PLEASE PLEASE call & check that your past and current records are correct.
Today I discovered in a 3.5 hour call that despite my paperwork saying I was in receipt of the disability element, I actually haven’t been receiving it. And that led to a whole host of issues….
This discovery was made because I simply said just one word. Seemingly an employee noted that I had called back in 2017 and said my PIP had stopped. This meant my disability element of tax credits had stopped. In actual fact, my basic rate of PIP had stopped and I had been put onto the enhanced rate….but this had NOT been noted by the tax credits staff. 5 years ago.
Staying on top of all the figures, submitting online any changes the very month they happened, even down to a difference of £10 in childcare costs for just one month, to completing and submitting my figures as per my tax return within 3 days of the renewal pack being received, yet out of nowhere I got a Notice to Pay a month ago for £6k. If this wasn’t paid within 30 days, the Debt Collection Agency would be involved.
I don’t have the funds, my DH very recently lost his job through no fault of his own, and because of this ‘overpayment’, made by DWP to me, my tax credits ceased with immediate effect. Which meant my NI Contributions also stopped being paid to me alongside our other loss of income.
Another bill came today for a further £3k, hence todays long call. The call-handler was wonderful. Empathetic, calm, patient and understanding. He explained everything and we found the reason and solution….I am now back on tax credits, with retrospective disability element reimbursed for the last 2 tax years (all he can do) BUT it is absolutely petrifying that this happens to people who don’t feel confident in making calls, don’t have the mental or emotional capacity to deal with this and it’s not ok that this happened. It’s incredibly worrying that others may find themselves in this position and wouldn’t know what to do, that they would have just made the overpayment without questioning it or worst still, borrowed from a loanshark or spiralled into a depression from this scenario.
If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone. I was pro-active, honest and communicative all the way along, all my figures were correct and I was prompt and on time in submitting from the start back in 2015.
Please, never assume they have it correct. The wording on their documents can be meaningless.