Tax credits help! I am in such a mess!!***Resolved***

[worriedlilmumma]

Hi everyone, I really appreciate any views you can give me on this.

 

I received a text message from HMRC on the 2nd of October informing me they are sending me a letter regarding my tax credit claim and could I please respond when I receive it.

 

I phoned HMRC that day to see what the letter was regarding.

Long story short I received a letter a few weeks ago from DWP telling me I had be registered for a self assessment tax return however I've never been self employed and I was concerned that it may have affected my tax credit.

 

The lady on the phone told me it was regarding A POSSIBLE PARTNER.

I got the letter and they are asking for my rental agreement bank statements bills act from the months of april 2019- July 2019.

 

now heres where the story gets complicated.

 I DO have a boyfriend, and a daughter who is 7.

My boyfriend is not her father.

 

I began seeing MR  X in July 2018

he is my best friends brother and I have known him since I was 13.

We explored a romantic relationship together and he started staying at my house maybe 3-4 times per week. Then would go home to his mums house stay there for a few days. He was never paying any bills or food or anything.

 

 As our relationship progressed we decided to set up a joint bank account in august 2018 as I was struggling financially and we wanted to move into a house together.

 

September 2018 I moved Into a new house due to mounting debt on my old property, i.e. gas and electricity council tax which I had been behind on payments and bailiffs ect.

 

we spend Christmas together continuing as usual he was over 4 days a week while working as it was convenient then he would go back to see his mum.

 

I again, messed up by avoiding council tax and gas and electric and it was all mounting up and getting on top of me, I was also hiding all this from my boyfriend for various reasons. The main one was me being a train wreck and I didn't want him to run for the hills.

 

I plucked up the courage to tell my boyfriend about the mess I got myself into and  ring the council and set up a direct debit for my council tax and to pay small amounts back on top. I set this up using the joint account as my boyfriend wanted proof I was paying it.

 

He also set the Gas and Electricity up in his name Because they wanted to fit pre payment meters in my house because of my debt from my previous property. I obviously couldn't have this done because my house is rented accommodation. And again this was paid out of our joint account as he wanted to make sure it was paid. 

 

I HONESTLY didn't think we would be regarded as living together as he was with his mother for half the time

 

. I Now realise I maybe should of been making a joint claim and we will be regarded as a couple living together. At least from September 2018 when we opened a joint account.

 

Can someone offer any explanation on what to do regarding this.

I am absolutely terrified that I am going to prison and my face will be all over the papers.

 

I know I will have to pay the money back and accept a fine but the thought of a sentence away from my daughter is absolutely killing me, I would also get fired from my job. To make matters worse I know my claim will now be stopped but my boyfriend won't move in with me until I am financially stable so I really don't know what to do.

 

Please any advice or to put my mind at ease would be great.

Thank you.

[Raven1]

You won't go to prison.

 

You are  now and have been 'living together' from the point of view of a claim for benefits so there will  most likely be an appearance in the magistrates court and a fine, avail yourself of the duty solicitor on the day.

 

Regarding prepayment meters, the person paying the bills is the point of reference not the landlord, there is no reason you could not have agreed to them being fitted.

[worriedlilmumma]

Hi Raven, thank you for your prompt response, can you possibly clarify  for me what you mean by " living together from the point of view of a benefits claim" Also I have no idea what magistrates court is and what it means. I am incredibly piss poor at this. 

[dx100uk]

Dont worry ...no prison!!

You might find it useful to pop along to the HMRC website and filling in their SAR request.

 

That will get you all the information they have on you too.

That might help

 

 

[Will Goodfellow]

It is very unlikely that you will end up in prison or in magistrates court if you have not committed benefit fraud previously. The DWP/HMRC will look at the information you provide and will likely interview you. If it is decided that you were cohabiting, you will probably have an overpayment of benefits, you may also receive an administrative penalty which is an alternative to prosecution so any overpayment will need to be repaid.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Will Goodfellow

[worriedlilmumma]

Hi, This does look useful, Thank You very much.

