| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| planetbedlam |
Posted - 15/07/2008 : 21:36:28
My family and I are living in Canada temporarily as my husband was out of work in the UK and offered a job over here. We have just received a letter saying that we must "pay back £7309.33 without delay". If payment is not made in full enforcement proceedings will commence. I am unbelievably stressed, tearful, and sick with worry. Despite crying whilst I am writing this I am also thankful beyond belief that I got a UK paper yesterday and read about this pressure group. Finally I have a set of steps to follow - as no matter how many times I have written and asked the TCO for advice, help, or information my requests are ignored. I am printing out the dispute pack as I write.
Our problems started when my husband was made redundant for the second time in 2005. (We had already, supposedly, been overpaid after his first redundancy in 2002 and his subsequent return to work in 2003). At that time I was working in a very low paid, part-time, family support job and knew of plenty of families having TCO problems. My family were receiving the basic child element of tax credits for our 4 children, and we had a mortgage to pay. When I notified the TCO of the redundancy our payments increased significantly, and were in-line with a colleague who was also the sole bread-winner with 4 children. With my husband out of work I was forced to leave the family support job and take a full time job. I informed the TCO of this, and our payments were reduced. How could I have possibly known that the revised payments were wrong??? I have trained as a teacher and as a family support worker, but nothing has equipped me with any understanding of the Tax Credit system. Every letter states a different amount of overpayment, and I have no idea how the calculations were done or what the figures were based on. I have even been told that I informed the TCO in 2006 that I was earning £39,306.00 ! If only!! I have absolutely no idea where that figure came from.
Last year, before we left the UK, we were underpaid by £3000 which had an enormous financial impact. This money was retained by the TCO despite the fact that I thought we were in dispute. I have appealed against the decision to reclaim the money they say I owe, on the basis that I have always informed the TCO of changes in circumstances immediately - by phone and in writing - and could not have known that the amount awarded was wrong. My appeal was rejected because I should have known the payments were incorrect. Pardon me for failing to be the font of all knowledge.
I now face the prospect of returning to the UK in September as a single parent. The financial strain is overwhelming, and fighting this is impossible from another country. Despite my despair I am determined not to give up and to try to dig my family out of this financial nightmare. Thank you for being there with some very welcome advice!
N C Thompson |
| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| PJD |
Posted - 22/07/2008 : 23:42:30
lol. alan knows how to make ladies cry lol.
hope you got my email, with an expansion on the overseas issue etc
cheers
Paula |
| planetbedlam |
Posted - 17/07/2008 : 15:55:09
Thanks for your replys folks - it is good to know I am not stranded alone dealing with this! I would love to 'do a runner' and ignore it all, but as we are coming back I know I won't get away with that. I spent hours and hours yesterday working out my case history . . . even I found it unbelievable what a shambles the whole thing is!! I also wrote the letters of complaint emphasising that this is a dispute, and wrote to my MP. The templates you gave are a godsend - looks like I have used the wrong wording before, and they are obviously looking for every little slip so that they can pretend I am not in dispute. Recorded delivery from here costs a fortune - about £30 per letter - and I have 3 letters, so it's that or food - and food wins! But my 16 year old is back in the UK at the end of the month so I will send duplicates with her and get her to post them from the UK, recorded delivery. That way they should get them twice.
I was a Family support worker in Birkenhead in 04/05 and I know a lot of our families were coping with TCO disasters, so I'll be forwarding details of this site to the office today. It really is a lifeline.
Thank you so much, Alan The Geordie, for writing to your own MP - that set me off crying all over again !!! Knowing that people I have never even met care that much makes me sure I am right to love Brits (government excluded) and want to come back. You will find it hard to believe but, despite this shambles, you are better taken care of in the UK - here there is virtually no help and a lot of people have to rely on the food bank to survive.
N C Thompson |
| Ali M-W |
Posted - 17/07/2008 : 07:04:29
Hi Planetbedlam - shame you have to return to this NuLabour-forsaken country, as otherwise you could have followed HMRC's 'advice' and justdone a runner - see below for one HMRC official's 'take' on the expatriot overpayment issue:
From: ?
To: PJ
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:02 PM
Subject: RE: overpayments abroad
Paula,
Thank you for your email.
Having considered your issues below I am able to reply as follows. Clearly if we do not know that someone has gone abroad, we will act on the latest information we have. However, where we know that someone has gone abroad, we issue an application for payment but if no response is received we will take no further action.
T...........
With HMRC, honesty pays, right? Yeah, right!
Trinity: The answer is out there… and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
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| Alan the Geordie |
Posted - 16/07/2008 : 12:34:18
I am absolutely appalled and have just written to my MP about this.
Something along the lines of "show this to the unelected one & tell him to get on the next bus back to Scotland & take his bully boys with him!"
We can but try & hope!!
"Dave Anderson (Labour) MP for Blaydon for Prime Minister!!" |
| auntieh |
Posted - 15/07/2008 : 22:19:47
HI there
Sorry to hear your all too familiar story. There have been other people living abroad posting on here because they are being pursued for an overpayment. You may like to check this out http://familytaxcredit.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~857.asp before doing anything.
However, if, because you are abroad temporarily, you feel you need to respond, then you have done the right thing by downloading the Dispute Pack. Follow the advice and as you are abroad make sure you write immediately to TCO telling them you are disputing the overpayment and that therefore they are required to stop any legal proceedings whilst the dispute is resolved. I suggest that you send the letter by air mail using whatever is the Canadian equivalent of recorded delivery. You could phone as well - I suspect this would be in the middle of the night for you but never rely on phone calls alone where HMRC is concerned, always back them up with letters.
You don't say whether you have retained an address in the UK but if so it would be a good idea to contact your MP. If not you could try contacting the MP for the constituency in which you were living when you were receiving tax credits. MPs can also get legal proceedings halted whilst a dispute is under way.
It might be a good idea to see who else comes along here to offer advice in the next 24 hours or so before you decide what to do as I am not an expert, just someone who has been learning as I go!
Good luck
Auntie
"You can dress a pig in a suit but you can't stop it grunting" |
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