tax credits over payment

[nurserycook]

I was over paid by nearly £8000 a few years back.I presumed it was money we were owed and spent it as they never gave us much and then this amount appeared.It was only when after the annual July rewnual camt hey had got the wrong national insurance number and just take so much back a month which makes things really tight for us.I undertsand that we should pay smoen of it back but dont thinks it fair to pay all of it .They have never owned up to the mistake can we get it reduced somehow as it was their error not ours.

The guideline is that, whilst HMRC are responsible for getting the payment right, the recipient also has some responsibility to check if the payment seems to be way out and query it. However, there's nothing to stop you petitioning HMRC, complaining about their error and seeing if you can come to some compromise about the amount you have to pay back. Using a service like CAB might strengthen your chances of success.

HMRC (Inland Revenue) have always been far better at collecting unpaid tax than they ever were at paying out benefits. They are not very compromising as a rule but good luck