TAX CREDITS

[childmindersam]

Ok, wasnt sure where to put this. HERE GOES....

Im having some dispute with tax credit and inland revenue! just wondering if anyone else is too?

MY STORY... (bit long!)

Before my dh and i got married i lived as a single parent. I worked part time and claimed tax and working credit. 2 weeks before i got married and was due to move in with my dh i rang IR and told them of my change of circumstance and the date it would change. I also informed them i would be working full time from that date and childcare costs would go up! Got married and went on honeymoon thinking id done the right thing. 2 weeks later i came home and found money in my account that shouldnt have been there. Rang IR sr8 away and they said all info was on computer but was being processed. Took them 8 weeks to process it and all the time i was recieving the money. Kept ringing and was told it was their mistake and not to worry so had lovely xmas on them! Now we are over a year on and i have recieved a letter saying that they want the money back and i claimed it fraudulently!!! Have spoke to number of people at IR and all say that i have to pay it back. Have appealed but told could take 2 years to sort! We are talking about £600!!!!
Also told that because am not claiming tax credit at the moment that we will have to pay it all back in one go. Have checked and would only get £12 per month so is it worth claiming?

Has anyone else had problems like this. Id understand if i had not told them of my change in details but i did and am being punished for being honest! Is it my fault the computers are rubbish at IR.

Sorry rant over!

[KatieMac]

Yes claim they can only take back the amount you can claim....so if you are entitled to £12 (a month)they will accept repayment at £12 (amonth)
So claim and then they will be happy

[lalaa]

bit of nightmare.
i don't tell them until after any changes.
we're both self-employed so our tax credits are on the basis of some kind of guess in terms of our income for this year (bloody riduculous).
I would claim what you are entitled to so that you can pay it back a bit at a time.
i'm still paying the IR back for a mistake they made three years ago on my company car....since then, I've left my high paying full time job and become a mum....they still want the money.

[childmindersam]

i too am self employed and find that on paper my wage is about £50 per week after deductions but they want the amount BEFORE deductions!

[KatieMac]

Childmindersam - I'm selfemployed too and they are using last years tax accounts for this years Tax Credits

[childmindersam]

SALLY i did the access course! how you finding it?

[childmindersam]

I did the general ACCESS course which involved psychology and sociology as well as the usual maths etc... i went on to do social work but fell in love and gave it all up!!!!!

[yingers74]

childmindersam, they are rubbish.

My story is also a rather long rant, but basically the computers kept doubling our income and then they started paying us working tax credit which we never applied for or wanted. I told them about both these mistakes and they said the same as they said to you. I kept phoning as each assessment I got was wrong and finally I got someone who knew that it was a technical hitch and referred my case to the correct dept. They took about 3/4 months to sort it out and in the mean time I got a letter asking for 1300 pounds back. They are currently investigating this. then when they did finally sort out the problem, they sent me another assessment saying they had made a mistake (what really!!!) and I owed I think about a couple of hundred but they are still putting money in my account for this year! I am waiting to hear back from the investigation before I do anything else!

Sorry tax credits are a real bee in my bonnet! Anyway what I am saying is that you far from alone. I would definitely claim and definitely appeal. The whole system is really confusing and far from straightforward.

Good luck

[bonniej]

My BIL and SIL are going through the same thing. TC had been paying them money that belonged to someone else with a similar name. MyBIL thought he was getting too much and queried it time and time again and was always re assured. Now they want it all back and have stopped his tax credits for this year. He is a low wage earner with a wife and three children. He is taking legal advice but don't know all the ins and outs I'm afraid.

[childmindersam]

It really is bad isnt it! how can the IR get it SO wrong! all those people out there who claim as single parents and have a partener never get done but the innocent ones who go out of their way to inform of changes get penalised!!!!!!!! It amkes me so cross!!!

[yingers74]

a couple of months back i wrote to my mp to complain and he wrote back saying that he had never heard any complaints about the system!!!! HELLO I AM COMPLAINING.

[childmindersam]

SALLY, it can all get abit overwhelming cant it! good luck, im sure you will sort it if you ever get off mn to do the coursework!!!!!!!!!