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HMRC letter regarding phone interview about my working tax credits


Wolf9900
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First off not looking for sympathy I know I did wrong and am in the wrong 

 

Hi I am so scared I am going to prison

 

I have been asked to do an phone interview about my working tax credits which I have been claiming as a self employed person since 2013 issue is in January 2015

 

my mum used the takings from the job to pay another debt as between us we have massive debt so the job ended 

 

I did not report the change hoping to fix it and get back to normal but that never happened and the other debts just got us in deeper 

 

Now the company that I did my self employment with went bust in 2018 it's back now and I am working for it again but they are asking about the work I did in 2018 and last December 

Figure

 

I have to tell the whole truth by my calculations I would have claimed between 12 and 14k I just want this fixed but am scared to death they will send me to prision as my other debts are still there and if they fine me I would not be able to pay it unless I was able to pay in small instalments and then as I only earn on commission I would be paying one debt but not the others

 

i have never been in trouble like this and have criminal record but cannot get my mind to stop think I am going to sent to prison as I said above

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Sorry, don't fully understand your post.

 

The issue seems to be the change in employment in 2018, when you did not advise HMRC of the change.

 

Just be totally honest with HMRC, tell them exactly what happened and this can be dealt with.  Any overpayment can be calculated, you will receive a letter stating how much and you then phone them to discuss a repayment arrangement. This could be a small deduction from benefits such as Universal Credit you may be in receipt of.

 

Likely to be dealt with as an admin mistake by you and not criminal. This is providing that you are honest and admit the error now.  

 

So advice is to take a deep breath and call Tax Credits. They will receive loads of calls like this every day, as you are just one of thousands of people who get caught up in lifes struggles and don't do what you should have done.

 

Post to this sites debt pages, if you want help with debts.

 

 

We could do with some help from you.

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Jail will not happen. Paying something back, probably?

 

Of course you won't have to pay the lot back, at once.

 

If everyone who made a mistake with tax credits went to jail they would have to build 40 prisons, and I'd be in one.  Plus it costs £60 K per year to keep someone in prison. Why would they do that for a £10k debt?

 

Go take a good look at Tax Credits COP 26, their code of practice, you might find it helpful before the call

 

https://revenuebenefits.org.uk/pdf/COP26.pdf

 

 

 

 

We could do with some help from you.

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Sorry I have not slept for 3 days because of worrying over this let me try and explain better

 

The job centre in 2012 told me that the job I was doing to raise a bit of extra cash betterware if I increased the hours would count as me being sel employed and I could claim tax credits which I got 200 a month

 

all was well till January 2015 when I had put out my order but a while later my mum had used the whole order money my commission and betterware scuttle to pay a bill as I said we are nearly 60k in debt between us me 20 her the rest 

 

I made the mistake of thinking I could not report the change to the tax credit people and in 2 months I could pay I think back and no one will be any the wíser but with are debts and not having money to pay them all we just got in deeper and I never got the money to pay the money to betterware

 

here I am now I gave a phone interview coming up with a compliance officer want tons of info on my work including details of money i made in April last year and January this which i don't have

 

i figured they are asking because betterware went bankrupt in early 2019 the company is back now and I am back working for them since mid January 

 

I figured I should just be totally honest with them and tell them about it going back to 2015 as I figured they would find out either way 

 

By my count my debt to them would be between 12k and 14 so I started looking for advice online I found a ton on mums net but that's scared me

 

one was i as I would be arrested interviewed and then they would work out what I had to do they said they would offer you a fine and stop your tax credits for a time to pay back the debt that is only if they think you can afford to pay the fine which with my other debts would be hard without a payment plan 

 

and the other option being jail 

 

so I have spent the last 3 days not sleeping barely eating

 

I hope this explains it better

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Forget Mums Net, it's full of absolute rubbish. That Mumsnet reply is nonsense.

 

Just answer their questions as honestly as you can. 

We could do with some help from you.

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https://www.grayandcosolicitors.co.uk/what-happens-when-youre-convicted-of-benefit-fraud-in-the-uk/

 

this has not helped also where they are talking about tens of thousands of pounds of fines and near 15 year jail sentence 

 

At the moment I am thinking of delaying the call till later in February for the simple reason now I am back at work and in compliance with my tax credits I figured having at least a months worth of work and commission based wages to prove it will help

 

 

also a lawyer for another debt of mine advised me to look into going bankrupt this was later last year

 

I have most of the fee saved and if they did take my tax credits till this debt is paid it would leave me unable to pay the other debts I have some that have already got court orders on 

 

if they did give me a fine and stop my 200 tax credits till it's paid if I did go bankrupt in say 3 months down the line how would that effect things

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Start a thread for your other debts individually, maybe some of them are not enforceable. We can and will help you

 

16,210 were investigated under Section 19 Tax Credit Act in 2018

11524 had penalties imposed

311 were prosecuted

 

2% of cases were prosecuted. 98% either were discontinued or fined.

