ladies, i need your support. All of us have heard stories of tax credit payments being messed up, i am experiencing it first hand now. For the second time i could loose everyting particlarly my new job because of a " COMPUTER ERROR". I dont need help with that - i am a big girla nd one way or another i will sort it out. I have however attached the letter i am forwarding to the press and local government and well anyone else i can think of to force the tax credits to change their system. Please help. Governments do nothing without being forced to. Every year thousands of people loose homes, jobs and watch their liveliehoods destroyed becuase of this disgrace and it is only by standing up and saying we will be heard and we will be treated fairly that this will change. Please help me and every other family forced to go through this by adding your message demanding that it change .
"I am a single mother with a son of 11 months old. I worked right through my pregnancy and when he was born put in claim for working tax credits and help with rent whilst on maternity leave. The tax credits people took nearly nine weeks to process the claim, holding up the housing whihc meant that although my housing officer knew this she still set a court order to take the house against me as is council procedure. Eventually it got sorted and i returned to work when my son was just three months old to stop it happening again.
I dont claim benefits. I dont run a car, or have new clothes or a big tv or an expensive set of toys for my boy. I jsut work and try to pay my bills to support my family as best i can and stand on my own two feet.
Like many thousands of families I rely on tax credits to pay childcare for me to do this. I have jsut been informed that they have payed too much too soon and with three days notice they are taking ONE HUNDRED pound a week back for the next three weeks. I cannot pay my childminder. This means i cant work. I am a temp so i wont get paid. I will loose a new job and my house because, having already served notice to quit the council can jsut take it. My only crime is to go to work. . What makes it worse is my childminder is also a single parent who relies on my paying her to pay her bills. When i explained this to the tax department their answer was " i can try and claim for an extra payment due to hardship for you but it can take weeks. why dont you go to your tax office tomorrow to see if they can do anything" BECAUSE I HAVE TO GO TO WORK.
Its not just me in this postion either. Every year this issue comes up and NOTHING is being done. Their computer errors are ruining Literally thousands of lives every year and nothing is said. Something has to be done so i am starting a campaign which i will take to SPAN uk the single parents action network, all of the major tv networks, Mumsnet, a site with thousands of mums many in the same position as me, the local and national press and my mp. This treatment of people in the most vulnerable area of society doing exactly the right thing and sacrificing time with their families in order to provide for them themselves, is a damned disgrace and i want to see something done to stop the extreme stress and fear this causes to people in a hard enough position already.
Please contact me urgently on the number below if you can help.
07914 221517