DWP - tax credits- anyone having issues with them

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T4tomo

Guru
My other half received and was overpaid tax credits back in the day (like a lot of people), repaid the overpayments on a payment plan and all sorted.

recently she's had letters claiming she still owes stuff from 8-10 years ago. despite sending in correspondence e and bank statements etc showing exactly what they claim was paid back, they are now sending a DEA (direct earnings attachment) to her work to deduct it from her pay.

i have also had similar as an employer for one of our chaps, which i think is the same issue?

Anyone else?
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Get on the phone to them.
 
OP
OP
T4tomo

T4tomo

Guru
Get on the phone to them.
yes its being sorted out, don't worry on that score, its under control, but they are shite to deal with as they pass stuff from one department to another so you have to do all the work yourself and whilst they will communicate between themthat something is owed, but not that they have made an error and it isnt owed, to one another.

I was just wondering if its a prevalent issue (although half the population on cycle chat are pensioners so maybe not the best sounding board) and whether DWP have suddenly had a reconciliation of their own shoot records and stated chasing debt that isn't due to them.
 
OP
OP
T4tomo

T4tomo

Guru
Tax credits are paid by HMRC, why are the DWP involved?
It's a very good point.

To paraphrase a civil servent at the TC team:
The tax credit team are having a trawl through their incomplete records having been told to to have a last push to collect anything outstanding before its all put to bed.
They then pass it onto DWP to collect as DWP can issue DEAs, but TC / HMRC can't.
There is also dispute resolution team, but they are so snowed under with disputes, they arent communicating with DWP to say just hold off collecting that whilst we check it out.
 

Hicky

Guru
Request an interview, they're idiots. I had an issue with an overpayment. All sorts threatened so I requested an interview, put my case forward with evidence. Repayment plan sorted, an apology from them was hardly forthcoming despite the clear embarrassment in the interview once they'd listened to a person rather than paperwork.
 

BoldonLad

Not part of the Elite
Location
South Tyneside
Tax credits are paid by HMRC, why are the DWP involved?

HMRC are no better. My wife had a (tax) problem with them, when she retired, it took almost three years to sort out, and, that was eventually with the aid of our MP. At one stage, my wife received four different Notices of Coding, in the Mail, on the same day!
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
Don't get me started about HMRC!

Some 20 years ago I, through an error by my then employer, owed HMRC a couple of hundred pounds. They lost very time in contacting me and demanding payment.
Five years ago we inherited half a house, the other half of which we already owned, So we were liable for Capital Gains tax. We gave them all the necessary details, via an accountant, HMRC duly sent is their bills and mine was £1.57 less than Lady Byegad's. The money grabbing &*£$^&* f*$%%&*"s at HMRC had owed me an overpayment of £1.57 from the earlier demand! Ask yourselves hand on heart, that if I had owed them £1.57 for the best part of 20yrs, they would have let it lie?
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
A colleague had an earnings arrestment a few weeks ago, the first he heard of it was when HR contacted him to tell him his pay would be docked.

DWP had sent the debtor's copy to his old address which he'd moved from ten years earlier. After a bit of chasing, he discovered that it was for overpayment of credits from 15 years ago and they were taking £500 a month from his salary to recover the £2000. He called them up and offered to repay at £100/month and this was instantly accepted.

What took him by surprise, however, was that the DWP woman told him the debt was split between him and his wife and was in fact £2000 each. She has not received any request for repayment and the DWP woman did not ask for that to be added to my colleague's repayments.
 

Hicky

Guru
A colleague had an earnings arrestment a few weeks ago, the first he heard of it was when HR contacted him to tell him his pay would be docked.

DWP had sent the debtor's copy to his old address which he'd moved from ten years earlier. After a bit of chasing, he discovered that it was for overpayment of credits from 15 years ago and they were taking £500 a month from his salary to recover the £2000. He called them up and offered to repay at £100/month and this was instantly accepted.

What took him by surprise, however, was that the DWP woman told him the debt was split between him and his wife and was in fact £2000 each. She has not received any request for repayment and the DWP woman did not ask for that to be added to my colleague's repayments.
Unsurprising, my name was on all the letters/threats etc however they paid the monies into the exwifes account and never once chased her despite hers being the signature on the document in question which created the error. :wacko:
 

Mr Celine

Discordian
What took him by surprise, however, was that the DWP woman told him the debt was split between him and his wife and was in fact £2000 each. She has not received any request for repayment and the DWP woman did not ask for that to be added to my colleague's repayments.

I've long since given up being surprised by the DWP's incompetence.
Both members of a couple are jointly and severally liable for any overpayment of tax credits that was made to them. So if the overpayment was £2000 it can be recovered from either of them, but not both.
 

glasgowcyclist

Charming but somewhat feckless
Location
Scotland
I've long since given up being surprised by the DWP's incompetence.
Both members of a couple are jointly and severally liable for any overpayment of tax credits that was made to them. So if the overpayment was £2000 it can be recovered from either of them, but not both.


Actually it's the opposite*: joint & several liability allows the creditor to go after one or all of the debtors for the full sum owed. Being limited to recovery from one or other debtor of only their share of the debt is joint liability.

Anyway, what surprised him (and me) was that the DWP hadn't sought the full amount from him or mentioned pursuing an arrestment against his wife, even though they have her current employment details.

(*In Scotland)
 
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