Tax credits Debt

[valeriej43]

My son has been ill for a year up to now and is on sickness benefit for al least another 4 months, he has recently been awarded a warden controlled flat, but is getting universal credit
I must explain that he was medically dismissed from his job as a baker
Anyway,he has just got the UC sorted out and has had £47 a month taken off his benefit for allegedly owed tax credits
He rang them to find out why, as he hasnt claimed for about 7 years when he had his son living with him, as soon as the son left,he cancelled the tax credits
They say he cancelled a month too late and although he was entitled to what he claimed they want it back, for cancelling too late, he obviously could only cancel when his son left
Can they legally do this, it leaves him with very little to live on, as besides the usual, food gas and electricity and water,he has to pay for warden service
I would appreciate any help with this
Oh and Tax credits say its up to UC to sort it out

[des8]

Apologies foe missing your post and not responding earlier.
If there is an overpayment of tax credits when a person transfers to Universal Credit (eg when he comes out of employment) the DWP become responsible for collection by deduction from UC
The maximum deduction from Universal Credit depends on your circumstances,

If he gets £73 per month that is equivalent to £316 a month..
£47 per month deduction is approx 15% which seems excessive when if he was still on working tax credits the most they would deduct is 10%.
However the UC system automatically calculates the rate of deduction
If DWP aren't listening to his hardship plea enroll the help of his MP.. that is what they are there for.

Without meaning to pry, is your son receiving all the benefits to which he is entitled ?
You can check here: https://benefits-calculator.turn2us....campaign=GovUK

[valeriej43]

Hi thank you for your reply,sorry only just found it, all he is receiving is UC he gets part of his rent paid, but has to pay council tax, waeden service,which is i think £30 a month, maybe more,i will have to check that
He is having an awful time managng and id having more health problems,plus panic attacks with worrying about this and worrying he might lose his flat,as he only was allocated it just before Christmas
I am having to help him out,and i only have my pension, but i cant see him struggling like thi
I cant believe they would take such a large amount from someone on such a low income
The £73 is supposed to be the minimum someone can live on
He has even thought about getting a part time job if it was something he thought he could manage,but hes really not fit to,and if he did,they would deduct 63p in the pound from his wages,he has never been out of work until now
I will check the link above

[valeriej43]

UPDATE; Following on from my previous post, my sons Mp has written to the DWP and queried this,he received a letter back of which he has sent a copy to my son, which has a different [ earlier ]year altogether when the overpayment was from, also referred to his as mrs[name] and her, do they really know what they are doing,
As far as asking for the mothly amount to be reduced he has to wait 14 weeks for a decision
I really dont know how they can justify taking that amount from anyone,leaving them in hardship
My son has applied for pip, but o results on that yet,he got no points,and is appealing
He is struggling, to pay bills,and has got very depressed,he has turned all heating and water heating off and using as little water as possible

[des8]

Most water companies run hardship schemes or fund independent charitable trusts. There might be some help there.

When you say he has appealed his pip, do you mean he has requested they reconsider their decision which is the first step in a fairly lengthy process?

[valeriej43]

DesB, So sorry i had forgotten all about this post ,had so much else going on, but thank you for your reply
My son has got his pip sorted out now, but having more problems with tax credit overpayment, not sure if it goes here, but basically he got a letter earler this year,saying he had been overpaid around £1100 ,from 2011-2012, the only tax credits he had was child tax credits long before that as his son moved in with him, still at college,he is now 23
He has appealed this but they wont back down at all and still insist he owrs this money,he is currently trying to find proof of when he had child tax credit, but the biggest problem is he is now medically not able to work for the forseeable future, but they are taking £50 a month from his Universal credit, which is a lot and refusing to reduce the amount,

My daughter only pays £10 a month and she is working,

[des8]

You say your son has "appealed".
Was this following a request for a mandatory consideration, and heard before a tribunal?
What were the grounds for the appeal (they are limited)
Did he ever receive a proper explanation of how the over payment occurred?

[valeriej43]

The grounds for the appeal were that he only received child tax credits while his sn was living with him, and he notified them as soon as his son left, but they said he should have notified them a month before so were chrging him for a full year as his notification was a month later than it should have been, how they worked that out i dont know, but with his latest appeal,this was never mentioned, and they say its working tax credits he owes,but he has given up trying to explain to them, now trying to get proof from his sons college of the dates he was claiming for
The thing is now that at least they stop taking £50 a month,its just ridiculous, and putting him in hardship, as besides usual household bills he pays £30 a month for a warden service, which actually he needed to use just this morning. £50 is a lot to take imonthly

[des8]

It sounds as if he has not actually appealed the over payment.but just asked HMRC to reconsider
Here's a good guide to appealing the over payment, and it includes a section on getting any repayments down to a sensible level: https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/...t-overpayments

[valeriej43]

Thank you very much,i will read it and print it off for him, he also is waiting to hear about appealing for a higher rate of pip, so this might come in useful for that too, but apparently he has to go to a court for that, seems strange to me but that is what hes been told

[des8]

If he is appealing against a PIP award it is heard by a tribunal.
Tribunals are part of the court system, but are not like a court.
Probably made up of three members, a judge, a doctor and another., wearing normal business dress (no wigs or gowns)
much more relaxed than a formal court and no hostile cross examination.
If challenging the award here's some more reading matter; https://www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-g...al-to-Tribunal