| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| suef |
Posted - 04/12/2008 : 09:33:58
I have been stitched up big time tax credits are saying that i have to pay back nearly £40000 overpayments in Child Care tax credit. My childminder at the time did not keep any records and i paid in cash so i have no proof also this is from 2006 to 2007 and 2005 to 2006 what a mess i have sent off the form to say i cannot pay this back and i am waiting for a reply. |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| missfroy2 |
Posted - 15/12/2008 : 13:19:44
quote:
Originally posted by samthe
Missfroy2 - but the claim form asks for the childminder's registration or approval number. I have assumed that TCO check this to make sure it is a valid number. Is this not the case? If it isn't shouldn't it be?
This isn't one of the questions on the form that leads to a verification failure during processing. As for checking, I am not 100% sure whether there is an automatic check on these numbers to make sure they are valid. If the OP provided a valid number, then the problem could be elsewhere.
Even if HMRC do check the numbers at the point of the initial claim (and I think they may not do this automatically) they wouldn't be able to check on an ongoing basis, therefore it could be a case that the childminder was registered but then lost their registration.
The OP really needs to identify what the problem is and then it will be easier to guide them to find better help.
MF2 |
| samthe |
Posted - 12/12/2008 : 20:53:29
Missfroy2 - but the claim form asks for the childminder's registration or approval number. I have assumed that TCO check this to make sure it is a valid number. Is this not the case? If it isn't shouldn't it be? |
| Alan the Geordie |
Posted - 11/12/2008 : 12:46:37
>>tax credits are peculiar.<<
A true masterpiece in understatement from our excelent Miss Froy!!
No nurse, I said "Are my test results back?" NOT "Are my testicles black?" .. but thanks anyway!! |
| missfroy2 |
Posted - 11/12/2008 : 09:25:49
quote:
Originally posted by Ali M-W
Samthe's right - if you have been taking your child regularly to the same childminder, there is no way on God's green earth that someone won't know about it somewhere along the line. Had there been a murder in that household, ironically you would be a suspect right away!!! Your challenge is to prove your child went. Your child her or himself could even perhaps prove this if they are old enough to talk. There are likely to be other parents who have used this childminder, older children and neighbours who were aware of children being there. You may have to do some detective work. If your child can talk about the childminder, I would quote this on correspondence as evidence. I can't honestly see them interrogating a small child, but it adds weight to your argument.
If your child was picked up at school, other parents will almost certainly be able to vouch for you. Did the school have her down as one of their contact points? Is HMRC saying you didn't have a childminder but made other arrangements for your child to keep the money for yourself? If they are claiming this is so, what grounds do they have for claiming this? Have they evidence of the child being taken to relatives, left alone (in which case wouldn't neighbours have picked this up and contacted the NSPCC or Social Services?) or taken to work with you? Okay, I am taking a tangent here, but sometimes to prove a point you have to show that all the alternatives are ridiculous, and what is left is the truth.
My guess is that the childminder may be having tax payment problems and is perhaps denying she cared for your child in hopes that the bill will be reduced. Can you prove payment to her in any way? Were there large withdrawals of cash from your bank account at regular intervals which you can show? Or cheques issued? Receipts handed back?
If your child was there, there will certainly be some way to prove this. It is just a matter of standing your ground and looking for any evidence you can uncover in support of your own claim that you were using and paying this person to care for your child.
If sure it isn't an HMRC mistake but due to something the childminder has done, could you get free legal advice about suing her for putting you in this awful situation? Then maybe the lawyers could come up with ideas for proving attendance and deception?
Good luck!
Trinity: No one has ever done anything like this.
Neo: That's why it's going to work.
Obviously sensible advice here on proving your child attended, but attendance itself will be irrelevant if the childminder is not registered or approved within the legal definitions.
I am not sure whether I agree with TCBlondie on this point - the tax credit claim has nothing to do with the childminder as such. Therefore it is the claimant who claims tax credits and states that their child is in 'registered and approved' childcare.
As far as I am aware, the childminder won't be in any trouble for not being registered and approved as such. However tax credits are not payable if she is not.
