has been applied, the claimant may be charged a penalty against which there is a right of appeal.

 

If the failure to report is dishonest (considered by HMRC to be deliberate error), the penalty may well be substantial and in such cases notional offsetting will not be given. A list of what constitutes deliberate error is available in the HMRC compliance manual (CCM10750). The CCM also contains some examples of deliberate error (CCM10755). It is important that advisers challenge any cases where HMRC have classified the case as deliberate error on the basis that they have retrospectively decided, using credit reference data, that the claimant should have made a couple rather than single claim. Unless there is clear evidence that the claimant acted deliberately, then advisers should challenge the decision not to apply notional offsetting particularly if no penalty has been charged.

 

More information about notional offsetting can be found in the HMRC compliance manual. The manual covers three distinct periods, prior to 17 May 2007, between 17 May 2007 and 18 January 2010 and after 18 January 2010. This is because notional offsetting applied until May 2007 when it was withdrawn. It was reinstated in January 2010 following representations from LITRG and other organisations.

[mohmmad786]

I have just come off the phone from tax credit who said that i have exchausted all the avenues for an appeal as they have been rejected and the only thing i can do is to involve a professional body.

[mohmmad786]

Sorry to bring this old thread back. In short the tax credit have declined everything. I have approached the mp before but they said that they never advised my wife to claim as a single. I approached CAB last year in september, the person dealing with the case said that as we have got no proof, the only thing we can try and ask is for the debt to be written off on the grounds of hardship. They still havent replied to cab.

 

In the mean time i applied for subject access request, the CD for the phone calls didnt work so i have applied for another subject access request asking for more papers and a working cd as the old request was around 4 months back. I have asked for all the paper communication as last time i only asked for the things on there computer and the calls.

 

I received a letter from tax credits yesterday saying that they will start deducting £25 from the money we receive. The good thing is that i would not get any letters from debt collection agencies.

 

Now comes the difficult part, I checked the dates of the call on SAR and on the letter tax credit replied to the MP, they don't match. I have also gone through all the paperwork they sent me and found some screenshots which i feel are very important. I would try and write them in date order.

 

AP1 = My Wife

AP2 = Me

 

03/05/2007 MR M N***M = REJECTED

 

22/06/2007 MR M N***M = REJECTED

 

20/07/2007 AT ap1 called not happy as award ended due to ap1 advising had a partner ap1 put in another claim with full details but advised me ap2 is not entitled to public funds i advised ap1 who stated she already advised previous advice yet still............

 

25/07/2007 AT-advised applicant until ap2 gets his nino claim wont get put through-advised to contact person who is dealing with nino allocation-and let us know-advised as per guidance - If the customer is part of a couple they should make a joint claim.

 

27/07/2007 AT-TL call back re application. Explained until NINO allocated or Ap2 visa issued joint claim would not go through. AP2 may leave the country and AP1 could then put in single claim. TJ

 

07/08/2007 at - advised app on backdating and that once application is processed will establish then if needs to be backdated further as last payment made on single claim was in June, 2007.

 

 

The most important part is 27/07/2007 where you can read that its tax credit who are advising and not my wife telling them on the system. I have tried looking for the old rules for tax credits which would have applied to us in 2007 but could not find them and what i found went over my head as i could not understand it. If anyone could help me with the rules and guide PLEASE. Tax credit has also denied that they have not told my wife to claim as a single person while we are living together but the screenshot of 27/07/2007 is saying different and later my wife actually made a claim that i have left the country in 2007.

 

I have also found the 2007 letter(not the front part) from job centre where i had an appointment with the job centre for the NI number which was declined at that time.

 

Now i was wondering if i can take this case to the adjudicator and would they take this case? and do you think i got any chance of winning this case?

 

Thanks.