anyone NOT had a problem with CTC and WTC? Genuine question

[DelGirl]

Just interested to know if any of you have not had problems receiving the correct amount of child tax credit or working tax credit. Apparently i've been 'awarded' some. I don't know how much or when i'll get it. My thought is that i'll stick in a savings account for now just in case they've cocked up. But, for how long?

Or, is it reasonable to assume that they've got it right and it just happens that out of 20k or so posters on here that quite a few have had to pay back money cos they got it wrong!

tia

on my last award notice (May 2005) they had my ds1 down as being under 19 while clearly showing his birthdate as 07/03/05 he is 20 but even more confusing they had him down with the wrong surname, he changed his name by deed poll 12 years ago and has not used the old name since ,so I don't know where they got that from.

I curse the day I ever claimed.

Like Nemo, we were slapped with a bill of £1900 - when there were three of us living on £13,000/pa - and our tax credits ceased. Forcing us into debt to pay our rent and council tax until DH was able to get a job around our childcare needs (there is NO way we can afford to pay outside childcare for DD, we're, as you can see, quite low income).

Like Nemo, the TCO failed to adjust our awards from 2003/04 and 2004/05.

I'm also 26 weeks pregnant and have had to seek medical attention for stress as a result of this.

We will NEVER rely on them again. Or vote Labour. In fact, I'm going to actively campaign against Gordon Brown when the time comes.

DelGirl - I was in a similar situation when I claimed after leaving my job after maternity leave. They work out your entitlement based on the previous year's earnings, so they took my previous salary into account. I phoned up and explained that I had decided not to return after maternity leave, and they paid us based on our estimated earnings for the year (ie dh's salary only). We then had to confirm at the end of the year with details from dh's P45 and P11D. Did that and it was all fine, as nothing changed in the year. The problem comes if you go for estimated income and your estimate is wrong. And when the computer goes wrong of course...

I never used an estimate. I ALWAYS used precise figures off the P60. They still managed to cock it up 2-3 years down the line.

I advise anyone just starting to claim to do it ALL in writing via recorded delivery and be very, very frugal w/whatever your award is - b/c it could be wrong and then they come back 2-3 years later w/bills in the thousands of pounds.

Don't bother phoning them unless you take down the FULL name of the person answering, date and time, and make a record of it that you guard w/your life.

Inform them of ALL changes in writing via recorded delivery.

Even w/appeals, Gordon Brown is loathe to write of the 'debt' from overpayment, even if it's been shown to be entirely the fault of the IR that you were overpaid.

If I'd used the numbers of our P60s I wouldn't have got the money, because my salary for the previous year would have been taken into account. My husband has a regular salary (fortunately), which didn't go up in the year (unfortunately!), so it was relatively simple for us.

Just CYA - Cover Your Ass. Cuz they can and do get it wrong. Often. Tens of thousands of families have been put at or below the poverty line by tax credit mistakes.

I agree that it's a right shambles. I remember a while ago reading in the paper that if the Tax credits people made the mistake (ie all the figures given to them were correct and THEY miscalculated), then you didn't have to repay, but clearly that was happening too much and now they have this reasonableness test, which seems a remarkably subjective judgement! I can't understand why we had to have a whole new system. We have a tax system, and a benefits system. Can't there be some integration. It seems that every time a new department is created it just means more forms, more delays and more mistakes. Look at the CSA...

Like expat I did all exact figures for that financial year to ensure there were no comebacks...still didnt cover us and as a result now we have £50 a week to spend on food including nappies and trying to prepare for another baby. It is horrible especially when I already suffer from bad depression it has just added to the stress.

