TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 weeks

[Amethyst]

Tax credits are constantly asking you to inform them of any changes in your circumstances to avoid any under/over payments.

However they don't tell you that if your change of circumstances is a partner moving in, or out, and thus going from a single to a joint claim or vice versa, your money will stop immediately, and will not start again for 6 to 12 weeks.

The tax credits will be back paid to the date of the change so overall you arent losing out, however before making that change in your circumstances, make sure you have put something aside to help you through a couple of months without tax credit income.

This system is very wrong. I would like to see estimated payments continue throughout the transition which are then either repaid or made up when the award is finalised. At the VERY least tax credits should publicise the fact that you will be starting a brand new claim with the change of circumstances, payments will stop immediately, and will take 6 weeks to start - at least give people a fighting chance of preparing for things.

I'm not sure how to go about trying to get this system changed, I have written to my MP and he is helping with my individual claim and he is in agreement with the estimated payments continuing, but he's not in power (being Labour) and I'm not sure where to go or whether the ConDems are looking at this area at all - or who to contact.

Any thoughts?


Here's my thread on MSE about it http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2549095

[leclerc]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Amethyst, I'm not sure with Tax Credits but I do know that with Local Housing Allowance you can ask for a claim to be suspended when your circumstances change so that you are not landed with a big bill for an overpayment.
Furthermore, could the benefits office not have a local office so that the collection of information is got together and SCANNED onto the system like a case reference number so that any missing paperwork can be dealt with earlier than currently.

[Amethyst]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

They do have local offices which can make 'hardship' payments of up to £50 in emergencies, but the processing of the claims is no quicker - they still go in to the pile and get registered in turn.

The official timescales as far as I can make out are:-

Date inform them of change - payments stop immediately
New forms arrive with you within 10 days
Return these and they have 3 weeks to register them on the system
Once registered on system they have 3 weeks to sort the new claim out and make the back payment.

So the official line is 10 days, plus 6 weeks maximum, so 7 plus weeks maximum.

Sometimes is quicker but often is longer, especially at the moment being renenwal time, and if there are any errors/ommissions on the form it resets the 3 weeks to when they register the corrections.

I don't think people would mind if they opted for a suspension to stop an overpayment - but this is enforced, and when you are on a low income and child tax credits are all you receive, to lose it for 7 weeks does result in rent/council tax etc arrears, taking out payday loans, borrowing, social fund loans etc which can take a long time to get back straight from.

Going from a joint claim to a single claim I think is worse, as you should be getting more, but end up with zero at a time when you most need it and it adds to the stress and upheaval considerably.

A single to a joint is obviously a little easier as you have a new partner to help out - if they are working - but it can be a major chunk of income just disappeared for six weeks, at a time when all other costs increase considerably (council tax etc) and other benefits are lost (income support etc).

[enaid]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Well I think a little note to the media would not go amiss, as it seems radical changes are to be made as early as next year and it will affect thousands of families, they should have a system in place were they are not penalising the honest for being straight and prompt with information on changes in crcumstances.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10659116

[TUTTSI]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Try this number if you cannot get through on the number which they ask you to call on 01355359007

[LavenderRose]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Hiya Amethyst. The exact same thing has happened to me which is why im back here. My partner moved out for 6 weeks last year to look after his mum so I was honest and told them. It took them 7 weeks to deal with it and stopped my money. It took them 3 weeks to start my payments again with the new change but when he moved back in they stopped my money immediately without any warning and took 10 wks to start again. I was constantly on the phone to them, I lost my home as I am private rented and couldnt pay and ended up in debt. They back paid it all with £80 compensation but now they are saying I was £2k overpaid. Its impossible I was overpaid as the figures dont add up. Theyve also added on my renewal disability element yet I havnt claimed disability for anyone. They said its my place to notice anything thats not right and to let them know which I did when I noticed it. Ive always been honest and now im facing a huge debt that I dont think I owe. I am at present looking into how the tax credits work and what my rights are. I will let you know if I find any useful info.

[Amethyst]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

It is ridiculous, the system is so screwed up. Well done for getting something back.

Coincedentally I got a letter from my MP today with a copy of a letter sent to him by the Tax credits office after he contacted them about my case (so I ended up only without anything for 4 weeks see they do help a little!) Miy single claim ended 24th June and the joint claim started 23rd July (and as I had told them was only £10 a week less than my single claim)

I'm going to write back to my MP and the tax credits office as its all very - ahh well thats how we do things, tough.

