To think someone has reported me to HMRC?

[UpsyDaaaisy]

Is it the norm to randomly receive a letter like this out of the blue or does it seem like someone has said something? For what it's worth I've always been single while claiming.

[GrandTheftWalrus]

The married and not living together is stupid as well. I got a letter saying I shouldn't have wtc because I was married.

I married in name only. I lived alone and was waiting on my divorce coming through.

[Nat6999]

If you are in a relationship but live separately, pay council tax & rent/mortgage on your properties, have separate addresses, don't worry. The only time that you need to worry is if you have any joint finances to your address, if they have a driving licence with your address on. As long as everything is separate there is no proof of a joint relationship. Keep everything to your own addresses & let HMRC know straight away if anything changes.

[Seline]

Wtf does that last part mean? So if you're in any monogamous relationship you can't claim as single person?

[Spartasprout]

The letters will be from a cross matching exercise with credit reference agencies.

You could be caught up simply because someone had put your address down as theirs and it appears to overlap with a single person claim for benefits or a council tax single person discount.

Please check the main agencies - this could be bank accounts or debt and at least you'll know the reason.

[DrCoconut]

I'm still legally married my ex but he lives elsewhere, contributes nothing to my household and we are almost NC. He is being obstructive about the divorce or it would be done now. I claim tax credits as a lone parent on the advice of the tax credits helpline.

[AutumnCrow]

I'm glad you're reassured, OP. Sounds like you've come a long way.

[UpsyDaaaisy]

Reading these responses it is a bit strange about the whole 'family viewing you as a couple'. You could have only been dating a few months and your partner could have his own house kids jobs etc in another area. You wouldn't expect him to finacially support you so why should you be penalised. That or we stay single forever or find a sugar daddy .

I came out of a very emotionally and physically abuse relationship before I moved out and started claiming. My ex is still quite controlling and abusive even from a distance so the thought did cross my mind he could have reported me just out of spite. This thread has reassured me though

[sunnymornings123]

I got one of these exact letters last week I think it's pretty standard. Although to be fair when I got mine I figured it was because me and ex are still married so legally everything is still Mrs first-name ex-last-name even tho we split up 3 years ago I think they're just testing the waters as a PP have suggested

[Purpletigers]

Moonface baby - do you have children together ?

[BlueJava]

I think they just do regular checks, it isn't necessarily that someone has told them anything.

[AutumnCrow]

Hardcore chancers and CFs aren't going to be the least bit worried by that letter.

Vulnerable parents, on the other hand ...

[Purpletigers]

It will be sent out en masse because for every few people who are claiming genuinely , there’ll be one who isn’t . So many single people with several children by the same man and the man stills lives with his mum ??? Except he doesn’t . Schools see this all the time . Two addresses and separate phone numbers given to school ( just in case they check up ) , no mention of the Dad ever on social media .

[AutumnCrow]

Or a woman who left an abusive husband who won't give her a divorce or pay any maintenance, and she hasn't got a brass farthing to pay for a solicitor?

That's be a lovely letter to get.

[ClaireElizabethBeuchampFraser]

So a Mum who is effectively a single Mother when her partner / husband gets himself into jail for x amount of years, has no right to tax credits? Or a couple who don’t live together, are basically dating but known to be a couple by friends and family are suddenly meant to financially support each other.....sorry but that is bullshit!

Surely a couple should only be classed as financially linked when they move in together.....I have a friend with a lovely boyfriend who she cannot afford to live with. She could not afford to pay the bills if he moved in.

[moonfacebaby]

I got one and that line about being seen as a couple really worried me.

I don’t live with my boyfriend- he stays over sometimes but has his own house and we don’t share anything financially.

I think the wording is ridiculous and designed to scare you...

[NannyRed]

It’s a very regular letter, sent out to vast swathes of people.

Don’t give it a second thought.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

Yes just a standard letter. My sister got one. I think they're saying. If you
(Collective you) not personal are doing anything you shouldn't speak out now before we catch you.

[TaxPerson]

I work in tax (not in this area, but close enough). That looks to me like a standard letter. You need to ensure that you notify if your circumstances change

[TruJay]

My sister had this, absolutely no change in her circumstances but she was so worried someone had reported her for something. She rang up just to check and they just said oh no, no report at all, it’s just a check

[Cla9]

My friend got one of these recently. I think they’re sending them out randomly.
That bit about “if friends and family consider you a couple” is new! Interesting.

[prettybird]

That comment about "friends and family seeing you as a couple" is just sooooooo stupid.

I went out with 3 serious boyfriends before dh. My friends and family "saw us a couple" - and yet we never lived together, nor were our finances in any way interwtined. Yes, we would stay over occasionally at each other's houses - sometimes for whole weekends - but no, we weren't living together.

Even with now dh, which started a long distance relationship, we were seen as a couple long before we lived together

[Mmmmbrekkie]

Never received anything similar

[Fink]

I got something similar a while back which accused me of being in a relationship with Mr X Fink: my own brother! I was living with my parents and he was using the address for post although he didn't actually live there.

I was pretty worried as it was more threatening than yours, saying that unless I could prove my single status the TC would be stopped and they would be taking me to court to recover what I'd falsely claimed. And I was pissed off because it wasn't even HMRC, it had been outsourced to a private company. In the end, when I rang up, and said it was my brother and they said ok and didn't want any proof.

[wendz86]

I had one and definitely no one else bar the kids living with me, i just ignored.

[RagingWhoreBag]

she received a letter to say they had photographic evidence of her DPs work van in the garden etc. If it’s his work van surely he parks it in many gardens! My DP leaves his car at mine when he goes away on business so it’s not left unattended for two weeks. They really do use the most stupid examples of what constitutes being a couple!