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Didn't tell tax credits I'm married. Tax credit claim closed. Need advice


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Hi,

 

 

last week my single claim for tax credits was closed, overpayments being calculated to April 2015.

 

I've been advised to put in a joint claim.

 

 

My question is,

if I open a joint claim this time using my married name (previously used maiden name)

will this new name trigger further checks on past claims or will tax credits assume it's a new claim & take it on face value?

 

I don't want to reclaim to get myself into further trouble although it is much needed money that my family needs

 

Has anybody got any advice?

 

 

Will I need to send in marriage certificate?

 

 

Am I better not claiming at all?

Help!!!

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I had a letter naming partner,

asking me to provide bank statements, bills etc for Aug-October 2015.

 

 

On the advice of CAB I rang them up & said I'd like to make a joint claim from that day.

 

 

Because my relationship with partner has been up & down CAB told me to only say he had moved in in the last few day

s because all of my financial documents support the fact that I was living alone with children.

 

I made the call to hmrc,

the lady was very nasty,

she wouldn't let me speak at all

she just informed me that she was closing my claim from immediate effect & back dating it until April.

 

So now I need to make a joint claim,

 

 

I'd prefer to do it in my married name

 

 

but I'm scared that this will trigger further investigation.

Can anybody help?

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How long were you being overpaid and what's been said about paying it back? It is always best to be totally honest with HMRC as if they find you haven't been it will most likely look bad for you and they'll come down harder on you.

 

I'm very surprised at the CAB advice.

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How long were you being overpaid and what's been said about paying it back? It is always best to be totally honest with HMRC as if they find you haven't been it will most likely look bad for you and they'll come down harder on you.

 

I'm very surprised at the CAB advice.

 

they are back dating to April 2015. I want to know if I put in a new claim with a new surname will it cause further problems. If it will I'd rather not claim

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they are back dating to April 2015. I want to know if I put in a new claim with a new surname will it cause further problems. If it will I'd rather not claim

 

You still have the same National Insurance Number...so it will be linked to any previous claim.

We could do with some help from you.

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I'm very surprised at the CAB advice.

 

Me too. CAB seems to have advised OP to commit fraud. That is not good advice.

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they are back dating to April 2015. I want to know if I put in a new claim with a new surname will it cause further problems. If it will I'd rather not claim

 

Well, if there are problems with a claim you've made in the past then those need to be dealt with. Making a new claim will not make it more or less likely that they'll look into previous circumstances.

 

I'm still not 100% sure what's happened here. If I'm reading correctly, you claimed as a single person but were actually married and living with someone. You've updated the information to some extent, and they've closed your single claim and backdated the closure to April 2015, resulting in an overpayment. Did you live with your partner and claim as a single person prior to that?

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Well, if there are problems with a claim you've made in the past then those need to be dealt with. Making a new claim will not make it more or less likely that they'll look into previous circumstances.

 

I'm still not 100% sure what's happened here. If I'm reading correctly, you claimed as a single person but were actually married and living with someone. You've updated the information to some extent, and they've closed your single claim and backdated the closure to April 2015, resulting in an overpayment. Did you live with your partner and claim as a single person prior to that?

 

I married a while back, he left after a few weeks & I didn't see or hear from him for a long time. I contacted tax credits and they said to remain in claiming in a single claim.

This year I've been quite ill & have needed lots of help to care for my 3 children. Husband has stepped up. He moved in officially at start of October after I had a car accident. So I need to know do I claim for my joint claim using maiden name or can I now use married name? He wasn't here for the 3 years we've been married until now. All of my bills will support this but I'm just worried. I don't want to put further burden on myself & family

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I married a while back, he left after a few weeks & I didn't see or hear from him for a long time. I contacted tax credits and they said to remain in claiming in a single claim.

This year I've been quite ill & have needed lots of help to care for my 3 children. Husband has stepped up. He moved in officially at start of October after I had a car accident. So I need to know do I claim for my joint claim using maiden name or can I now use married name? He wasn't here for the 3 years we've been married until now. All of my bills will support this but I'm just worried. I don't want to put further burden on myself & family

 

So you're married but have been living as a single person, but now your partner has decided to move back in, so you need to claim as a married couple? I don't see why it should be so complicated.... I think CAB are right in that you were not reliant on a double income so had to claim as a single person... why does DWP make things so complex? All you've done wrong, possibly is use your maiden name... but that's not a crime... people can go by whatever name they choose... You could carry on using your maiden name for the new claim, methinks... many proffessional couples use their own names...

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Well, if there are problems with a claim you've made in the past then those need to be dealt with. Making a new claim will not make it more or less likely that they'll look into previous circumstances.

 

I'm still not 100% sure what's happened here. If I'm reading correctly, you claimed as a single person but were actually married and living with someone. You've updated the information to some extent, and they've closed your single claim and backdated the closure to April 2015, resulting in an overpayment. Did you live with your partner and claim as a single person prior to that?

 

I married a while back, he left after a few weeks & I didn't see or hear from him for a long time. I contacted tax credits and they said to remain in claiming in a single claim.

This year I've been quite ill & have needed lots of help to care for my 3 children. Husband has stepped up. He moved in officially at start of October after I had a car accident. So I need to know do I claim for my joint claim using maiden name or can I now use married name? He wasn't here for the 3 years we've been married until now. All of my bills will support this but I'm just worried. I don't want to put further burden on myself & family

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I married a while back, he left after a few weeks & I didn't see or hear from him for a long time. I contacted tax credits and they said to remain in claiming in a single claim.

This year I've been quite ill & have needed lots of help to care for my 3 children. Husband has stepped up. He moved in officially at start of October after I had a car accident. So I need to know do I claim for my joint claim using maiden name or can I now use married name? He wasn't here for the 3 years we've been married until now. All of my bills will support this but I'm just worried. I don't want to put further burden on myself & family

 

 

If your maiden name is the name you are known by, then make the claim in that name… your names don't have to match just because you are married… lots of unmarried couples make joint claims…I'm sure it will be fine… Many people have problems in their relationships which mean they sometimes end up living separately, only to get back together again… Good luck!! TB

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So you're married but have been living as a single person, but now your partner has decided to move back in, so you need to claim as a married couple? I don't see why it should be so complicated.... I think CAB are right in that you were not reliant on a double income so had to claim as a single person... why does DWP make things so complex? All you've done wrong, possibly is use your maiden name... but that's not a crime... people can go by whatever name they choose... You could carry on using your maiden name for the new claim, methinks... many proffessional couples use their own names...

 

Thank you for your advice. I think I'd rather make it all official for my own piece of mind as the last two weeks of stress & anxiety have been unbearable.

I have had my surname changed in work so now I pay tax in my married name so I think this will be the way forward.

Are you sure claiming in my married name won't trigger any investigations for. Previous years because I just couldn't handle the stress even though I can prove he wasn't here

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Make the new claim and explain that you were using your maiden name previously as you had separated…You don't need to prove that he wasn't living there… they have to prove that he WAS… are they likely to be able to do that? They will know by your bank details if you have other money going into your account… is it a single or joint account, though? TB

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Why not use both your names… have a nice posh double barrelled one… Mrs. Smith-Jones? I used this format when I first got married.. it really is up to you which name you go by… there is no attempted fraud involved… and as Andy said, the NI number proves who you are. TB

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I think the claim forms can be misleading, too… they only give you an option of being 'married' or 'single'… there is no 'separated' option, therefore, you have to tick 'single' as if you tick that you are married, they assume you are together… I think the CAB were not advising you to defraud, rather, they were just trying to simplify matters…TB

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Going by what has been advised and posted. Can you or your husband prove he was living away from home?

 

Did he have accommodation somewhere else that he was responsible for? If so then he could probably provide a copy of his old tenancy agreement. Or bills for his former home.

 

Maybe if he remembered to keep his financial affairs at the other home and could use that to show he wasn't living with you during your claim. Also he may have paid for his Council tax there as well. These are useful documents to have.

 

There is an option for HMRC to ask why you may have failed to notify a change of circumstances and declare that you are married.

 

Was there any financial attachments with your husband at your address during this period? Banks, credit, mobiles insurance and things like that?

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Make the new claim and explain that you were using your maiden name previously as you had separated…You don't need to prove that he wasn't living there… they have to prove that he WAS… are they likely to be able to do that? They will know by your bank details if you have other money going into your account… is it a single or joint account, though? TB

 

Every bill is in my name & always has been as I have never been financially reliant on him. Hmrc say they have evidence back to 2012 to prove he lived here but I can't see that they have. He's always used my address as a correspondence address but he's not had anything financial taken out at this address because he didn't live here & has never had credit.

He claimed WTC in his own right in 2010/11 as he was on a low wage but it was not from my address, as we were not together. He never claimed again as he didn't qualify. Hmrc are saying he claimed from this address & I know for sure he didn't as he still has original award notice.

Does this change anything? Does your advice now change?

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You could face issues for failure to notify a change of circumstances in as much as you were now married and so on.

 

You and your husband can send off a SAR to HMRC this could take up to 40 days. The reason for this is so you can work out where the overpayment came from and how it happened. That is up to you if you want to or not.

 

Just to check did either of you declare that the other had moved out? If not why not. This could have a bearing on the advice you get...

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Going by what has been advised and posted. Can you or your husband prove he was living away from home?

 

Did he have accommodation somewhere else that he was responsible for? If so then he could probably provide a copy of his old tenancy agreement. Or bills for his former home.

 

Maybe if he remembered to keep his financial affairs at the other home and could use that to show he wasn't living with you during your claim. Also he may have paid for his Council tax there as well. These are useful documents to have.

 

There is an option for HMRC to ask why you may have failed to notify a change of circumstances and declare that you are married.

 

Was there any financial attachments with your husband at your address during this period? Banks, credit, mobiles insurance and things like that?

 

Hi, my husband didn't get his own place because he couldn't afford it. He stayed with various friends for many months before his parents finally allowed him to move back with them. So as you can see it is hard to prove he lived else where. He has no credit cards or mobile phone contracts due to being in poor credit. So although I can show he didn't live here with my bills he can't prove he lived elsewhere because I allowed him to have his wage slips & bank statement sent to my house as a care of address.

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a question you may get asked is "why did he not get wage slips & bank statements sent to his parents address?"

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You could face issues for failure to notify a change of circumstances in as much as you were now married and so on.

 

You and your husband can send off a SAR to HMRC this could take up to 40 days. The reason for this is so you can work out where the overpayment came from and how it happened. That is up to you if you want to or not.

 

Just to check did either of you declare that the other had moved out? If not why not. This could have a bearing on the advice you get...

 

Hi what is a SAR? My husband never officially lived here. He left me after 3 weeks of marriage, so my claim never changed from a single to a joint. When I rang the helpline to get advice they told me nothing had changed & to carry on as I was so that is what I've done each year, I've renewed my single claim in my maiden name as I've never used my married for anything

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a question you may get asked is "why did he not get wage slips & bank statements sent to his parents address?"

 

I'm aware of that, it was just forgetfulness & laziness I suppose. I never had a problem with his post coming here, we've always been amicable so I suppose we both didn't see it as a problem so didn't change anything.

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