There will be legal issues to consider if the childminder held herself out, and that might be relevant to action between the childminder and claimant, but again not between the claimant and HMRC.
Again, too complicated for a forum I think so get some professional advice. I would actually suggest TaxAid, LITRG, CAB etc might be better placed than a lawyer as tax credits are peculiar. They all offer free advice so you have nothing to lose.
MF2 |
| Ali M-W |
Posted - 11/12/2008 : 07:58:43
Samthe's right - if you have been taking your child regularly to the same childminder, there is no way on God's green earth that someone won't know about it somewhere along the line. Had there been a murder in that household, ironically you would be a suspect right away!!! Your challenge is to prove your child went. Your child her or himself could even perhaps prove this if they are old enough to talk. There are likely to be other parents who have used this childminder, older children and neighbours who were aware of children being there. You may have to do some detective work. If your child can talk about the childminder, I would quote this on correspondence as evidence. I can't honestly see them interrogating a small child, but it adds weight to your argument.
If your child was picked up at school, other parents will almost certainly be able to vouch for you. Did the school have her down as one of their contact points? Is HMRC saying you didn't have a childminder but made other arrangements for your child to keep the money for yourself? If they are claiming this is so, what grounds do they have for claiming this? Have they evidence of the child being taken to relatives, left alone (in which case wouldn't neighbours have picked this up and contacted the NSPCC or Social Services?) or taken to work with you? Okay, I am taking a tangent here, but sometimes to prove a point you have to show that all the alternatives are ridiculous, and what is left is the truth.
My guess is that the childminder may be having tax payment problems and is perhaps denying she cared for your child in hopes that the bill will be reduced. Can you prove payment to her in any way? Were there large withdrawals of cash from your bank account at regular intervals which you can show? Or cheques issued? Receipts handed back?
If your child was there, there will certainly be some way to prove this. It is just a matter of standing your ground and looking for any evidence you can uncover in support of your own claim that you were using and paying this person to care for your child.
If sure it isn't an HMRC mistake but due to something the childminder has done, could you get free legal advice about suing her for putting you in this awful situation? Then maybe the lawyers could come up with ideas for proving attendance and deception?
Good luck!
Trinity: No one has ever done anything like this.
Neo: That's why it's going to work.
|
| samthe |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 17:30:52
As tcblondie says. childcare should not be paid unless the childminder is registered or approved. You should have been asked for details when you claimed & TCO should have checked that the minder was registered.
Could it be that the minder has been asked to verify that your child was cared for by her and(accidentally or deliberately) has said it was not? If that is the case, then you seem to have a difficult problem as you say you have no proof. However, surely there were other staff members or other mothers/fathers taking children there who you could ask to verify that your child was there? |
| emmylou |
Posted - 10/12/2008 : 07:47:16
omg 40k i thought mine was bad with 20K. How are we supposed to support our chidren and pay back this money that we did deserve to have. |
| missfroy2 |
Posted - 09/12/2008 : 21:37:04
Hi Suef
The childcare regulations are some of the most complicated to understand.
The best advice is to seek professional advice from someone who can support you such as TaxAid, LITRG, or CAB.
MF2 |
| suef |
Posted - 09/12/2008 : 20:49:01
thanks all for the replies i am still waiting to hear from the tax office and am not paying back until i do so as i have no money |
| tcblondie |
Posted - 04/12/2008 : 18:52:38
Hey
Was your childminder registered? ie with ofsted?
if so she should've been keeping records with them, and if she hasn't it's her who's commited fraud
If not - they should never have let you put the childcare provider on there in the first place - so the fault lies with them |
| Robert |
Posted - 04/12/2008 : 11:31:33
Hi suef...
If you have said to HMRC you cant pay this back, because of hardship, you may get a call from them, asking about your income ect, dont do this over the phone,get them to send you a form to fill in, so you can properly log all your outgoings, as you will probably won't be able to list them easily over the phone, if they send you a form , go to the CAB and ask for help in filling it in,
The truth is out there.. GO get it......Non Illigitamus Carborundum
|
|
|
