can they make me pay this back

[uglybug]

i had someone come round saying that in 2004,i got paid too much child tax benifit,well they said because i didnt send the claim forms back (but im sure my hubby did)that i have to pay 4000 back.even though i was entitlled to it ,they claim to never have received the forms back.why has it took 4 years to work this out and we think that we didsend the forms back.have i got any choices or is there anything i can do ?i cannot afford this,even in weekly payments.does anyone know what i can do?thanks alot,uglybug

[DrFilth]

they do not send money out willy nilly , they must have had forms from you to work out the payment.they have mislaid the forms and are now trying it on with you. tell them you did send the forms in and it is there fault.

[Ethel]

Were these forms to give a notice of change of circumstances that stopped you being entitled to it?

[voltr4m4x]

The most logical answer here is that given to you by Ethel (see above). But at the end of the day I am afraid that the law dictates that you will have to pay it back even if it is in stages. The best advice I can give you in these circumstances is for you to visit your local Citizens' Advice Bureau (their advice is free) and take with you all the necessary relevant paperwork. The authorities will have to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the fault lies with you, otherwise they haven't got a whiff of excuse to pursue you for the back payments. Good Luck !

[stonekicker]

unfortunately, the child tax people send you return letters with wording such as 'you declared you earnt �X and your partner �X and based on this information, we will pay you �X'. and because they did this (after the did you/didn't you send the forms in business) and did not check/object to the figures you are defrauding them. the onus is on you to check what they are paying and they clearly state that if the figures are wrong, you will suffer for it later. pay up or they will take you to court/send in the bailliffs/sell your soul for the money. didn't you think you were a little well off while you were skimming an extra �80 per week?

[sara3]

I had a problem with tax credits and had told them the absolute truth at the time. they still overpaid me then demanded it back some time later. they stopped paying me to recoup their "loss" but I kept on at them, even demanding a cd of all the telephone calls I made to them (well, they said they kept them!) and eventually they wrote off the balance, but they never paid me anything back.

[themas]

1. I think what you mean is that they are telling you you did not return the annual review form. If they do not get that (or a renewal done on the phone) by their deadline date, then they consider all the tax credit payments you have had in the tax year when you did not return the form as being an "overpayment" and demand them back.

2. In my view this is an appalling system because, as you say, you were entitled to the money but unfortunately the regulations that govern their procedures do allow for it.

3. Do go to the CAB for help. You (or they) should certainly ask the HMRC Data Protection people for a CD of all the phone calls, and a copy of all the documents sent to the Tax Credit Office. Meanwhile the people chasing you for the debt need to be informed there is a dispute.

4. There was a Parliamentary Ombudsman's report on Tax Credits late last year which included some criticism of the way they deal with this type of case. The CAB should be able to access it & it might help in making a case for this money not to be recovered from you.