Warning - Tax Credits!

[BugOnARugDrinkingTeaFromAMug]

I have been informed by my payroll dept that I have a direct earnings attachment 20% of my net pay to DWP for a debt.

I had no idea about this, My council tax is up to date and I don't receive any benefits so I rang DWP thinking maybe its a mistake and they confirmed that actually it is a tax credits overpayment....... from 2014!!

How on earth has this come up 12 years later. Apparently I can dispute it but how would I have any details now related to 2014. I wouldn't know where to start. They would have had all my correct information at the time.

So just a warning if you have ever received tax credits, they must be doing some kind of reconciliation.

MIL had one last week for an overpayment in 2004….22 years ago!!!
she’s in a care home now with no income so they’ll have to chase her for it. I wonder if DWP have set up a team going through and chasing very old debt maybe.

Tax credits are HMRC and they are notorious for collecting their debts.

It's probably because tax credits have ended, so any errors on cases have been spotted when they have been closed down

It's normal they can recover whenever they want. I had one in 2025 from 2011!

This is the first I have ever heard about it, not like I have avoided paying for years or anything.

That makes sense about them working through all files now they are closed down.

Yes I have had similar in the last few weeks- we got a letter saying we owed 1.5k from a joint tax credit claim from years ago.

husband rang up and set up a £50 per month dd to pay it off.

then I got a letter from payroll saying 10% has been taken off my wage .

we rang up again and they said because it’s a joint claim we both needed to pay not just one person, so they had persud my wage as well .

then the direct debit came out and it was for £60 not £50 !

luckily we can afford it ish - but only a few years ago that sort of thing being taken out of my wage would have left us in a tight situation

What they don't announce is there is actually a longer period to repay available than they initially suggest .
I repaid over 8 years.

They offer 2..
But have to accept longer.

I have offered £100 per month which they have accepted but it is too late for this month, payroll have deducted £618 from my salary! With two days notice.

Friend of mine had a massive set to with them over this.

She went to the Parliamentary Ombudsman who found maladministration.

Good on her for disputing it. I can't provide any documents from 2014 so no point trying.

It seems awful-if a shop owner was chasing someone for a 12 year old debt, or pretty much anything else, we'd say it was ridiculous. Thought even businesses only had to keep records for 7 years?
Obviously someone who was deliberately cheating is a different matter, but even then, you'd surely need to give them a chance, within a reasonable time frame, to disprove allegations?

You can issue the DWP (the dept that took over tax credits from HMRC) with a Subject Access Request Notice under the Data Protection Act and they have to send you a copy of everything they hold on you.

Then hit them with a complaint, and also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner that the DWP is processing inaccurate data on you; and then on to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Also get your MP involved s/he can write to the Works & Pensions Secretary on your behalf.

The data wrong-processing complaint route might also work with your employer.

Thank you that is very thorough advice and worth a thought.

The DWP don't hold any of that information. Nothing from tax credits moved over, that's why everyone had to make a new claim. It's down to data protection. You would need to request it from HMRC

It seems wrong that they would expect you to have any evidence from back then and so in turn wrong that they are trying to reopen something from so long ago.

Slightly different but I had a £713 overpayment which I started to repay HMRC back each month (tax credits overpayment apparently) fair enough. I then get a letter from the DWP saying I owed them £713 due to another over payment ….. I said but it’s just been duplicated ? I am already paying the £713 debt - they didn’t have any of it and I have zero records or letters so no way of disputing?

I think it’s just a duplicative admin error that I have no way of proving?

Hideous to be honest. No issues with the repayment at all, but the exact same debt with another government department? 🤔

That’s interesting, thanks. So SARNs would need to be sent to HMRC? But, also, I presume the SARN could include ‘and anything relevant that is held by the DWP’ in order to be on the safe side.

I’d basically want to find out what the alleged debt is based upon, and which government departments held what on me.

Interesting that there's no statute time bar for reclaiming.