Overpaid tax credits, please help!!

[demonpants]

Hi thanks for looking at this. A year ago I split from my husband. Within days of telling the tax credit people I received a letter stating I had to pay back £3500!!!! I was left having to raise the deposit for a rented house buy a whole houseful of new furniture on credit cards and paying back £35 per month to hmrc. They have not contacted my ex husband at all. I asked him and they have not even written to him which is very unfair. Im lucky enough to have a full time job so I do not claim benefits and by the time rent etc is taken out of my wages I have very little left so £35 does actually make a hole. Plus the fact it is going to be going on for years before it is finally paid off. Is this right? It certainly dosnt feel fair!

[shelleylou]

Phone them up and tell them you agree to pay half and to contact you ex for the other. They will do it as its a joint claim but seams that you have to tell them to do it. I think they just send the original letter to the main claimant

[NanaNina]

I heard a radio programme the other day saying there has recently been a court decision that it is unlawful for the Dept of Work & Pensions to try to claim back Tax Crdits overpaid IF this was the fault of the DWP. I'm sorry I can't decipher from your post whether the money was overpaid as a fault of the DWP. If it was then I am sure that you do not have to pay the money back. The programme talked of people receiving letters saying how much they owed which had caused great stress. This I think has been a very recent decision so it may be worth checking this out with a lawyer (some of them give 30 mins free advice) or you could contact the DWP saying that you had heard about this recent ruling (preferably in writing) and I think they would have to be truthful about the ruling.