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Original poster

Tax Credits Overpayment - Please, please help

22 replies

MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 16:09

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Original poster
MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 16:10

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bossykate · 30/10/2007 16:12

i'm sorry i have no advice to offer i just wanted to sympathise with you and think it is iniquitous that some of the poorest families in the country (by definition, if in receipt of tax credits) and being hounded to pay back money they received in good faith because of mistakes in the system. it is shameful

i hope you get some good advice soon and best of luck with this.

mishymoo · 30/10/2007 16:13

Sorry no advice but 2 of my DHs colleagues were told by Tax Credits they had been overpaid by £1,900 and £2,700. They didn't have to pay it back in one lump sum - the tax credits office stopped all future payments until the debt was recovered, IYKWIM?

Any chance you could suggest this to them?

bealcain · 30/10/2007 16:14

i'm currently in the middle of a secnd appeal.

the way they said it was that the payment had to be made within a year of the end of tax year that the overpayment was made. so in theory that time has expired!

totallyfreaky · 30/10/2007 16:17

Ring again, speak to someone else, I was over paid, I owed 1200 and they were fine about me paying it back over 15 months, if they get snotty again, tell them you have seeked advise from a solicitor, and if they dont allow you to pay it back over a time span yoou can manage, you will take things further, in other words, turn the table on them.

Just another thought, surely if they had not recieved your declaration your payments would have stopped.

yurt1 · 30/10/2007 16:18

Oh gawd I've just been on the phone to them. They have been overpaying us by 1000 a month (ish). The first person I spoke to was extraordinarily unhelpful, so I wrote (sent recorded and kept the proof of delivery), and they wrote to me today with the SAME error. They surely are a bunch of fuckwits. I rang them and was initially refused 'entry' because I go the birth date of my youngest child wrong. Except I didn't - THEY haven't recorded him (he's almost 3).

No help but much sympathy. I'd contact your MP and local councillors (sometimes more help than MP's) - I really fell for you. We are lucky that we know we're being overpaid so I've kept the money separate.

Incidentally they said to me that rather than ask for the payments back they would just stop our tax credits until they had caught up. Why can't they do that with you? Of course that may not happen, but a friend said they did that with her when she was overpaid.

Original poster
MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 16:27

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bealcain · 30/10/2007 16:28

find out who it is and drop in a letter in person to their office is the best way....in your letter request a meeting with them and then you can talk to direct

Original poster
MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 16:29

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bossykate · 30/10/2007 16:29

something useful i can contribute.

try They Work For You to contact both MP, local councillors or other representatives.

mishymoo · 30/10/2007 16:29

Ring your local council and ask for details of the MP in your area. Good luck.

bossykate · 30/10/2007 16:30

but bealcain is right, you should try and find out when their local surgery is and get a face to face meeting if possible.

PatsyCline · 30/10/2007 16:32

This is a great site for info on contacting MPS.

www.writetothem.com/

Good luck with everything.

Original poster
MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 16:37

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MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 17:39

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callmeovercautious · 30/10/2007 18:14

Surely they can reassess what you have been paid and what you were entitled to. I can't believe such a large government dept can't just track back and fix your problem.

My Sister was overpaid and on appeal it was discovered that they had made the error and had overpaid but it was their fault. They still demanded it back all at once. She went to the CAB and they helped her negotiate payments which they take back from her current payments. Hard when they live from one week to the next, both working but in low paid jobs.

Original poster
MotherFunk · 30/10/2007 19:02

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coolkat · 30/10/2007 19:19

HI Motherfunk, I wish I had never started claiming tax credits, it would not be so bad but we only get the basic £10 a week They did the same to us ast year saying we had not returned a form and we ended up paying it simply because they are a bunch of tossers.

Good luck and stay strong - I wish I had had the strength.

singledadofthree · 30/10/2007 23:22

this isnt tax credits but dss so dont know if itll help.
i stopped claiming when i started working full time and informed dss the day after starting new job. office woman emailed another dept to inform them. it got lost. they kept paying me by direct credit until i kept on at them that i was working. my problem was that they wouldnt pay the lone parent job grant at first as they said i hadnt informed them. anyway, long story short, it all got sorted, got grant, run on etc. i got another letter yesterday saying they want 'overpayment' back blah blah. i phoned today asking what, why etc. woman said blah, blah, oh...? you told us the day after (is now on record) - is an 'official error' not 'overpayment' - you can refuse to pay, we'll write it off. 'too right' says i, she changed it and its gone. job done. the thing is - is the 'overpayment' due to an office bod making a mistake re the form, its completion etc? if so you have grounds to back up your arguement if you followed their instructions and were entitled anyway.

zookeeper · 30/10/2007 23:30

The system is a shambles - I had something similar happen to me and appealed it back in October last year!!!!!!I've still heard nothing and it worries me as it's thousands. (At the time I was paying 1000 nursery fees a month)

They say they never got my form and so they say that they have no record of my childcare costs even though I have subsequently sent receipts

Apparently they do have staff who deal with nothing but MP-referred problems but my MP wrote over 4 months ago and I've stil yet to hear anything.

Sorry this isn't helpful; just wanted you to know I empathise.

twinsetandpearls · 30/10/2007 23:39

we have been overpaid but the amount differs from a few hundred pounds to over £5000 and then on another occasion we were told that their had been an error only for a few days later to be told that we had 7 days to find the money.

I cannot pay it in one lump sum so have told them I will pay in installments when they have a figure to settle on. My payemnts stopped about a year ago but beyond that have heard nothing

Original poster
MotherFunk · 31/10/2007 15:29

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