Has anyone taken on the Tax Credit Office and won?  They want me to pay back nearly 2K "overpayments" which quite frankly were their fault, they knew about them and still continued to pay them, telling me any overpayments would be adjusted the following year.  Of course the following year my award was nil and they want me to pay back what they had paid me over 18 months.

I know I should have put all the money aside etc etc but I'm on a low income and I really needed the money for bills as well as the fact they assured me it could be paid back out of future year's money.

I've written dozens of letters disputing it and been to my MP but they are just saying I have to pay it back "because they say so".  Has anyone got out of paying money back.  Unfortunately all my conversations with them were on the phone and not in writing :(

CG

Copper girl, I think that you know the answer to your question 'deep down' don't you?  :)

Heh heh - what, you mean just pay it back?  Well no I'm not going to without a fight.  Just wondered if anyone else had fought it and won.  Their literature says you may not have to pay it back if it was their mistake - and it was.

CG

I guess you join the many who have had this happen - they are many cases on tv regarding this aren't there.

I wish you all the luck in the world with winning this battle that so many are still fighting!

I can't offer you any advice as don't have any personal experience.

Rachel

>they knew about them and still continued to pay them

Ergo you knew about them too ... suspect you may not get much sympathy on this issue. Although I do agree that there are far too many of these mistakes and they should get their act together, it has been well publicised that they will seek to re-claim overpayments.

M.

Will post another reply, rather than edit to ensure you see it.

Just re-read and realised that sounds snootier than I meant it to, by the way, was just suggesting that it's probably a losing battle.

M.

My friend put her nearly £5k overpayment into an ISA..........knowing she would have to pay it back.

Sensible girl - earn some interest but have it available when it's requested.

M.

I do agree its probably a losing battle and as they wrote and told me they were overpaying I did know about it.  BUT they also told me they couldn't stop payments in the middle of the year and would adjust it all at year end (they honestly did say that).  They also said any money owed could be deducted from my new claim. They didn't tell me that my new claim was going to be zero :rolleyes:  I shall just keep on writing the letters.

CG

My sister was in the same situation, ended up owing them £2000, because she couldn't pay it back, they just stopped paying her anything, so for the past 1.1/2 years she had nothing.

If there is a way of beating them please let us know.

If there is a way of beating them please let us know

Why should there be a way of beating this

It is money that was paid in error :)

If you had accidently paid more for something would you expect them to turn around and say sorry but it's your problem I am keeping the money :)

Lucy
xx

That is exactly what happened to my ex.  He claims the tax credit, they over paid him.  He wrote to MP etc got nowhere.  Then they just stopped paying him and it won't be re-instated until they have the overpayments back.  It is unbelievable.

>It is unbelievable.

Is it?
How can people think they don't need to pay back an overpayment?

A few months ago there was a lot said on local radio here about how people that have been overpaid may NOT have to pay it all back when it wasn't their fault. What gets me is WHY they make so many mistakes. We had the same letter the other day, been over paid, it will be recovered by future payments being reduced. But we have given them all relevant details so how come they ended up paying too much? (We had no idea ourselves.)

Yes, it is. I had one year of suffering the absolutley antiquated, dreadfully inadequate, inaccurate and appallingly managed Tax Credit system. They make errors, advise you they haven't made an error, write and tell you that no error has been made - then demand their money back.

Its ridiculous.

Its all very well to sit and say how it shouldn't be spent - but these are people who are often living hand to mouth and the temptation is too much - assuming they twig they are being overpaid in the first place.

Yes, it should be paid back - but at the claimants convenience and NOT to the detriment of their family.

Have to say, if I were on a low income where every penny counted, I think I'd have been even less inclined to spend it if I knew it was going to be raked back later and therefore cause double trouble where I'd got used to having the higher income and then lost it.

Whilst I do think you have been over-paid and therefore should have to pay it back, it does seem entirely counter-productive for them to a) seem to be causing so many incidences of this over-payment and return situation and b) to not rectify the situation as soon as they became aware of it.

Anyway, think this one has the potential for strong opinions, so will bow out before I get myself into trouble. :D ;)

M.

When my mother had a stroke I rang both the Pensions Agency & The Attendance Allowance Unit before 10 am on the day she was admitted, I also was seen by a member of the PA staff & again confirmed her date of adnmission.