 

 

Source https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/annual-tax-credits-report-2017-to-2018/2017-to-2018-annual-report-from-the-commissioners-for-revenue-and-customs-to-the-treasury-on-tax-credits-under-section-40-of-the-tax-credits-act-2002

 

Solicitors inflate numbers and scare people because they want your money.

 

Have you sent of for a Subject Access request to tax credits. This will provide you with everything that they have on you. Screenshots, phone calls etc. Google it and do this today. It's free.  You will end up with a big box of paperwork but this will allow you to see what they know about you.  

 

Then you need to go online and look at bank statements for the relevant periods, if you need to order them, do it.  How far off is the phone call?

 

We could do with some help from you.

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Thanks as I said the interview comes across as a regular check so not sure they know anything other than maybe certain things don't make senses I figured if they knew I would be under investigation already

 

I could have lied hoped it would work out then end the claim but as it says they can ask for wage slips from the dates they talked about I don't have them so 

 

i figured best option is when we talk on the phone I should just come clean an admit what I did from 2015 till 2020 that the only cash I was earning was the tax credits 

 

another reason for delaying the call for a month was so that I could get advice from the citizens advice and maybe they could get me solicitors for when I am interviewed

 

Also all my bank statements would show would be the tax credits going in each month

 

real reason I am so worried about prison is I cannot argue my situation was a mistake after the first few months I don't have any defence for doing what I did other than not wanting to dig on to job seekers and I don't think that will cut so figured I would be judged in the worse of worse category 

Edited by Wolf9900
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38 minutes ago, honeybee13 said:

You're right that it's a regular check because it's Compliance. If they suspected anything it would be the fraud people. 

 

In my view it's better to tell the truth rather than to let them find out. Will this person wait up to a month before you ring?

HB

I gave not had the guts to ring and ask yet as I said I had worked myself up in to such a mess to the point I gave not slept for 3 days stupid I know but my brain is a mess

 

i was thinking I could just say some of the info I need is on my pic but it broke and needs to go into the shop to be fixed and they will pick it up next week and  it could be another week before I get it back just scared as I said

 

 

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Solicitor and CAB , don't bother.

 

Pers, I would do a s suggested with the SAR otherwise you are calling blind.

 

Or just ring them and find out more

We could do with some help from you.

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Just a quick update I have just chanced the day they ring to the start of march they seemed a little put out it was a month later but they moved it so have time get situated and at least a few weeks of being back at work before it 

 

 

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Going to send the request now i did get a little worried how they would take me requesting this if it could make them look harder and work out there's an issue 

 

anyway guess there is nothing else to cover till the SAR comeswant to thank you guys as I said other sites just worked m brain over and added massively to my fear

 

you guys have been a great help so far so agin thank for your help to this point I will keep you updated

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please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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So I did get a good might sleep with a more clear mind I came up with 2 more questions 

 

1 was reading this link 

 

The part that worried me is the advice because of the time of the issue 5 years same as mine prosecution is fairly likely 

 

2 will they want to know what I did with the money should I go back over 5 years and try and work out everything I spent over the period 

Edited by Wolf9900
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Hello 

 

Here is what you need to have at least a week before the call

 

1. The SAR . You can study this in detail and get an idea of 

 

A. What is going on

B If they have made any mistakes.

 

For what it’s worth within 2 minutes of looking at my SAR I found that they had grossly over estimated my annual income. This was from a phone call that never happened. They are notorious for making mistakes.

 

2 All of your bank statements with what went in , income , tax credits etc.

 

Then you will be in a position to be completely truthful with them on a call.

We could do with some help from you.

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Also, I know we have thrown loads of info thrown at you but if there is one thing you MUST do today is study this link I gave you earlier

 

https://revenuebenefits.org.uk/pdf/COP26.pdf

 

I repeat you MUST go through it with a fine tooth combe to see if any of this applies / applied to you at the time of where the problem began. 

 

I am not making this up , I had a massive over payment (bigger than yours) hanging over my head so I know exactly what I am talking about here. 

 

 

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

 

 Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

 

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Thanks sorry to be so much of a bother with this 

 

can you get bank statements going back 5 years did not know that was possible

 

my tax credits go into my mums bank account because my bank Is one of my other debt issues

 

the only income they'd will show is little bits I earned from websites

other money I got the last 5 years was me selling just about everything I own to pay one debt or another be them mine or mums

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