Tax Credits :(

[Thaigal]

To cut a long story short, I made a claim as a single parent in January of LAST YEAR...all they had to do was change the joint claim to a single claim...

Over a year later they have STILL not managed to sort it out, I am being sent manual payments every 4 weeks until they get their a*ses into gear.

Anyway, at the start of this single claim I went from January to March with no money from them at all...I was living on £50 a week to feed myself and 2 kids as well as pay bills etc. it wasnt until March that I decided enough was enough and I went into the office in person and asked for an emergency payment. I got one and ended up doing this for about 3 months running until they started the manual payments.

So, I should be owed the money from Jan - March right? they assured me I would get it "one day" and I have just phoned for the 100th time this year and they have suddenly decided that I am not entitled to a back-payment at alll! She said I can dispute it if I want to...my question is, should I bother??? Or should I just right it off and forget about it? It's worth about £400 but I'm assuming I would be fighting a losing battle? what would you do?

Also, how do I go about getting back the cost of the constant phone calls?

Are the citizens advice any use in tax credits situations?

Yes the CAB are of use in tax credit situations and yes you most certainly can claim it back because it was their mistake. However, you may not need to go to them. Firstly, stop phoning the tax credits advice line - they won't re-imburse phone call costs. Put everything in writing (and keep copies), it's cheaper, less frustrating, and they take more notice of it. Plus, it's a written record of what has taken place so if you need to make a formal appeal, you have all the paperwork on file.

If you get no joy after having written a letter, write to your MP detailing what has happened. Once s/he's on the case, they'll sort it for you. Personally, I think £400 is far too much money to just let go.

I totally agree with cc i would go to the CAB & see what there advice is, i would also sit & write a letter today to your local mp, i have just written to mine with regards to something & he has been very pleasant & very helpful to me.

Whatever you do, do not drop it £400 is alot of money & they owe it to you.

dont take this lying down.i put in a claim as a single parent at the beginning of august, they messed my claim up and have finally sorted it out due to ringing everyday sonce 4th august to today.they owe you that money and you need to do everything you can to get it from them.they are the ones that make the mistakes so they should rectify them.its hard enough trying to cope on low income without them messing you around.good luck

Oh I wish you good luck with your chasing, it's such a bind when you have other stuff to do and annoying that the people who are getting paid to deal with such issues aren't doing their job. I had Bump five months ago and am a single parent. I have the task of completing a tax credit form as I have gone back to work....but my word it is confusing and detailed, they certainly don't make it easy.