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Original poster

lets have a tax credit rant thread

155 replies

maighdlin · 18/04/2011 10:25

as it is the joyful new tax credit year i thought i would start a thread for people to rant on.

our tax credits have gone down to £33pw when according to HMRC calculator it should be £68pw. i received no letter from them informing me of this cut. i phoned them and they are using an estimate of our income based on the assumption that i would have been working full time since having DD, not true was made redundant. They said i can't get it fixed until i receive my renewal pack and i may not receive it until 30 june. GREAT!! DH earns just over 15k we pay 660pm for mortgage and rates. i'm a full time student but most of my money goes on child care. can't get a job as most jobs that i could do are min wage and they would have to pay me more than a 16 year old so 16 year old probably gets job. I feel like banging my head against the wall. even more money worries!!

feel free to vent about tax credits below. overpayments, underpayments, their general unhelpfulness...

OP posts:
stressheaderic · 18/04/2011 10:28

Because the child element threshold has been lowered, I had a letter last week which said in not so many words but the message was clear, "you're entitled to bugger all now, so don't even bother contacting us". Thanks for that!

goodbyemrschips · 18/04/2011 10:29

Did you tell them that you were made redundant on the day you left work?

goodbyemrschips · 18/04/2011 10:30

15k a year and you pay £660 mortgage how on earth do you eat?

Groovee · 18/04/2011 10:31

I have friends who have received letters telling them they need to update their details now, yet we've received nothing and am not due anymore til about the 25th of the month so no idea how they will be. Dh is asking the accountant today to let us know how much his end of year is and I'll get mine then take it from there.

goodbyemrschips · 18/04/2011 10:31

Sorry reading this in bits, you have to get a job then.

Or at least try to.

breathing · 18/04/2011 10:31

I dont get the tax credits at all...thats my rant

Reality · 18/04/2011 10:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ShirleyKnot · 18/04/2011 10:34

The extra fiver I got in my wage packet is completely cancelled out by the drop in my Tax credits. Brilliant.

LisamumtoJake · 18/04/2011 10:34

I bloody hate them, they overpaid us in the last 2yrs by £2K, their fault, we appealed, got nowhere. So here we are still owing money and not getting any credits in the meantime!!!

Hammy02 · 18/04/2011 10:34

They are upping the tax threshold so you can earn more before paying tax. Is your DP any better off due to this? The impression I get is that over the years they are lowering tax credits while upping the tax threshold with the aim to wipe out tax credits completely. Makes sense to me. Rather than the administrative cost of taking money than giving it back, just don't take it in the first place.

LaWeasel · 18/04/2011 10:34

OP could you get a weekend job if your partner is working week days and save on childcare?

I don't see why they can't change it if you have rung to tell them of change of circumstance. Keep ringing.

I would moan because they get every bloody thing wrong, but they are still not as bad as the student loan company so...

pinkthechaffinch · 18/04/2011 10:35

are you sure that's right, OP

DH earns around £17 pa and we get more than that- 2 kids though but no childcare element.

Booandpops · 18/04/2011 10:37

Ours have gone completely. Only £42 a month but that's one half tank of fuel I can't buy!!!!! Outragous petrol prices

Can't believe one tank of fuel is equal to a family food shop these days
Btw I drive a ten yo estate desiel. Not a 4x4

AlpinePony · 18/04/2011 10:37

Can you get a lodger?

That's an enormous amount to be paying on a mortgage! Shock

Our repayment is less than yours and we earn nearly 4 times as much.

strandedbear · 18/04/2011 10:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LaWeasel · 18/04/2011 10:50

Good point, if you are a student talk to your Universities Hardship fund, they will be able to help you with any short fall in money for childcare/bills, and your student union with advice while you get this sorted.

Imnotaslimjim · 18/04/2011 10:51

My TC dropped by £35 last week, we were on holiday so couldn't do anything. Phoned them today, they used my income as an estimate for this year (on top of DH) I had a temp job leading up to Christmas, earned less than £400! They did a yearly estimate on that. The bloke was great though, took my income back off, and said it should get straightened out in the next few days. So those of you that have been told it can't be sorted til the renewal, phone up and argue, cos it can!

Original poster
maighdlin · 18/04/2011 10:56

i did the tax credit calulator last night and they give 60.20pw CTC and 8.70 something pw in WTC. that is for one DD aged 20months. our mortgage is fecking ridiculous payment is 544pm (interest only) and then rates bill is 120pm. we do survive thank god me and DH are good cooks!. we got our house at the height of the boom and we were both working full time and i was studying part time. after DD i had severe PND and with the help of my social worker decided to go to uni full time to help combat the depression plus having no job to go back to. i have tried getting part time jobs everywhere but never seem to get anywhere, previously a legal secretary no shop or restaurant experience, which what most part time jobs are, well the ones that don't require qualifications i don't have and can fit around uni. have an got an interview this week to do some full time cover as a legal secretary over the summer thank god but i may only get a couple of weeks. my lowest moment in job searching was my 3RD rejection from McDonalds! having a bad day today. I don't mind not having much money as I hope to get a good job out of uni (have contacts otherwise buggered) and we have been going well (moneysavingexpert.com is the best!) but to us this is quite a big blow to us as we have our balance sheet down to pence!

OP posts:
hardhatdonned · 18/04/2011 10:58

Well i've gone from full to none so yeah i think i've really been hard done by now! But then I guess it's my own fault for moving in with DP and both of us working full time really :o

If you're having a problem with them ring them and give them the exact dates that situations changed, the income you were on etc etc i've always found them really helpful but i realise i'm in the minority on this!

goodbyemrschips · 18/04/2011 10:59

Did you tell them you were made redundant at the time or not bother?

LaWeasel · 18/04/2011 10:59

I really feel that it's not correct that you have to wait for the renewal pack. I have changed circumstances dozens of times since we started claiming a 2 years ago and have never ever been told this.

You need to ring and argue with them.

DillyDaydreaming · 18/04/2011 11:01

Mine dropped by £90 a month without warning two months ago - obviously a massive drop. Rang threm and they said something along the lines of "if we continue paying you at the rate you were getting you might have an overpayment, however, when you renew it could be we will owe you £136" HmmConfused

So - tywo months at £90 less but a letter telling me that from 27th April it goes up to the normal rate again. As I say... none the wiser.

hocuspontas · 18/04/2011 11:02

Yep. £150 per month to nothing. Can't increase our hours. Doing multiple jobs. Fucking hate the fuckers.

goodbyemrschips · 18/04/2011 11:04

hocus....do you earn over the threshold then?

EricNorthmansMistress · 18/04/2011 11:07
Confused

all you mortgage payers are so bloody spoilt Wink I pay £800 a month in rent and live 12 miles away from where I work! TBF though we will get about £20pw in HB now that tax credits have dropped (gives with one hand, takes away with t'other)

Tax credits are a bugger. Our childcare costs have almost doubled but they are keeping the extra from March towards an overpayment, and they won't update anything until the renewal pack gets sent out. So we might get a bit bakdated, but I can hardly ask the nursery to wait several months Hmm

I feel your pain.