Child tax credit overpayments - what will happen

[Snafu03]

brought this on myself really as I didnt keep on top of the situation;

My wife and I were joint claimaint in CTC with the money being paid into wifes account. We were paying around 800gbp a month in nursery fees as we both work. When our daughter started school 2 years ago my wife did inform them on the phone but they didnt change the entitlement (eg were still paying us based on nursery fees)

Since daughter has been at school our childcare costs are around 20 per week for 2 x after school club sessions. I kept on telling my wife to inform them of the new costs as she pays the after school club and will have all the exact costs/receipts etc.

Finally a month ago she did. Have received a letter asking for receipts etc. I know we will have to pay back all the overpayments (I estimate to be around 4-5k) I know I'm just as to blame for not keeping on top of it. Its benefit fraud. What will happen next?

[chelle7272]

If you are still receiveing any payments they will reduce them in order to claim back the overpayment. If not they will ask for it bac in a lump sum, but you probably negotiate a payment plan.
More info here;
http://www.direct.gov...verpayments/DG_073813

[sara3]

if you were not already under investigation, you may get away with just repaying the overpayment.

[sunflower68]

Hi there Snafu03 it is really hard to keep on top of expecially with childcare fees... Your wife has done what she was meant to do; it appears to be an office error here - they know the system best and should have contacted you sooner.
DON'T WORRY rest assured this has happened to other people I know and it's ok. All HMRC will do is ask how much you can pay back per month. Be honest because nobody has 5k to hand over. My best friend said she could afford £30 per month (She owed same as you) and it comes out every month and she still gets her normal tax credits. I am sure all will be fine/

[Snafu03]

Thanks all. I was quite surprised they didnt contact us sooner. Surely the IT systems must pick up our daughter is 6 so why are we being paid benefit based upon full time nursery fees? alas it was so easy to say 'i'll phone them soon' which I know isnt right or fair.

i'm not sure if they'll ask how much i can realistcally afford or look at our incomings/outgoings and tell us how much to pay. tbh i dont think we're entitled to much per week so taking it out of future ctc payments would take years to pay back.

i doubt theyll have a record of the phone call made - as they didnt make the adjustments on paper. we just let it run for far too long.

[sunflower68]

snafu be realistic with them though; they will not complain if you offer them something per month however small. It won't affect your credit or anything and it's just like another monthly direct debit (unfortunately). Good luck and don't worry too much x

[ummmm]

Somehow I don't think they'll look at £800 per month as an oversight.

In that time (2 years) you would have had to fill out a renewal at least once, maybe twice, saying your circumstances haven't changed. Including nursery fees....then signed a declaration.

So whether your wife made the phone call or not....she still ticked the child care costs box.

Sorry....but this looks like benefit fraud.

[bednobs]

it wont have been 800 quid a month they were getting though will it?

[ummmm]

I don't know how much the tax credits were paying. They pay up 70%

[joeluke]

You were receiving money for a long period you knowingly were no longer entitled to......how long did you think you'd get away with it for?......what stopped you yourself picking up the phone or sending in a letter reminding them of your change of circumstances?

It's fraud and you can have no arguement about having to pay it back

[fairycakes69]

They will ask you to pay it back in a lump sum, you then can request to pay over a period of time, they will ask for a break down of your out goings and income and come to an agreement with you. We had overpayments due to hubby being self employed, we paid it back over 5 years. The joys of being self employed having to guess how much you will make, we tried to over guess and still got it wrong. So glad we don't have that any more.

[Snafu03]

I think they were paying about 70gbp a week. I did outline in my op that we were aware of the situation and just delayed it for far too long. I did also mention that its benefit fraud so maybe you'd like to state the bleedin obvious elsewhere? I'm not trying to get out of paying the money back so thanks to all constructive replies on that front.

[leanne_1987]

when me and my ex split up i was overpaid 800 and i have to pay 10 a week back