How would you handle this with HMRC

[absolutelynot]

We live on a trainee postal workers route and they have had an influx of new recruits over the last year, needless to say the delivery reliability has been abysmal!

Last years new recruits delivered my tax credits reminder form to another house in the village which was vacant. Didn't find out until new owners moved in by which time, rushed off the tax credits and filed it, two days late. Explained to HMRC, who were very forgiving. Turns out I was owed money! Over £1000.....to which their response was 'you filed late, so we aren't paying out'...in essence anyway.

I haven't been receiving payments due to a previous overpayment, so didn't argue.

However, the have sent me a request for payment of over £800 to payback the overpayment. Evidently not seeing them with holding the money I was entitled to as a payment, essentially writing the amount I was owed off completely as if it didn't exist.

In a way being fined over £1000 for a late return but then being fined £800 for not having enough money in my tax credit account to reconcile the overpayment because they did not honour the amount I was owed.

How to play it??? I am all for not arguing with HMRC over things (particularly after the cock up with the tax codes years ago and refusing to write it off as their error), do i just set up a payment plan?- this has all happened quite conveniently when my OH's work has gone through an unexpected dry spell, always pours eh!

any advice would be fab!

Once you are not entitled to tax credits anymore they do tend to ask for a lump sum back but is possible to negotiate payments back based on what you can afford.
I don't understand why you didn't chase up the lack of renewal before as it's always sent out around the same time each year ( unless it was your first year of claiming perhaps?? ). The cut off date of July 31st is always the same or I think you can renew online I think without having been sent the paperwork ( I may be wrong there). Good luck with getting it sorted as it does seem really unfair.

For the last couple of years I hadn't received anything into my bank as what I was entitled to was withheld to repay an overpayment, so outside of doing the return I had nothing really to prompt me that it was due (nothing on bank statements etc) so just slipped my mind, clerical error on my behalf.

yeah, think a payment plan thing is the best way to go about it. Don't think it is worth the fight to put across my point. Thanks.