anybody succesfully win an appeal against tax family credits?

[sparklyshoos]

We didn't apply for these until DS was 8mo old. We got 3 months automatic back pay and I'd been told before I applied that we could write in to get the rest of the back pay to the date that DS was born - ie, the date which we became entitled to the credit.

We were then told once we wrote in to claim the remaining 5mo worth that we weren't entitled to do this as we should have claimed from the start.

I didn't really know that much about them and to be honest, once DS was here the first few months were pretty much a blur, i barely had time to sit down in the evening, never mind fill in a complicated form.

They've now sent our claim to appeal and are claiming i should have known about it as it is mentioned at the back of the child benefit leaflet. - again, with barely any time to do anything, I only read the basics of what I needed to know to get the forms filled in.

Am not expecting to get anything now really, but just wondering if anybody has succesfully claimed this back? - I know they have their rules about this, but I do think it's particularly unfair - if i underpaid tax for 5 years, they wouldn't just claim 3 months worth of me. (sorry I'll stop rant there and maybe continue on an AIBU thread once the appeal is done!)
Be grateful to hear from anybody else who's goen to appeal with them, TIA.

[sparklyshoos]

bump
or does this mean the answer is no?

[ExtraFancy]

Hi Sparklyshoos, I work for the Pension Service so I know a little about appeals and backdating - not sure if the same rules apply for Tax Credits but I'll tell you what I know.

In general, claims can only be backdated as far as the particular rules for that benefit apply. For Pension Credit it is 1 year, and I have seen cases where people have appealed to have their awards backdated further than that, but the decision usually goes against them I'm afraid

Who was it who told you that you might be able to claim for the extra five months? Was it someone who worked for Tax Credits/a professional advisor, or was it a friend/relative etc? If you were told you could claim by someone who works for Tax Credits, you might have a stronger case for appeal, but you'd need to have details of when you spoke to them, I think.

Good luck with your appeal anyway - I happen to agree with your point about what would happen if we'd underpaid tax!

[sparklyshoos]

thanks extrafancy, yes it was someone on the helpline who told me that all i needed to do was write in and claim the extra months. - In actual fact this info is in the pack they've sent me today about my appeal, it's recorded from their records, but they keep stressing about how I should have known their policy.
ah well, I can but try.
thanks very much for the info.

[ExtraFancy]

You're welcome It does sound like you were misinformed, so you should have a stronger case. Good luck Oh and be warned - these appeals can drag on for months in my department, but you'll get there eventually!

[sparklyshoos]

thanks. I thought I'd won on the premium bonds when i got a recorded delivery today and it was actually all the appeal stuff. their record of what has happened is fairly accurate, so i'm happy for it to go forward on that basis. if i don't expect anything, then it would be a nice surprise in the extreme unlikely event we win months down the line!

[Popple]

Hi Sparkly,
I won an appeal against the Child Tax Credit system. However, my claim wasn't for the same thing as yours. But it is still worth perservering (sp?) if you think you have a case....I thought I did even though they kept writing to tell me I had to pay the money back.
I lost my first appeal, then I appealed against that, and when I still hadn't heard anything I went to the Independent Adjudicator. The IR dropped their case rapidly and even paid me compensation for distress! Hooray!
So my advice? If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again!