Working tax credit overpayment alleged by HMRC relating to 2010

[Guest]

My daughter has received a demand for overpayment of working tax credit relating to 2010. She hasn't been in paid employment since 2008 and has never been in receipt of any such funds. It may be that her ex partner made such claims.
is this alleged overpayment statute barred?
can she be held responsible for partner's claim because they were at same address at the time of alleged overpayment ?
HMRC claim that three month dispute period has passed so not prepared to consider appeal.
they say they notified her about alleged overpayment in 2010. Her partner hid from her anything concerning debt so she had no knowledge of any such notification.
Can she follow the statute barred route, I've seen suggested standard letters online, with any hope of matter being dropped?
thanks
Stellabh

[des8]

Re: Limitation act and tax credit overpayment

Hi and welcome
Limitation Act applies to Tax Credit overpayments.

HMRC continue to push for repayment even when their own manual (see below) states it is unenforceable through the courts!
DMBM595080 - Pre-enforcement: limits in enforcement proceedings: limitation legislation

Limitation Act 1980

England and Wales

Debts that are not tax
In England and Wales only, the Limitation Act 1980 provides that recovery action for debts should commence within six years from the debt becoming payable. But Section 37(2) of the Act excludes proceedings for recovery of tax or duty and interest on tax or duty thus there is no time limit for those debts.
Other debts that are not tax, for example

• contract settlements
• tax credit overpayments
• Child benefit overpayments
• National Insurance Contributions
• Statutory payment recoveries (Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay)
• overpaid Child Trust Fund contributions
• Student Loan repayments and
• National Minimum Wage Act penalties

are subject to the Limitation Act, and action must be taken within six years “from the date on which the cause of action accrued”. In this context an action is the lodging of a complaint in the magistrates’ court, the issue of a county court claim form or the levying of distraint. In this same context the date on which the cause of action accrued is the original due date of the liability.
If an action is not taken within the time limit, it could be defended successfully on the grounds of limitation.
The date for limitation may be advanced by a number of means;

• payment made against the debt (where tax and NIC are being collected alongside each other, unless a debtor specifies otherwise, assume that any payment on account is made against both)
• acknowledgment of the debt - the acknowledgment must be both explicit and unequivocal.
• where the debtor has concealed any material facts in relation to the debt which prevented the creditor pursuing the debt from the date it should have been paid.

May also now be possible for tax credit overpayments to be recovered from wages on behalf of HMRC by DWP using their Direct Earnings Attachment powers, which as they don't require court proceedings can also be used even if the debt is statute barred. I think this is in theorty rather than in practice

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/384/made and http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3280/made



What HMRC normally do is eventually pass the "debt" to debt collectors.
If ignored it seems to get passed around like a weird game of pass the parcel.

Notification back in 2010, and no further communication still leaves the matter unenforceable through the courts

[lin66]

Hi I have just started receiving letters from hrmc for tax credit overpayment from 2010 an address I left a because of domestic violence in 2010 and stated new claim with my daughter at my new address had new claims for a few years never had demands when I finished claiming nothing since 2013 can they still demand this obviously I gave no paperwork from 2010