expatback

A very good friend told me last night that when she returned to work after looking after her very ill son for several years, the government gave her a top up to her wage via tax credits. Now it seems they got all the figures wrong, overpaid her and now wants all the money back! She's just had her November pay and is now only £20 a week better off than when she was not working and is genuinely "on the breadline" with no prospect of her having enough to live, let alone any extras such as Christmas.

Anybody else experienced this and can anything be done to reverse the decision? She really is desperate.

fast bloke

tax credits is a nightmare - I think it is run by ocean finance or something.
Have they started taking part of her pay back or have they simply stopped paying her tax credits? If they are taking part of her pay she should get in touch with them and tell them she can't afford it. If they have just stopped paying her tax credits then there isn't really much she can do

comic cuts

There was a Watchdog programme on this a few weeks ago but don't know what outcome was. Your friend could try Citizens Advice maybe.


CC

Julz1983

I agree that Tax Credits are a nightmare
Last year I was working,so wasn't really bothered about not getting alot of Tax Credit as my wage and my hubby's was covering what I was losing out on, then for the renewal this year I had to tell them I had worked for 2 months this year, they told me at first that it probably wouldn't be counted in,so I had been getting £145 per month and because I made a poxy £1000 in 2 months of working they did count that in and have now started giving me only £80 per month. But on the other hand, if you don't update them and they pay to much they are straight on to you to pay it back to them but if they owe you money it's like getting blood out of a stone.

Hope your friend gets sorted out, if we paint ourselves in kreosote, speak a foreign language, have 6 kids and the rest of the family with us and jump on a lorry to come in to the country we'll be sorted.

scoobyboy

we have gone with out now for 2 years because they overpaid us even though we are now earning less than when they did give us something.

pslewis

I agree that the initial forms to complete were a nightmare .... and thats where it went all wrong IMO.

Pete

ScoobyDoo555

We ended up in that very same situation. We didn't need it in the 1st place, but I figured that we were entitled to it, so claim it before somebody else does.

Got shafted when I got a pay rise at work - we now have to pay for ALL of our childcare. I could have a 2nd mortgage with what we've lost

Roll on when the kids only need part-time care....... Wealth/poverty is all relative

Dan

SCOsazOBY

if its a clerical error then they cant make you pay the money back

Mrs WRX

Yes they can make you pay it back, and believe me they do collect. They overpaid me and hubby a couple of years back and we have only just paid it back. But it was in the paper last month that British people have to pay it back but asylum seekers who shouldnt have got it wont have to pay it back and got a letter of apology. Go figure!

fast bloke

They can only make you pay back more than your monthly entitlement if they can demonstrate they you misled them to begin with. They default to "you owe us this much and you owe it now" but if you fight them on it you can get a sensible compromise

Milamber

iTrader: (2)

We get it too, I got a pay rise and now only get about £2 per month or something stupid, it just isn;t worth it so I tried to get them to stop. "Impossible I'm afraid sir"

fast bloke

I first claimed just after I had been made redundant. The tax year fell in such a way that my profit for the year was about 5k. profit for the next year was substantially more, so I told them (by letter) and suggested they stopped paying me- "Sorry, we have to base it on actual accounts"... now three and a bit years down the line they have just stopped giving me £350.00 a month and want me to pay it back. Every demand I get I send them a copy of the letter I sent them early in 2003 and a copy of their reply. Seems they are happy not to give me anything until 2020 or something.

entire thing is a farce - it can take them anythign up to 8 months to reply to an 'adjustment'