Furious with Tax Credits keep people in debt

[StarUtopia]

Oh I am SO ANGRY. Not been paid our child tax credits since May so just phoned up to ask why. We don't get much..just £10 a week but it all helps to pay our nursery bills and I am very grateful (we both work)

Rang just now. Apparently we now earn just over the threshold (P60 from Dh showed a £4k increase in pay this year vs last year) so that's why they've stopped. Ok, that's fine, totally understand.

However, we now owe them £1600 apparently. Because they base payments on last years incomes etc, they have overpaid us by that much.

I have so many transcripts where I have repeatedly asked, are you sure you have the right information from us, are you sure you are not paying us too much , are you sure that's what we are entitled to etc etc etc.

About 8 years ago they overpaid us by £6k and we've spent the last 6 years receiving a lot less than entitled to in order to pay off that debt.

To now find that again we have been overpaid has just devastated me. We are in debt still from last time ( live in our overdraft) I have no chance of finding that kind of money. The nice man (felt for him) said we won't be 'billed' until April next year and then can request it gets paid over a few years if necessary.

But what is the point of a system that says you're entitled to something and then turns round at the end (when you now do earn too much) And says, actually, you need to repay us now.

Any tips for sorting this out?

No, but if it helps they've overpaid me by £900 so you're not alone

It's horrendous isn't it about 2 years ago they decides they had overpaid us by £1200 even though nothing had changed.

Yep I was in the same situation as you. I’ve ended up on a payment plan to repay them, I oayxehwr I can adfird. Annoys the shit out of me as I rang them several times with a change in circumstances etc . Not to mention losing at least an hour each time I rang being on hold

I just can't see what the point of the system is. It's supposed to help lower paid families pay for childcare etc (it never went on anything else)

Why help me to pay it and then at the end when I now do earn too much (thanks mainly to DH working overtime because we were so skint,) they want it all back?

Are you guys fighting it?

‘I only pay’

they did the same to me.

If your DH works overtime regularly you need to be REALLY careful and declare it.

We got clobbered for a 1200 overpayment because of ExH's overtime. and they basically took half my tax credits off us for 4 months to rake it back.

Tax credits are awful. 2 years ago they decided to drop ours by £400 a month even though nothing had changed. Then because they didn't do this until we had renewed and they didn't send the renewal pack through until June but the reduction should have happened in April they decided we'd been overpaid by £800 so they took that out of our claim for the next 2 months. I cried every day worrying how I was going to afford to feed us with £800 a month less than we were used to.

Over paid by £3500 and possibly more to come. Paying them back £50 a month until 2022 I checked and checked they said just wait until renewal time - bastards

On the plus side, If I never claim again I won't have that awful feeling every time a letter comes in the post wondering if I've been overpaid again. I swear every penny they've ever given me they've then taken back 2 or 3 years later really putting me in debt.

What's the solution??

user I'm so angry for you. This is what makes me furious. None of us have that kind of money to hand or else WE WOULDN"T NEED TAX CREDITS!!

The new rules look like they are designed to keep people in debt, since that is the outcome in so many cases.

This is a terrible system, I feel your pain. Had exactly the same thing and only received TCs for about 6 months. Had 2 bills now in 2 years so we owe about £1300 for one year and £1200 for the next. We are also paying back at £50 per month. They pick on people who are easy targets and who are working their backsides off to support themselves and no longer need TCs. I wish I could offer positive advice, I fought it, appealed each year got my MP involved but have still ended up with a repayment plan. They wont listen or react if you try and fight it, sorry.

nd who are working their backsides off to support themselves and no longer need TCs.

It's this. Both me and DH work so hard..like ships in the night a lot of the time. We are officially the working poor. Not entitled to any free handouts and now apparently the little we were entitled to, they now want back of us because we've just tipped over the threshold.

It's highly possible our joint income will be low enough to qualify this year but i just want out of the system now.

hermie I was worried someone would say that.

Extending tax credits to relatively higher incomes was deliberate Labour policy by Tony Blair to ensure most families were benefit recipients to keep them controlled and in a sense owned by a Big State which has a lot of power over people. Luckily I never earned little enough to get them and I'm glad given the mess they seem to make with them.