After 4 weeks her AA should have ceased but it didn't so I rang them again & pointed out their error, They admitted that it was their fault & wrote & told me she had been overpaid & requested repayment(as is their right even though it was their mistake), however they cannot enforce recovery so the overpayment was written off(the money had been spent getting my father to see her in hospital)

I could have repaid it from their savings, but then the error would not have been recorded against the person who didn't do their job correctly & they no doubt would go on making the same mistake

Had they incorrectly paid her again after I rang them to inform them of the error I would still not have repaid the money

I think that you were probably given the wrong advice

'I do agree its probably a losing battle and as they wrote and told me they were overpaying I did know about it.  BUT they also told me they couldn't stop payments in the middle of the year and would adjust it all at year end'

I know from the experience my son had that they can change the amount of the payments during the year and they don't have to wait until the next year.  Were you advised that for training and quality purposes your call may be recorded? if it was recorded I would imagine the above statement made to you would go in your favour as they can change the award as the year goes on that is why we have to tell them of a change of circumstances.

My son had dozens of letters telling him different amounts until they settled on the correct one.

They have changed mine at the drop of a hat but my daughter was told they couldnt change hers last year and now they are clawing back the overpayment leaving her to struggle they are incompident and stupid and half of them dont know the rules if you speak to two different people you get two different tales

I think you have hit the nail on the head there.

Another thought.  If you want to make sure it is probably best to put changes in writing and send it recorded delivery.

They changed my claim twice mid-year last year.  Why not try going to a solicitors or the CAB- I saw a documentary on TV showing people who had no choice but to sell their house etc because they simply couldn't afford to live there anymore.  On the program they got 3 highly educated oxford/cambridge graduates and gave them a *test* case and asked them to work out what the award should be- they failed!  They also got (I think) a tax inspector or financial advisor to go over the ladies award (the one who was selling her house) and it turned out they OWED her!  Figuring out what she had incoming from them spanning a period of 5 years or so- they actually owed her and not vice versa :-) 

Why not try contacting a solicitor or try to get some free financial advice- you might have been underpaid previously that they can reduce off the amount owing.  Or you could at least reach a mutual agreement with them regarding how much you can afford to repay considering it was their mistake?

Stacey x 

i had friends who were over paid by a few thousand and they were allowed to pay theres back £10 a week so an arrangement can be made. Even though they could afford to have paid more, they said why should they have to whne it was their mistake in the first place after several phone calls stating that they had payments of a few hundred pounds a time in a space of 2 months!!   I have also heard  that some people can get it written off.. my best advice would be to do as Kash says and got to CAB and see what they can suggest!!

Hmmmmm, I've been successful in not paying back what they said I owed them, but only because they were wrong!  I have a limited income (in relation to my outgoings) and relied on tax credits to make life managable so I keep good records of income outgoings, etc, file all paperwork and make notes in a diary.  I received a demand from tax credit people for overpayment of £1.5k but refused to believe I had been overpaid.

I went to my local tax office who were brilliant and one of their advisors went through my paperwork with a fine tooth comb and a calculator and every notification of change in my diary matched the records on the computer.  As my son had reached 19 during the year they had miscalculated what I was owed.  I appealed and won! 

However, it did take input from my local MP to get the money repaid to me with a reasonable amount of time (3 months).  I didn't find the CAB very helpful, but the tax office was.  Go to them with all your paperwork and they will help you to sort it - IF it is a genuine error, you can appeal and your local tax office will support you in this.  The advisor that helped me was as frustrated with the system as I was.

Jackyjat, it sounds as though Copper girl knows that she has been overpaid though (if I have read her post correctly!)

I know Oldilocks but it may help her to confirm the amount of overpayment by discussing with local tax advisor face to face.  (It also might help someone else who has been underpaid).  Face to face is so much better.

I wish I had never even bothered to claim it in the beginning.
I was getting the vast amount of £40 a month, last year I got 3 of those huge envelopes on the same day, each giving different amounts, as my daughter had reached 18 in the January I phoned them and asked if they could just stop paying me. As she was going to college they said I was still entitled but they were stopping payment because I had been overpaid !
Nothing else was heard until this April, another huge ebvelope arrived saying I was owed £25 followed by a demand to repay £450 within 3 weeks.
Phoned them and it seems somehow that had mixed up  dates and had my daughter as leaving school for a year then going back, don't lnow how, was told to ignore the payment demand and they would sort it, on my bank statement at the end of the month they had paid £150 into my account.  Still have no idea what's going on !!!!!

The first year it was running we received 14 totally different award notices. At the end of the first year we had been overpaid by 1p which was collected from the next years payments.

I don't think we have ever been given less than 4 different awards in any one tax year even though our circumstances haven't changed.

As well as phoning them ( hours and hours spent trying to get through or on hold only to get through and be told that due to the volume of  callers my call could not be taken and to be subsequently cut off ) I now always put everything in writing and post it to them as well.

Ingrid make sure you keep all your paperwork with notes hand written on them to confirm the dates you notified the tax office.  If your "child" is in education then I believe you get credits until the week before their 19th birthday.

It's a scenario like yours that caused my grief. :rolleyes: