HMRC threatening to take 20% of my wages for Tax Credits overpayment. Help!

[cpashto70]

Hi all.

 

I'm hoping some of you caggers will be able to relate to my experience and hopefully provide some advice.

I've received notification from DWP that I owe about £500 in overpayment of tax credits. A brief overview of the issue:

 

We were claiming £53 per week while I was working. My wife was at home looking after our disabled daughter. I ended my employment some time in April of this year, and attempted to apply for JSA. I was advised that my wife would be better applying for ESA and having me included on the application, which she did.

 

We informed DWP that I was no longer working, but they continued to pay the tax credits into our account. It was a good job they did because two months, and then three months later we still had not received any of the ESA or other benefits we had applied for. We basically lived on family handouts for months, and relied on the good will of our housing association as we began to fall behind on rent payments. Our arrears on council tax and also TV license all mounted up.

 

Thankfully in June I returned to work and the tax credits payments stopped. Now I have received a demand for payment in full or they'll take it out of my wages. I've explained that their mistake in continuing to pay us was all we had to live on due to receiving no other benefits, but they aren't interested.

 

I'm not denying we spent tax credits and I'm more than willing to make affordable payments back. However, what I do mind is the fact that they want their overpayment of tax credits back but that was just a fraction of the entitlements we were never paid. We struggled like hell as a family and now we're trying to get back on our feet and paying our way, they are forcing more hardship on us. I just want fairness and a level playing field.

 

Any help or advice will be truly welcomed.

Craig

[dx100uk]

So you are not working now?

[cpashto70]

Hi there dx100uk

 

Yes. I am working now but I'm the only one who has an income out of three of us (wife, disabled daughter, and me). We receive no benefits of any kind. I earn £18,000 a year.

During the time the DWP failed to deal with our join ESA claim, we accrued debt with rent and Council Tax. I'm now paying £600 rent every month, and £200 council tax. Add to this

the DWP want to take out £320.00 per month from my income. This will literally leave my family with about £200 to live on for a whole calendar month. We're struggling without

this demand from DWP as it is.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Craig

[Shoelover]

If you earn £18k you may have an entitlement to tax credits and possibly housing benefit

[brassnecked]

If you earn £18k you may have an entitlement to tax credits and possibly housing benefit

If there is an entitlement to Tax Credits HMRC will unilaterally take the overpayment from that., so apply anyway.

[cpashto70]

Thanks very much for your input folks.

Appreciated!

[martin2006]

There are also other possibilities for claims which would depend in the nature of your daughters disability.

Carers allowance fir example if your wife provides more than 35 a week care fir your daughter.

Have you ever applied for DLA/PIP for your daughter?

[cpashto70]

Hi martin.

Yes my daughter does get DLA but not PIP. My wife has been told she's not fit enough to claim JSA but she's not ill enough to claim DLA. I now have to pay

for her prescriptions in full. She has around 12 items of medication per month, and it's costing another £80+ a month to get these. Seems to me that being

in work full time is proving harder to get by than being out of work. Well, that's providing a person does get the benefits they're entitles to.

 

It's all so downright disheartening and frustrating.

 

Many thanks,

Craig

[Shoelover]

Hi martin.

Yes my daughter does get DLA but not PIP. My wife has been told she's not fit enough to claim JSA but she's not ill enough to claim DLA. I now have to pay

for her prescriptions in full. She has around 12 items of medication per month, and it's costing another £80+ a month to get these. Seems to me that being

in work full time is proving harder to get by than being out of work. Well, that's providing a person does get the benefits they're entitles to.

 

It's all so downright disheartening and frustrating.

 

Many thanks,

Craig

 

I don't qualify for free prescriptions but have several items on repeat. I save a fortune by having a pre payment card which I pay £10 a month by direct debit.

[Sparks_]

has your wife tried to apply for this prescription assistance?

http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/healthcosts/pages/nhs-low-income-scheme.aspx

[cpashto70]

Hi Sparks_

 

She had been told by a friend there might be some way she can get more affordable scrips but we had no idea where to start.

Looks like this could be exactly what her mate was referring to. You're a star! I've printed it off, and we'll get it filled and posted

for tomorrows mail collection.

 

Many sincere thanks for this.

Craig

[smokiejoe]

Hi, why are DWP chasing tax credit overpayment debts from you? TC overpayments are dealt with by HMRC unless you have moved on to Universal Credit, where an amount can be deducted from your benefits.

 

If you look through the forums, you'll see where HMRC have asked DCA's to collect from people no longer claiming tax credits, or they deal directly with you. I've never heard of DWP taking responsibility to collect overpaid tax credits like this before.

 

What age is your daughter? If 16 or over and under 20, is she in education? You could be entitled to child tax credits on an income of less than £26000 appr.

[cpashto70]

Hi smokiejoe

 

Many apologies.

I think I've got the department names wrong. Yeah, it is HMRC.

 

 

My daughter turned 20 in November, so no luck there.

I'm just so angered that my family had to rely on food banks and family hand-outs for several months over summer, and the only income we had was £50.00 a week mistakenly given by Tax Credits.

 

 

I'm angry that they want a few hundred pounds of payment we apparently not entitled to, but we cannot get the back-pay of benefits they neglected to pay us.

 

I'm totally dismayed and really upset about all this.

It really is breaking us financially as a family without adding this tax repayment to the mix.

 

Thanks for the correction and advice.

Craig

[dx100uk]

retitled and moved to the HMRC forum

 

 

dx

[smokiejoe]

Part of the delay in dealing with the ESA claim may have been down to WTC payments showing for you.

 

 

You could try getting in touch with DWP about any entitlement that may have been due now the WTC details have been updated (you can show the award confirming HMRC want repayment for those payments).

 

In regard to the amounts to repay,

have you contacted the HMRC overpayment helpline to check if you can agree a more suitable level of repayment? Try 0345 302 1429.

Edited December 15, 2016 by dx100uk

[cpashto70]

Cheers Smokiejoe

 

I'll contact them and see what they're able to do. That's a very good idea.

Thanks to you and everyone again for your help.

 

Wishing you all a merry Christmas!

 

Craig