Sorry - Tax Credits again!! - Why are they so thick???!!!!

[zephyrcat]

I just wanted to see if I can get a bit of advice before I get on the phone to them!

I've just received my annual review forms and they have me down as working 16 hours a week. I left that job in 2004 when DS was born!! I told them last year when I renewed my claim over the phone that I wasn't working but then we moved and my paperwork went to the old address but I didn't think anything of it as it had all been confirmed over the phone.

So - if they assume I've been working 16 hours a week for the last 2 years will I have been over or under paid?

Have a look here \link{http://www.entitledto.co.uk\here} putting in both 2004 and 2005 total income and see how they differ. Where you getting working tax credit?

Thank you for that link - I've never come across that site before and it's really handy!! I couldn't work out the tax credits though... but that could just be me being as thick as them!!

Having just re-read the renewal forms they have got dp completely wrong as well... How hard can it be to input details into a computer from a phonecall??? AAARRGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!

It gets even worse if you write to them. I gave up phoning as they kept on putting in wrong figures (saying I wasn't working when I was). So now I write to them and do you know what, the letter states exactly what needs to be put in what box, for the year, and they still balls it up. It's taken me 4 months to finally get through to them, via numerous letters to which I have never received a reply.

And all I was doing was telling them that I had a new job/salary from the beginning of this year (Jan) which they messed up as the applied the new salary to the whole of the Tax Year! Surely the know how many months there are in a year or are they so thick that they can't be bothered to pro-rata a change in circumstances. I HATE EM.

I'm at the point of telling them not to bother (we don't get a huge amount anyway) but they get it wrong so often and then we end up repaying them.....

It's been saying on the news for the last couple of days that they have buggered it up so badly that they are going to have to write off all the overpayments - about 2billion worth I think!!

They have got me down as working for 16 hours or more a week and earning 1053.00 for the whole year!!!!

Still waiting for my renewal forms and dreading it!
Its horrible! We are both working and dh has had a bonus etc so I think they will say we owe them, even though our payments halved when ds turned 1 year old!
We could earn more money doing overtime, feeling like telling them to stick it!

Zephryrcat - that sounds about right for them! Tw*ts!

Yeah the MPs ombusman (or whatever it was) wrote a very imformed article about it last year and recommended they should write them off as it is costing them more money to collect than the actual overpayments are. I'm not surprised bearing in mind that they can't interpret simple letters/telephone calls.

A bonus is the least of our worries - Dh only gets paid by the hour, he is not salaried, and does varying amount of hours a month (anything from 150 hours to 250 hours) so we do not have a crystal ball to work out what he is going to be earning. To avoid all confusion I just add on £10k to his current year P60 figure and at least we aren't getting overpayments (for last year that is).

MrsRecycle - never thought of that, must be hard to know what to 'predict'.

That's the problem we are going to have now... dp has just started working for an agency in the last few weeks so we have no idea whatsoever what he is going to earn.

They have him down for the last year as working 39 hours and earning just over 12000 when I told them he was self emloyed and had earned 10000 so far... now this year I have to tell them he made 0 as he made a loss so they are bound to get confused!!!