 

However, I wonder if me filing this request will possibly look like I am trying to hide something? in which I am not? 

[Raven1]

 At the end of the day it will rest on the scale of the benefit fraud. 

 

'He was never paying any bills or food or anything.'

 

If your boyfriend is living with you four days a week, presumably eating food, using the utilities etc why is he not contributing financially to the household?  I think you are going to have to explore this going forward otherwise you will get into a mess again.

[worriedlilmumma]

While I 100 percent appreciate your input.

I do not believe I have acted in a fraudulent manner Raven.

 

I may be nieve and reckless and stupid but I never intended to make an error of such magnitude.

It didn't even cross my mind that I may have got this wrong until this week. 

[dx100uk]

no the SAR is a legal right you have to the info

cant hurt you at all.

 

at the end of the day it will probably only result in a portion of any benefits you are entitled too being used to pay off the over payment or you can enter into a payment scheme.

 

there are numerous threads here in the HMRC forum you are in to read

get upto speed

then you'll know the future course this will take.

 

dx

 

[London1971]

They won't interview you, there is no danger of going to prison. You will need to be truthful with them, and you will end up with a repayment, that will probably come off a small % of your future awards.

 

As DX says, the SAR is a powerful tool, that gives you visibility into any mistakes that Tax Credits may have made, something they do very often.

[worriedlilmumma]

**UPDATE**

 

I Thought id come on here and provide people with an update and closure on the situation, as I found myself yesterday CURSING the people that had been through a similar situation and not given an outcome for those that are looking for one.

 

so... firstly Thank you to everyone that gave me advice yesterday and to the people desperately looking for an outcome or reassurance here goes.

 

 I have been on the phone to HMRC compliance team today.

Absolutely terrified and crapping it and it is probably one of the bravest things I have ever done in my life. I suffer with anxiety and due to this I tend to bury my head in the sand and pretend it isn't happening. hence all the accumulated debt above.

 

Firstly I want to say, it isn't as scary as it seems, I know I tortured myself for a week now thinking about being prosecuted for something that was a genuine error/misunderstanding.

 

The woman I spoke at HMRC was an absolute GOD SEND!!!

She was so nice and listened to me with out judgement or any questions that were invading.

 

I gave her every single piece of information I could give her and I was told. I should in fact be on a joint claim, however she can understand how my circumstances could of led me to believe I should be claiming as a single person.

 

My claim is now cancelled and I OBVIOUSLY have to pay back the money I owe. Thankfully I estimate it to be not very much at all.

LESSON THOROUGHLY LEARNT!!! 

 

If anyone does find themselves in a similar situation, Please don't leave it, just put on your big girl/boy pants and explain the situation as thoroughly and as openly as you can be. I can now finally have a good nights sleep and wait for my appetite to return.

 

[honeybee13]

Well done, I'm so pleased it went well this morning. It's worth being brave, isn't it?

 

Thank you very much for the update, as you say it will help other people who find themselves in the same situation.

 

Best, HB

[worriedlilmumma]

8 minutes ago, honeybee13 said:

Well done, I'm so pleased it went well this morning. It's worth being brave, isn't it?

 

Thank you very much for the update, as you say it will help other people who find themselves in the same situation.

 

Best, HB

I wont lie and say it was easy, but it was 100 percent worth it. I now won't be claiming any sort of benefit, I think we may well be entitled to a joint claim from the weeks worth of extensive research I have done into the system but id rather shovel poo in the snow than ever have to feel like that ever again. I am too much of a liability to trust myself with these things. I really appreciate everyones input yesterday. Many thanks!

[Will Goodfellow]

You should still make a joint claim if you are entitled to benefits as a couple. Just because you made an error in judgement does not mean that you shouldn't receive money which you are entitled to.

 

[worriedlilmumma]

Hello again, I have received a letter stating my claim has now ended and thank you for providing the information required. 
How long will it take for HMRC to tell me how much I’ve over paid so I can come to an arrangement to pay it back? 
 