Yep, I notified them of every penny, hard when DH temped a bit, worked a bit, was ill a bit and I was on Mat leave... and it was still wrong, as I've said before, they were the major cause to us losing our house. We simply couldn't make up for the couple of months we got nothing whilst they aresed about. yes they backdated it, but the money had been called in by then. B@$tards

(Sorry, don't normally swear)

Last year our income was slightly up on what we expected due to O/T. They reduced our weekly pyments by what amounted to £85 between now and April, then sent us a payment of £81 on top! WTF?

whilst single parent student with no income other than set amount student loan, housing benefit etc i had no problem.

started claiming with dp and i know i got the figures right cos i copied them off his wage slip. we now owe them a few hundred pounds so are getting £2.70 per week til further notice. i dont really see the point in claiming again but dp says if we only get £10 a week it adds up over the year - but then he doesnt have to fill in the forms

Just a thought but why is it that when I apply for my student grant they take WFTC etc into account as income, but when you get a grant (as opposed to loan), you have to declare it to WFTC so your TC payments drop, thereby lowering the income you were originally assessed for? Confused.

Iv never really had a problem with either, except them saying they didnt recieve my form and will stop my payments the next month if it isnt recieved then when i phone they say they got it but it not signed, then i send man to find it, he phones me back and says they got it and it is signed, he will note on the system and should all be alright, the payments didnt stop but i do keep receiving packs about completeing your forms! hope it doesnt lead to payments being stopped, we only get £1500 a month and £500 of that is CTC and WTC!

Just out of interest how little an amount do you have to be earning to be living on the poverty line?

Expat I know you mention it now and again and they also mention it on the news, families reduced to living at or below the poverty line etc but nobody ever actually states what the poverty line is.

Just curious

Message withdrawn

hatstand- they did the opposite to me ,thought Imy annual were my monthly earnings

When i was 8 1/2 months preg they told me I wasn'gtat work so I couldn't claim(and should go to work), my ex was a student nurse so he couldn't claim. turned out you can claim on maternity leave.

No problems at all...........except they dont pay me enough

I have had no problems at all and my hours and income changed 4 or 5 times each year and had to be recalculated each time.

never had any problems at all with it.

My best friend has had lots of problems...

she was VERY lucky as they sent her a letter saying theyd paid too much but WOULD NOT be asking for it back!

She even checked it out to be sure it was genuine...

the only reason we could think of was that they messed her around SOOOOOOO much, she always told them of changes etc

Poverty Thresholds 2003
----------------

(Use landscape & legal printer options to print this table) Poverty Thresholds for 2003 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years
(Dollars)

Weighted Related children under 18 years
Size of family unit average Eight
thresholds None One Two Three Four Five Six Seven or more
One person (unrelated individual).?????????? 9,393
Under 65 years....................??????????? 9,573 9,573
65 years and over.................??????????? 8,825 8,825

Two persons.........................?????????.. 12,015
Householder under 65 years........?????????. 12,384 12,321 12,682
Householder 65 years and over...?????????. 11,133 11,122 12,634

Three persons.......................??? 14,680 14,393 14,810 14,824
Four persons........................???. 18,810 18,979 19,289 18,660 18,725
Five persons........................???????????.. 22,245 22,887 23,220 22,509 21,959 21,623
Six persons.........................??????????.. 25,122 26,324 26,429 25,884 25,362 24,586 24,126
Seven persons.......................???? 28,544 30,289 30,479 29,827 29,372 28,526 27,538 26,454
Eight persons.......................??????????. 31,589 33,876 34,175 33,560 33,021 32,256 31,286 30,275 30,019
Nine persons or more................???. 37,656 40,751 40,948 40,404 39,947 39,196 38,163 37,229 36,998 35,572
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

So we're on the poverty line but only just, lots of people fall well below us I know. I think the problem is that with the way benefits are worked, if you fall on the line you tend to just miss out on lots of benefits: we actually had much more income when DH was redundant (sick but didn't claim for that), and I was on £100 may leave. And of course, we had no work expenses such as petrol.

sorry that was for Linnet!

We are below it. Even before taxes and NI.

When this baby is born, we'll be very far below it.