Hi everyone,
Last year I received an unexpected demand for repayment of overpaid tax credits from the period April to August 2011 and I would like some help understanding what they are saying.
There was actually an overpayment going on for longer than that (I think it would have been around January 2011 to August 2011) and I was in detailed communication with HMRC about it at the time it was happening. I was having difficulty getting them to update my details because of a security restriction on my account, but as I proved that I had sent them updated details of my work hours which they had not correctly processed, they happily admitted the overpayment was their fault, said that they had written it off and assured me that my account was balanced with no overpayments as of the end of August 2011. I have not claimed any tax credits since that date and so I assumed my dealings with them had ended.
However, last year I received a demand for repayment of an overpayment of almost £500 from the period of April to August 2011. Needless to say I was bewildered and requested an explanation (none had been supplied, only a bill). They eventually wrote back and said (if I have understood them correctly) that the overpayment had occurred because they had been making "provisional payments" based on an estimated income which had proven to be incorrect when my actual income was declared, and I now owed them the balance.
I am trying to understand whether or not this is a separate issue from the other overpayment that happened during the exact same period. I think some confusion may have arisen because of the financial year end occurring in the middle of the issues I was having with them. Why were they making "provisional payments" when at the time I was supplying them with the correct information about my hours worked and wages? Does the fact that they were making "provisional payments" not just mean that they weren't correctly implementing the information I was sending them and therefore make it the same issue as the first one and therefore they should have written it off when they dealt with that issue?
I don't know very much about how the tax credits system works, but considering that I was directly assured by HMRC that no overpayments existed on my account as of the end of August 2011, I don't feel it is fair that they should change their mind and I should have to pay them for an overpayment which happened between April and August 2011.
This is giving me a huge headache trying to understand it so if anyone could explain in idiotproof terms what has happened and if/how I can contend it I would really appreciate it!
Last year I received an unexpected demand for repayment of overpaid tax credits from the period April to August 2011 and I would like some help understanding what they are saying.
There was actually an overpayment going on for longer than that (I think it would have been around January 2011 to August 2011) and I was in detailed communication with HMRC about it at the time it was happening. I was having difficulty getting them to update my details because of a security restriction on my account, but as I proved that I had sent them updated details of my work hours which they had not correctly processed, they happily admitted the overpayment was their fault, said that they had written it off and assured me that my account was balanced with no overpayments as of the end of August 2011. I have not claimed any tax credits since that date and so I assumed my dealings with them had ended.
However, last year I received a demand for repayment of an overpayment of almost £500 from the period of April to August 2011. Needless to say I was bewildered and requested an explanation (none had been supplied, only a bill). They eventually wrote back and said (if I have understood them correctly) that the overpayment had occurred because they had been making "provisional payments" based on an estimated income which had proven to be incorrect when my actual income was declared, and I now owed them the balance.
I am trying to understand whether or not this is a separate issue from the other overpayment that happened during the exact same period. I think some confusion may have arisen because of the financial year end occurring in the middle of the issues I was having with them. Why were they making "provisional payments" when at the time I was supplying them with the correct information about my hours worked and wages? Does the fact that they were making "provisional payments" not just mean that they weren't correctly implementing the information I was sending them and therefore make it the same issue as the first one and therefore they should have written it off when they dealt with that issue?
I don't know very much about how the tax credits system works, but considering that I was directly assured by HMRC that no overpayments existed on my account as of the end of August 2011, I don't feel it is fair that they should change their mind and I should have to pay them for an overpayment which happened between April and August 2011.
This is giving me a huge headache trying to understand it so if anyone could explain in idiotproof terms what has happened and if/how I can contend it I would really appreciate it!