[London1971]

Plus if you make a joint claim, they will take a % age of that to pay off the debt rather than you having to pay installments.

[worriedlilmumma]

Hi London 1971.

Thanks for your reply.

 

However I have thoroughly thought it through and although we would be entitled to joint claim the amount that we would be entitled too is just not worth the scrutiny that you are put under.

 

I just don’t understand the system and therefore I don’t want to be subject to it at all.

Being asked for private information at the drop of a hat for me is absolutely terrifying and the consequences can be detrimental.

 

All I want to do is pay the money back I owe and get on with my life.

[BazzaS]

23 hours ago, worriedlilmumma said:

Hi London 1971.

Thanks for your reply.

 

However I have thoroughly thought it through and although we would be entitled to joint claim the amount that we would be entitled too is just not worth the scrutiny that you are put under.

 

I just don’t understand the system and therefore I don’t want to be subject to it at all.

Being asked for private information at the drop of a hat for me is absolutely terrifying and the consequences can be detrimental.

 

All I want to do is pay the money back I owe and get on with my life.

 

I'm confused. You've (albeit not deliberately) had a false claim.

You've said that providing all the information needed helped them

a) get the true situation, and

b) decide not to prosecute, just to reclaim any overpayment.

On 07/10/2019 at 14:12, worriedlilmumma said:

**UPDATE**

 

............

I gave her every single piece of information I could give her and I was told. I should in fact be on a joint claim, however she can understand how my circumstances could of led me to believe I should be claiming as a single person.

 

My claim is now cancelled and I OBVIOUSLY have to pay back the money I owe. Thankfully I estimate it to be not very much at all.

LESSON THOROUGHLY LEARNT!!! 

 

If anyone does find themselves in a similar situation, Please don't leave it, just put on your big girl/boy pants and explain the situation as thoroughly and as openly as you can be.

 

 

So, how can you say both "explain the situation as thoroughly and as openly as you can" and, at the same time "

However I have thoroughly thought it through and although we would be entitled to joint claim the amount that we would be entitled too is just not worth the scrutiny that you are put under.

 

I just don’t understand the system and therefore I don’t want to be subject to it at all.

Being asked for private information at the drop of a hat".

 

Perhaps they need the information to help you make the correct claim, and to prevent people making incorrect claims, then having to worry about being prosecuted, and having to repay over-claims?

[London1971]

Yup, I tend to agree. It's money you are entitled to. It's not free money, in essence you are paying for it from taxes, and your kids taxes in future.  

 

In terms of understanding the system, you need to call and inform them every time something changes with your income or living arrangements. It's not really that complex.

 

You will be giving them far more information coming to a repayment arrangement. Tax credits will demand income and expenditure.  If you set up a joint claim, all of that will be taken care of automatically, leaving you free to live your life. Even if it's only 50 quid a month, it's there to assist you putting food on your kid's table.

 

So respectfully, what you are saying about not making a claim, makes absolutely zero sense.

[unclebulgaria67]

People living together for most of a week and having some shared financial arrangements would be considered 'a couple'. 

 

Of course some people just don't think of any benefits claims and contacting Government departments, as they may not realise the importance of reporting change in circumstances. Or they are afraid that they would not be able to afford to live, if their benefits were reduced.

 

Even if the matter is dealt with as an overpayment, rather than being taken to Court, people should be aware that administrative penalties applied, can be as much as 50% of the amount overpaid. In this case an admin penalty may not have been applied,  but depending on the individual case, an admin penalty amount could prove to be a very expensive lesson.

 

Agree with what London states   "In terms of understanding the system, you need to call and inform them every time something changes with your income or living arrangements. It's not really that complex."

 

 

 

[Raven1]

Regardless of benefits (which do need to be addressed) you certainly need to sort out your boyfriends equal contribution to the household expenses.

[Suchamess1989]

Hi have you had any further action? Did you receive a letter? 
 

thanks

 

joanne