Can the Tax credit people do this?

I've just got a letter saying I owe them Â£1,460.00 of overpaid tax credits even though i've always supplied the 9nfo they need and they paid it to me. They said they haven't recieved my form but I sent it back in july. This happens every year, I just can't afford to pay it. Oh and they stopped my payments also. Can anyone give me any helpful advice please?

The Tax Credit people are actually HM Customs and Revenue, which means they have a huge amount of power. It is made up of the old HM Customs & Excise and Inland Revenue offices. They have power to all sorts and stopping your payments is just one of them. They do sometimes make overpayments when situations change during the tax year, for example, if a partner moves in or out, if someone starts or stops work, if a dependent child leaves full time education or moves out, if someone goes into care, all that sort of thing. It can all have an effect and if you do not tell them when it actually happens, then they may have to make an estimate as to how long the situation has been going on for and charge you accordingly. Certainly in the notes you get when you apply and make annual declarations, it states very clearly that you need to inform them in these, and possibly other circumstances, rather than wait for them to ask for the information or notice that something has changed on your form.

If they have not received your form, they may be charging you because without it they cannot calculate if there has been an overpayment or not. If you sent your form in July, the oness is on you to contact them a couple of weeks later and ask if they have received it, seeing as they then send out a confirmation statement for that tax year, based on the information you have sent them, you should be waiting for that in the post, if you don't receive it, you know something is amiss and then you can call them, if they have not received your form when you ring, you can make your declaration over the phone and this counts as though you have sent your form in. It states on the form that you can do it over the phone, this is generally a good idea as then you know they have all they need and you have done all you can.

Unfortunately, because all the above information is printed and we are asked to read all the notes before filling in the form, they are covered. They have power to stop your payment, and to demand what has already been paid either in full or in part, it is then an offence to withold the money. They have the power to seize goods to that effect.

Your best bet is to contact them by phone and remain very polite, explain the situation and say that this happens every year, say that in future you will telephone the information to them but is there anything they can do this year tol help you, as it is very frustrating to you when you have done all they asked and are being penalised through no fault of your own. Explain that you simply do not have this kind of money and that them stopping your payments is causing hardship. Whatever you do, remain polite and be prepared to accept what they say as a final decision. They can arrange payment plans and in this case, you may just have to pay it, as it is your responsibility to ensure they receive the form. If you have a copy of it, ask if you can give them the information over the phone this one time as you did not realise that they did not have the form.

I suspect they will stick by their original decision, but I do know from speaking to them, that the nicer you are, the more helpful and efficient they are, if you start getting angry or indignant, they pretty much close down and become mighty unhelpful. They are just doing their job, and to be fair, though yours is a genuine case, they have thousands of people every year who say they filled their forms in and sent them off when they haven't, since its impossible to tell who is telling the truth and who isn't they make it our responsibility to ensure they have the form and they advertise on the tv about deadlines and how to send the forms in, anyone who hasn't got the form in gets penalised, as far as they are concerned, there are no viable excuses. Good luck, call them now, be nice and you never know you may get someone who will help you through this minefield. Next year, fill the form out, keep it, and call them with the info, log on the form the time and date and who you spoke to and ask them roughly how long you should have to wait before your final declaration is sent through, if it doesn't come in that time, call them back, it really is the only way.

They are a useless bunch of imcompetent pr!cks, don't you think?

My brother had the same thing.

My advice is complain, complain, complain and appeal.

I wrote letter after letter for my brother pointing out how it was their mistake and that their processes cause unecessary grief and anguish.

They wrote it off in the end.

Don';t get me wrong, it was a bloody struggle to get anywhere, but persistance pays off.

Good luck x

unfortunately they can stop the payments, this is how they typically work
As for them not receiving the form, does this happen ever year?
If so you can lodge a dispute over this, they may possibly drop the amount you owe them, as its not your fault they lost your form
Best thing to do in future is call them up about 3 to 4 weeks after you sent off the form just to make sure they have received it.
good luck

They can do whatever they want. If they say you owe them money you will have to pay. The courts have no authority over Inland Revenue (which this is part of) so basically you have no effective right of appeal. Best just come to some arrangement for payments. Next time phone to check if they have form. Contact you local citizen's advice bureau to get full info on where you go from here. Good luck!

I have had several letters for overpaid tax credits, and know a lot of people who have had too, the system does not work. i have ignored the letters, not my usual way to deal with things, apparently they have no legal standing in reclaiming this money so do not worry too much.

this happened to me in 2 years ago i sent the form back they said they never received it. i phoned them up they said it was sorted and not to worry then 3 months ago i received a letter saying i was being taken to court and i owe them Â£1,200 i can't pay it and don't know what to do.

you have 30 days to appeal it, and they will continue your payments. that should give u enough time to send in the appropriate forms. i suggest you call asap. once the 30 days is up u can't appeal tey are sticklers for that

You can give them your end of year figures over the phone I did this year and my claim was adjusted within 2 days I also state theses figures come from my p60, so there is no messing about. In your case I suggest you go to your local citizen's advice bureau If they don't know how to sort it they can get you free representation to deal with it

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