However, we now owe them £1600 apparently. Because they base payments on last years incomes etc, they have overpaid us by that much. If you only get £10pw, that represents 160 weeks or 3 years overpayment. Looks more like they've incorrectly backdated your new income level.

Agreed, the amount of work that goes into letting them know your income, then letting them know you're income increased this month, then correcting them that the change wasn't last year which is how they've recorded it, then correcting them again when they've removed the change completely even for this year ... If you're not eligible for a lot, there are times when you wish you'd never applied. Maybe that's the point.

Tax credits were introduced as so many companies use tax payers money to pay their workforce instead of company profits.

It's hardly higher incomes though? We've just tipped the £35k...that's household..both of us out working. As I said, DH worked overtime to try and clear some of our overdraft. Our rent alone is £900 a month and we can't afford to qualify for a mortgage.

I just can't get my head round how we owe them £1600 when they've only been giving us £10-£14 a week for such a long time. To pay that off over 3 years is more than they say we've been entitled to...yet just £100 over the payment threshold we're entitled to nothing and they want to take that back a month!

The tax people are even worse. They charge you tax based on previous income you could easily be forced to over pay then they spend ages returning it to you. Write to your MP. This really isn't acceptable.

A solution. Put every penny of TC they give you in a jar and two years later when they want it back give them the jar.

WaggyMama that's exactly it!!!

What's the point of it if they give it you and then simply say they've overpaid you!

Mere..no, we've had £10 a week since September, it's the April to September bit where I had two kids in expensive nursery. I think they were paying me about £200 a month towards the bills.

Also it's because DH's income is £4k more than the last years info they used, and also my income was £2k higher. (actuals just submitted on tax returns and P60's)

I've been overpaid by £2600 but they said they'll take it from future awards which is rubbish as we'll only ever earn more (both DH & I get pay rises every year). It seriously needs a huge overhaul and not by universal credit either. I've found it actually keeps people out of working as there isn't a point in working when you'll lose the same in Tax credits etc
I've no idea what the answer is but this system doesn't work for a lot of us

Definitely wish I had never applied. :( They seemed to provide a little lifeline at the time in order to be able to afford to go back to work.

Now, I can just see they are putting me back into even more debt.

Sorry OP I do sympathise to some extent, but isn’t it your responsibility to track what you are entitled to?

It’s no different to a council tax rebate for single occupancy. If you don’t tell them you are no longer single occupancy for 12 months they will ask for the rebate back. That wouldn’t be their fault, it would be mine.

I don’t see how they are “keeping you in debt” either. They gave you the money, you weren’t entitled to it, now they want it back. And it seems they are being fairly reasonable about the time frames in which they want repayment. If they were charging you interest in that period you might have a point, but I don’t think they are are they?

Surely this system of clawing it back if it’s been overpaid is better than the alternative - of stopping payments when you are close to, but still below, the threshold and waiting to be sure before you stay under before they can pay you.

Unless I’m missing something here, it seems the best option for HMRC and if you don’t want any nasty surprises then it’s up to you to keep them informed.

User i have kept them informed - repeatedly. I have numerous print offs of conversations on their online facility where I have specifically requested 'Are you sure you have the correct information? Are you sure you are paying me the correct amount?' I have repeatedly checked every single piece of paperwork that has ever come through the door to check that they have the correct income and the correct childcare amounts.

Can't believe I'm actually bothering to reply to you tbh. Quite clear you have no understanding or experience of tax credits in the slightest.

@Usernumbers1234 HMRC often make incorrect calculations themselves though through their own fault. It happened to me with housing benefit, I sent them all the details of my earnings and they calculated my entitlement. Few months later I was told I had been overpaid, there had been no change in my circumstances but they had just calculated it wrong. It was their fault but I still had to pay it back.

I assume that HMRC should know what I'm entitled to based on the information I send them, I don't know what I'm entitled to until they tell me! But they don't seem to get it right half the time and when they do get it wrong it's shit.