Child Tax credits, Childcare Vouchers, Concentrix? Help so confused!

[Mimitheminx4]

Hi

Wondering if anyone can help. Applied for the first time for tax credits last July. Included all of my childcare costs as per form. We were approved and began to recieve child tax credits.
Informed HMRC of summer holiday costs and received a letter from BH LIVE (now concentrix) asking for proof which I sent. I advised clearly in my letter with all of the receipts who I pay for my three children and how. The letter I sent to Concentrix clearly states we pay for one of our childcare providers directly through my partners Royal Mail wages. They amended our award. I am self employed.
In Sept we had an increase of childcare costs and informed HMRC and were sent another form from Concentrix. Again i clarified all the information clearly and was not asked to provide evidence from our childminder which we use the vouchers for.
I have now had a letter from Concentrix asking me for all of our income details. I am mega confused. They have always calculated our childcare using my full childcare costs including vouchers but in this letter we arent allowed to add this in. Furthermore I have told them about the vouchers, and they haven't asked for evidence of the childminder payments, and I presumed this is because they would check it with my husbands NI number and because I've told them.
I am mega stressed out-we had a baby in Dec (again advised tax credits) and I have PND so anything slightly bad day related sends me into a tizzy. I called Concentrix straight away yesterday to query everything, they said any dispute is between us and HMRC but it was essentially my genuine mistake and their cock-up. I have to scramble together all of our childcare receipts now which I can do and I am going to send my original letters to them too so they can see I have informed them.
More confused though as I can only find online that childcare vouchers only affect working tax credit which we don't recieve. We only receive child tax credit. Anyone have any similar or some advice? I am so worried, and annoyed as it is unlike me to miss any detail such as this originally. It doesn't say anything anywhere on the original BH live letters about childcare vouchers either so I am sure I can't be the only person in this position?

Did you read the notes that came with the original form you completed? (when you made your initial claim)

Childcare costs paid by employer are not to be included

I did read the notes but I must have stupidly missed this on my original claim. Its no good feeling sorry for myself but feel like a huge failure. Husband only told me it came out of his wages so I didn't realise they were childcare vouchers and I didn't question it so he says takes some of the blame too a didn't specify. I just can't believe it wasn't picked up by bh live or concentric either considering I gave them all of the information as it is such a stupid and expensive mistake.

Tbh I made the exact same mistake last year. I didn't read the notes properly and included the childcare costs paid via vouchers. I had to send concentrix all the childcare costs for the last year along with a grovelling letter.

I expect we will get a bill for the overpayment and hopefully not a fine on top.

Hi @femaledilbert
Thank you-I have been beating myself up all weekend and crying because I can't believe I didn't pick up on it. Also feel that concentric are pretty negligent because I told them about it and they still didn't! Did you call hmrc? I will do the same. Crossing fingers it's not a fine on top although worried about how to pay overpayment as on maternity allowance and money tight as it is! X

Same has happened to me, apart from exh pays childcare vouchers as part of his maintenance. I am waiting to hear back from concentrix. Has anyone heard back frim them

Has anyone heard back? Im in same situation and wondering if i will have an over payment

Hi everyone,

I'm in a similar situation. I naively started using vouchers to help me budget better. I'm a lone parent and I struggle with money. I never really understood the whole process and I've been so careful to always keep HMRC with any changes. Despite this, I've had so many problems with them.

I've recently got the dreaded tax credit claim check from concentric and I got my childcare provider to give me statements so I could prove the amount I was claiming was correct. However, whilst going through the forms from concentric, I realised I shouldn't have been claiming because of my vouchers.

I feel like such an idiot!!

I've been panicking for days - every scenario has been going through my head - prison for benefit fraud?? £3,000 penalty?? how am I going to pay back the overclaim??

I rang up concentric today and they've told me to explain on the form that I didn't realise. I'm not sure how well this will wash with them though when they get my form through.

I've just got to bite the bullet and accept what they decide. It's all making me feel so sick though. I'm not an accountant, I'm just a normal working parent who's trying to do the right thing but I find the tax credits stuff so confusing.

I have a friend with 3 children and she has never claimed tax credits despite being entitled to them because she can't deal with the stress of it.

I hope everyone gets their claims sorted out.

Hi SazCaz

I've still not had a reply yet but we've had our receipts etc sent back to me. I'm just crossing my fingers. I don't think they make it clear at all so don't beat yourself up. I will let you know how we get on xxx

Hi everyone,

Has anyone heard back from Concentrix yet?

I had my documentss sent back a couple of weeks ago and nothing since. I've tried to put it out of my mind and not worry so much but I get a sinking feeling every time I get home from work because I'm dreading that brown envelope waiting for me!!

Also, it would be good to know what I'll need to be paying them back as I have a family to budget for!! (And Christmas won't be far off again as well!!) x

Been there done that. If it helps they have to give u up to 2 years to repay. 5 years if u are prepared to fill in length expenditure forms. Don't let them bully u to pay more back than u can afford. I owed quite a bit and paid £10 a month for about 5 years! All online if u Google about repayment amounts.

I sent my documents off to them on 20th May & have heard nothing at all from them.
Mine was proof of childcare costs. I checked recorded delivery & it had definitely arrived.
Is there a legal limit on how long they have to reply??

Yes you have to exclude any vouchers , you should only use vouchers if your childcare is above the maximum allowed by tax credits. For example the max for two kids is £300 that means you receive £210 from tax credits and you pay £90 yourself anything above that amount you can use vouchers for. So for weekly costs for two dc £350 you can only claim £50 in vouchers. Otherwise you would be claiming both tax relief and tax credits for the same amount of childcare.

Also op any tax credits for childcare are called working tax credits not child tax credits.

Hi, i have been waiting for 16 weeks now, i received the same letter, and i too didnt realise that you could not use childcare vouchers. I know i am going to have an over payment but they are currently still paying the same amount. I wish they would sort it out!!

I'm in the same boat with concentrix - HMRC told me to include all childcare costs, including childcare vouchers (which are deducted from my wages). I sent all the info to HMRC back in March and they came back to say they were paying me the right amount. Then I get a letter from concentrix in May, wanting all the info again, which was frustrating as I hate trying to work out the weekly costs and then detail how I've done it. on the letter from concentrix it states NOT to include cc vouchers. I called HMRC who said I should. Then i called concentrix who said I shouldn't. All very frustrating. So I sent back my workings out to concentrix for both scenarios! I have had all my documents back and just waiting for the letter to tell me that I owe the govt money :( I am also scared they are going to say i have committed fraud or something.

I have now realised that I have worked out the cc costs on my renewal for this year incorrectly, as I included cc vouchers, but HMRC won't talk to me while concentrix are dealing with my details. I have written to concentrix to say I made a mistake and can they urgently adjust the tax credit payments, but they haven't changed it and I keep getting paid too much. I know I should just ring them, but it's an expensive phone call on an 0345 number. I'm going to write to them again so at least there is a paper trail.

It's a nightmare.