tax credits! They have f*cked up big time but noone wants to sort it out

[bunny3]

Has anyone else suddenly had tax credits wrongly stopped?
The tax office have been claiming that we informed them of a change in circumstances and as a result of this change we are no longer entitled to tax credits. The thing is, we DIDNT inform them of any changes and we SHOUL be entitled to them but noone at the offices seems to be capable of sorting it out.
To add insult to injury, they want all the tax credits and child benefits from the last 8 yrs paid back to them! What can I do? Please help

Message withdrawn

I have been having problems with them and have recently had some knock at my door from inland revenue overpayments office asking when and how i will be paying back my overpayment from 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, which i was told over the phone that it was a problem with the systems, and i didn't owe any money back!

I think i better write to my local MP because the local CAB is not very good, as my friend had to use them once to try and sort out there tax credits but they didn't seem to make any difference at all!

Thanks for the site milliec!

Child benefits why do they want your child benefits back? Everyone who has children is entitled to child benefit!

I'd go and speak to the CAB or your MP. years is a long time to suddenly say 'oh we want that back'. Surely they cant want your child benefit back as well? Thats not means tested and is given to everybody with a child under 16 (18 if still in education) regardless of their income or situation.

The TCO are a law unto themselves, it's probably not that your local CAB is rubbish but more that the TCO just ignores every attempt at contact and makes up rules to suit itself.

I work in welfare rights and they are the bane of my life. I hate them and every other welfare rights advisor I've ever met feels the same way.

has anyone had a new renewal form yet this year?
normally we get one earlier than this i think and we still havnt had one to tell them how much we have earnt this past year.

Have you tried asking them? If they are demanding child benefit back as well (never heard of that before) that would suggest they believe you don't have any children. What have they received as this change in circumstances? What have they sent you? Is it possible that someone else has put in a claim for the same children? (whether absent parent or identity thief)

Why don't you make an appointment at your local tax office to talk this over and find out what it is actually about, rather than dashing off to 3rd parties (CAB/ MP etc)

thanks for all your messages . We are no nearer to sorting this out despite dh ringing on a daily basis. The reason they want our child benfits back is because according to their records I am 2 years old and therefore cannot possible have three children! They are fairly insistent that dh has got my dob wrong and I was really born in 2006!!!

Our plan of action is recorded delivery letter to them outlining the facts very clearly. Failing that we will try and get support/advice from our mp.

meandboys, I am shocked that they actually turned up on your doorstep, that's awful . they will get some choice language if they turn up here.

have they got your national insurance number wrong on your paper work?

no, the NI number is correct. they still insist we contacted them to change the details, most odd. Hope it's not id fraud.

There was an incognito IR person on here a ocuple of weeks ago offering to help people. Maybe a search will help you find them?

It sounds like a complete nightmare.

SueW, do you recall their name?

Cargirl, yes it is a bit.

Recorded letter will get you nowhere.

They overpaid me 9 grand in a lump sum (and probably more monthly). I have repeatedly phoned them, I have sent them recorded letters. Nothing. They have finally stopped my payments but haven't asked for the 9 grand + back. Now I've put the 9 grand into premium bonds so I can't spend it and will just wait for them to work it out

something like incognitoIRbod

hold on...

Yes, but lots of msgs withdrawn so maybe even more incognito now!

Worley - I got my form today.

They have FINALLY grasped that addressing one letter to both of us is better than sending duplicates every single time!

mrspnut hit the nail on the head.

the day they END the entire tax credits monstrosity and do what should have been done in the first place: TAX LOW INCOME PEOPLE LESS! will be the day i actually have faith in the government.

till then, i curse them to bottom of my heart and whoever thought them up instead of taxing us less as well.

they made an absolute mess out of lives through no fault of our own which we will probably never recover from.

I missed the bit with your age How bloody stupid can people get??

We had an online bank account application cancelled (and no-one bothered to let us know) - because I had written my DOB for both me and DH so they decided it was fraud. A quick call requesting DOB confirmation and to see our passports (which they would have wanted anyway) would have cleared it up

I am dreading TC this year - I had to make up a random self employed income figure for last year based on one month of sales, was completely out (as I expected) and I have no idea what will happen now

Scrap the whole bloody system.

agree expat. Surely it has to be more cost-effective to just tax people less?

It's a pile of bollox.

Dh was self employed so had to estimate his income then he became employed in Feb 08 (I called & informed them) Then I changed from a SAHM to a working mum in March 08. I called & told them that too, including ourn earnings...

When we got our form of change of details out they had put me down for the whole years earnings despite me working for 2 weeks at that time. Thay had also added a whole years employed earnings onto dh's self employed earnings...

Then I had to call to claim the childcare element of WTC... they were a pack of gits on the phone to me which ended with me asking to speak to a supervisor or someone who knew what they were talking about.

We then got a letter saying we were entitled to the childcare element but they still hadn't changed dh's or my earnings

This morning we got a letter saying we hadn't a childcare claim in & we owed them money,...... dh had to talk me out of calling them at 9am as I was so angry.. I have said he can deal with it now as I would rather eat baked beans & stale bread for the rest of my life than try to argue with some fucker sitting at a desk who thinks they know more about my life than I do!!

agree its a pile of bollox.
this year dp has also changed jobs and as im still waiting for his p60 we dont know what he has actually earnt this year. and as i have also been given a lot of back dated pay from 3 years ago, lumped into this years (07-07)wages it going to mess up with our tax credit amounts now, thanks to the nhs trying to diddle us out of our wages. (someone noticed that they hadnt increased our pay as they were suppossed to have done 3 years ago and so some of us got a big lumps sum back, nice at the time but inow we wont be entitled to tc when we should be iyswim)

Good luck Bunny3.I have been trying to tell them for the past year,that they have got my childcare costs wrong & are paying me money I;m not entitled to.I thought I'd finally sorted it out last year,but,no,they have seemingly pulled a random amount out of thin air & decided that my childcare figures are it.

I rang to tell them again & was told that 'sometimes the system won't let us change figures'.Argh,so why do they insist on being told about changes then?

I've also been told that we earn too much to get help with childcare.Then the next year,we do get some help,then we don't.Then we do,but it is 9p a fortnight.I'd PAY them bloody 9p just to leave me alone.

The whole system sucks.I've now got to pay back money they should never have given me,but no none knows how much or when.As I'm self employed in seasonal work,this could seriously bugger my finances up.