| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| emma1984 |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 13:21:24
HI everyone,
Ive been claiming ctc for around 5 yrs now, my partner and i started claiming joint income support in nov 2005 after we had a baby with severe disabiltys. In Jan 2006 i called them and changed the bank details to my partners acount(they have log of this call on their systems) Ive mentioned my other half heaps of time and ive gone on too have 3 more children all his name, his little brother is even on my claim. We were getting £510.89 a week as we have 4 disabled children.
However on 1st Aug i rung up to check my payment amount as id added Terrys brother around 2 wks earlier and got asked loads of qeustions which id already answered the 2 weeks before hand. It became apparent that APPARENTLY they has me down as single parent i explained to him that cant be possible as ive discussed my partner loads of times before he said he was really sorry but he was goin to have to cancel my claim as of 30th nov o5. how can this happen so everything since then is classed as over payment which means we owe them little off 50k.
He then said we were would need to get a new claim in and best way to do it was to go job centre and request a fast track un the circumstance's. So off i went done it last monday 4th aug got told fast track measn as soon as it arrives in office its done welll here i am a week later it now on the system but they apparently cant match my prtener to me even thou we jointly cliam income support together so its now gone as referal to tax credits office for them to
Im so annoyed tried telling them we have 5 children in this house and 4 of them are disabled 2 severely but it was no use they just keep saying thiers nothing they can do.
Everytime i ask how long applications take i get told a diff number of weeks.
Family fund have paid for a holiday which we are ment to be going on on the 3rd Sept but its just not going to happen if this doesnt get sorted soon as were having to use our spends to live. Also Tj mty 3 yr old has just got his mobilty componant of his dla we had money saved for car we want but cant do it now a we need money to live off. With-out ctc we only get £210 wk.
So bloody annoyed and stressed i even emailed THE SUN.
So Just wondeirng if your even still reaidng ive gone on that much... if anyone has put new claim in lately and how longs its takin to go on screeen and process then get payment??? and how if anyone knows why they cant match my partner with me and if they've had this prob adn how long it took to sort out??
Having 5 kids and 4 disabled kids is hard enough witH out this carry on im toltally at a loss wiht all of this im so upset and angry that they can do this to a family like ours.
ANYONE WITH ANY BIT OF INFO ITS GREATLY APPRICATED XXXX
THANKS FOR READING X |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Robert |
Posted - 19/08/2008 : 00:21:46
And i third the sentiment..
welcome. Robin..
We do have lots of people here, that we help gather from the web,and help,to point them in the right direction to dispute their overpayments..please stay around and your Organisation..
The truth is out there.. GO get it......Non Illigitamus Carborundum
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| Alan the Geordie |
Posted - 18/08/2008 : 18:55:01
Welcome Robin.
I second my Friend Red's sentiments!!
"Dave Anderson (Labour) MP for Blaydon for Prime Minister!!" |
| Red Rocket |
Posted - 18/08/2008 : 18:29:32
Welcome Robin
I do hope you will be able to continue to post on the forum, I'm sure you will be able to make a very significant contribution.
Red
"When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat".
Nelson Mandela |
| robinw |
Posted - 18/08/2008 : 18:04:25
Regarding notional entitlement, missfroy is right to say that its scope was very much restricted after 17 May 2007. We (LITRG) and a number of other bodies have been lobbying hard at ministerial level to get the policy reinstated to what it was before 17 May 2007. Response so far to our arguments can be described as interested/sympathetic, but no decision as yet.
If Emma has mentioned her partner in her telephone conversations with TCO, there may be a good case for arguing that his presence in the household has effectively been reported to them. Tape recordings of calls will no doubt confirm.
Robin Williamson |
| missfroy2 |
Posted - 15/08/2008 : 07:57:36
Indeed, if the error was HMRC's and the OP reported the change of circumstances that were not actioned then that would be possible grounds for a regular dispute under the new COP 26, without necessarily drawing on notional entitlement.
Definately worth checking the award notices, either way she should get some representation for such a big overpayment.
Emma - Have you spoken with anyone? CAB, LITRG, TaxAid etc...
MF2 |
| PJD |
Posted - 15/08/2008 : 04:10:02
ta missfroy,
i have been able to get round the 'cases started after may 07' NE rule occasionally, especially where the error involved has been HMRC, and i figured in this case it might work as well because she didn't report a CoC that involved her relationship status, what do you think?
good point about the award notices. i forgot to ask 
cheers
PJ |
| missfroy2 |
Posted - 15/08/2008 : 00:14:51
I agree that you should contact your MP immediately.
On the issue of notional entitlement, the new compliance manual contains information about notional entitlement, but from 17th May 07 it only officially applies where a genuine error was made at the point of claim, not when the error was relating to a change of circumstances as in your case. You might want to get someone to have a look at the notional entitlement rules.
Did your award notices and annual reviews since 2005 show just you?
