tax credits overpayments

[Danthe4th]

Just watching the news and a lady has been overpaid by £2000 she now says she is going to sell her house to pay it back. Its her fault she was overpaid as she under estimated her earnings.
AIBU to think that if people over estimated there earnings every year then there wouldn't be any over payments and any money under paid would be paid in a lump sum at the end of the year based on correct earnings.
I really believe people think they can get away with it and want as much money up front and don't think about what happens if they get the estimates wrong.
Because of this the system will be changed. It works well for me, I've never been over paid, my earnings change as i'm self employed and we over estimate what I earn and then at the end of the year put in the correct amounts.
Anyway i'm rambling.
AIBU to think selling your house for a £2000 over payment is rubbish.

My friend owes them £25,000 in overpayments and is paying them back at 10% of her entitlement per month, her credits are still in place. Same here only with a much smaller amount, I didn't appeal but no credits have stopped in either situation.

From what I gather if it's a genuine mistake and you keep arguing the toss with them they give up in the end and go after the easier to intimidate, like me probably.

The problem is that if you are self employed you often don't know what your income is for the previous year until well after the renewal date .
I had a brilliant experience with tax credit overpayments.

We were hideously overpaid. I rang them repeatedly, I sent them letters by recorded delivery and they continued overpaying. Their mistake - they knocked a zero off dh's salary.

Tis' a crazy system! We earnt less last year as I was on maternity leave and DP self employed, so they paid us £2,800 into bank as had been underpaid!
But didn't understand how the payments received monthly now are based on last years earnings? (and is quite nice amount compared to the £40 before). Think they said that as long as we inform them before April of raise in income then they will make sure as of April 2011 we will get less. If you leave it then from april till the renewal date you may get over paid - if you get my drift?

I got paid £1300 in my bank account last week. Strange becasue we normally only get about £900 for the whole year.
Want to ring them to ask them to take it back. But it cuts me off, saying 'we are busy, goodbye'. thats becasue the deadline for submission has just past at 31/7/10. i appreciate that they are busy. but I need to talk to someone !!

Oblomov - you should be able to get through to someone this week, even if it means a long wait.

Last week (up to 31/07/10) they were only take calls about renewals, but they are taking calls again now.

miso, i tried this morning. and atleast 3 times, yesterday aswell.
i will keep trying.

I got through yesterday - sat on the phone for a whole lunch-hour though - so there is hope...

Guess this week is busy because of the backlog of not taking normal calls for however long they've been doing.

My dh is self employed and we always under estimate his earnings. We also periodically update them through the year with tax credits people. Is working for us!

i got through. they said it is correct. appraently in jun 09 my payments went down from 256.00 to 11.52
Oh thta wiould have been when i was on maternity leave, then. at the end. when i was getting diddly squat. adn needed every friggin penny i could get. they dropped us then.

now they want to give it all back.