MF2 |
| PJD |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 21:05:54
hiya Emma
while yours is potentially the largest overpayment we have seen, there are many cases of this type of thing happening, and there is a HMRC sticking plaster match measure that you need to demand is done. this is called Notional Entitlement. this is were a claim has been made in the 'wrong capacity' (i.e the wrong number of partners on the claim) when a Notional Entitlement assessment is done they work out what should have been paid rightly, then deduct it from what was paid, often severely reducing the overpayment (any residual o/p i would encourage you to continue disputing) or even wiping out the o/p altogether.
usually the biggest part of the fight in these cases is to get HMRC to get their fingers out there butts and stop repeating their mantra of 'computer says no' long enough to get someone to actually do it. so you will need to call in all guns asap. your MP is going to be the biggest and fastest of them.
ring your mp (at home if necessary, number should be in your local directory) don't write, don't request an appointment, ring and demand they start getting some answers on your case. as Sarah says the o/p might not reach as far back as it sounds. your MP has instant access to the MP Tax Credit Hotline, which is staffed by infinitely more competent staff than the general line, and they should have access to your full account, unlike the other operators.
your MP needs to insist the case is causing immediate severe financial hardship and needs escalating right away to a higher level customer care (sic) case worker. insist the case is being disputed and that therefore current payments should be restored asap.
your MP needs to be firm and stick at it, if they are unsure of the issues, or you have trouble motivating them, let me at them, and i will ring, email and go over their head until then do something useful.
because of the current hardship its causing you and the likelyhood that embarrassing HMRC over leaving 4 disabled children on a knife edge i also suggest you go to your local press and the nation newspapers asap. we have many contacts and a few friends in the right places and should be able to get you some extra coverage. if you want to talk to me direct about this email me on paula@taxcc.org
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| Alan the Geordie |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 18:33:51
Hi Emma and welcome!!
I have just one question for you before I go any further and it's this; Are you prepared to copy & paste a letter and either post or e-mail it to your MP?
There are only two answers to this question; YES or NO.
Please post your reply here.
Many thanks
Alan.
"Dave Anderson (Labour) MP for Blaydon for Prime Minister!!" |
| ellie2008 |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 17:59:26
Can't offer any advice, but just wanted to be supportive! Although I know pretty much nothing about it all and am just looking at how to sort our own out at the moment, I can't believe that your situation won't get sorted out pretty soon, as it is just so clearly awful that I'm sure you'll get loads of support from anyone you contact - MPs, newspapers, and anyone else - so hang in there and I hope it gets rectified extremely quickly. Best of luck. |
| auntieh |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 17:52:34
Hi Emma
I agree this is disgraceful and needs to be rectified immediately. There is not much I can add to the advice already given but one other organisation who would be able to help you as you have disabled children would be Contact a Family www.cafamily.org. I don't know whether you have been in touch with them before but they are very helpful, have a high profile nationally and very concerned about Tax Credits and the impact of situations like this on families with disabled children. I only have one, he's an adult now, I can't imagine what it must be like to have four. You are more than entitled to all the support you can get.
I assume you must have a social worker. He or she should also be able to help you I would expect.
Good luck
Auntie
"You can dress a pig in a suit but you can't stop it grunting" |
| whitevanwoman |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 16:17:29
Hi
this is absolutely disgraceful and you are right to have emailed the Sun. I would also email every other newspaper you can think of and contact your MP urgently. If you can't get to speak or see your MP, email them the details that you have posted here.
Do you live near a Citizens Advice Bureau? If so, go and see them. Unfortunately you normally just have to go and wait to be seen which I realise may be difficult for you, but you may be able to telephone or email them.
There are some really supportive people on this forum who will be able to help and guide you through all of this, and I am sure that, like me, people will be shocked and horrified to read what you have been put through.
Whatever happens, don't give up hope of getting it all sorted out. I'm sure that behind the scenes, the people involved in running the Tax Credit Casualties website, www.taxcc.org, will already be looking at what they can do to help.
We are all here to help you, and you can always just have a rant here to get your frustration out.
Thinking of you, try to keep your spirits up.
x
Instructions for life:
1.breathe in
2.breathe out
3.repeat ad infinitum
"Realise that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it" (Anthony d'Angelo) |
| TCC Webmaster |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 15:31:00
Hi Emma,
As Sarah says, others will be along to help soon.
The dispute process can be found on our website at http://www.taxcc.org/Dispute_1st_things_1st.html.
If you go to dispute step two - this is how you claim your data.
Also, I would advise contacting your MP and asking for their intervention to have your claim re-instated. HMRC also hate bad publicity, so maybe you could contact your local press. Something that seems to work well is if you do both of those things, but get your MP talking to the paper as well. (MPs love good publicity.)
Don't be afraid to get your gloves off and fight dirty - HMRC do!
Keep us informed so that we can give you best advice!
Most of all, try not to worry - you have friends here!
 |
| Sarah |
Posted - 14/08/2008 : 15:16:14
Hi Emma,
Not surprinsgly you sound distraught, but you have come to the right place for help and support.
Apologies, I can't answer your questions on timescales for fastracking claims, but hopefully other members will be able to.
In the meantime we need to look at what we can do about the overpayment and the first thing to do with that is to find out how/when your partner was deleted from your claim. The way to do this is to go to our main website (www.taxcc.org) and look at the first steps page. You need to complete a SARN or Statutory Access Request Notice - this means that HMRC will have to send copies of all your records and information to you. You will then be able to look through and find out when your partner was deleted - hopefully it will be a recent error and not back in 2005.
From what you have said in your posting I presume that HMRC have not yet asked for any money or told you how much they reckon you owe, is this right? As soon as they do let us know, we can and will help you fight recovery of the money. The process is lengthy and many of our members are still fighting overpayments from 2003/04 so there is a long way to go yet, but we are here to help and support you.
Good luck and keep in touch.
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