Main jist of the letter is this bit

"We sent Mrs XXXX a claim pack on 24 June 2010 so that she can make a joint claim for Tax Credits with her partner. We advise our customers that the claim pack can take up to 10 days to arrive and that once we receive the claim it can take three weeks to process if there are no problems with the claim.""..."I appreciate that Mrs xxxxxx will be without tax credits until her joint claim is processed but we are unable to make payments of tax credits until we receive her joint claim form and all our enquiries are complete. This is to ensure she only receives payments she is entitled to and to help prevent an overpayment"...

lol - would rather have an overpayment than have to live on £97 a week consisting of child benefit & partners contrib. for 4 weeks with 3 kids.

also she mentioned another niggle I had about joint to single claims

"When customers move from a joint claim to a single claim we do have a process in place for them to make a single claim over the phone. This ensures that single parents receive the financial support they need as soon as possible. " - have to say that wasnt the experience of a number of people on MSE on a long thread about the situation.


The BIG problem is they tell you over and over and over to report changes, but NOWHERE do they say they will stop your money the instant you tell them and it will take, in most cases, more than a month to get it restarted. If they did, you could organise things to account for it in advance. OR they could pay you an estimated amount in the meantime really couldnt they. There were people on the MSE thread waiting over 12 weeks, and like you have shown 10 weeks without that income really does cock up finances with the rest of life, especially if you were relying on it.

[LavenderRose]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

I agree totally and its outrageous. They are trying to tell me I didnt tell them about going to a single claim until Aug and that they were also busy then but I informed them in June, the day after. I finally got my backpay in October! Luckily I still have all the letters I sent asking when they are going to get my tax credits paid to me which are dated, proving I did notify them in June. The tax credits department say this:
You can dispute an overpayment by completing a TC846 form. When they receive your dispute or letter they will write to tell you that they will stop recovering the overpayment until they have finished looking at the details of your dispute and they will tell you what will happen next.
The Tax Credit Office look at whether you have met certain responsibilities and whether they have too. For example they check that....
They gave you the correct advice based on the information you gave them
They accurately recorded and used the information you gave them when you made a claim or renewed your claim to work out your tax credits and pay you the right amount
You told them about changes in your circumstances throughout the year so that they have the correct information.
You told them about any mistakes on your award notice within one month

The Tax Credits may write off some or all of your overpayment if they did not meet all of their responsibilities but you met all yours. This may happen, for example, if they did not act on a change of circumstances you told them about within one month or they gave you the incorrect advice.
It is the Tax Credits Office`s responsibility to put the right information on your award notice based on information you gave them.
When you tell the Tax Credit Office about a change in circumstances it is their responsibility to record the information and send you an award notice within 30 days. If you do not get an award notice within 30 days you should tell them immediately. In this case you may not have to pay back all of your overpayment.

Amethyst I would be careful when you do eventually get your back pay as I found out 8 months later, I have apparently been over paid by £2k. I dont think I have and they took weeks to sort it out. How can they send you a tax credit award notice if they havnt sorted your payments out? Also on mine they added a disability element for one of my children and ive never claimed for it. So I think I have them on 2 errors here. You can also complain about the lenght of time they are taking with your claim and putting you in an unreasonable financial position causing undue distress. I would do this through the complaints procedure they have. I will keep you posted of how I get on, please keep me up to date with yours and I hope the information I have put here helps.
LavenderRose
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
btw could the MP you contacted also look into them stopping your tax credit payments without any warning. Several times I have gone to the cash machine to get some money to go shopping and pay some bills to find its not been paid in. I then have to rush home and spend a couple of hours trying to get through on the phone to ask them why I have not received my payment. When they do tell you and it is their mistake it is infuriating as you have to wait a week to get that money back. I feel they should at least send a letter saying what they think the problem is and if you dont get in touch within 7 days your money will cease on such and such a date. At least it gives you time to sort it out instead of getting a shock when you go to get your money.
LavenderRose

[Sapphire]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Thank you for this thread, I shall be watching with interest. The lady that works part-time for us has had a change in her circumstances and she and her OH are now living in the same house but as separate people (he won't move out).
She has started a claim for tax credits and filled in the form here yesterday and sent it off. I'll keep you posted as to how she gets on.

[LavenderRose]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Sapphire it could take them weeks to sort it out, they kept telling me it wasnt on their system yet. Tell her to give it 2 weeks and if she hasnt heard from them she needs to be on the phone to them regularly asking when her payments will start. Apparently I was told on Tues they are very busy with the renewals and it took me over 2 hours to get though to them on the phone. Tell her good luck and keep us posted.

[Amethyst]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Thread on MSE with masses of people suffering from this from BOTH joint to single AND single to joint claims.Tax Credits change of circumstance means lose everything for 6 weeks ????? - Page 11 - MoneySavingExpert.com Forums

[LavenderRose]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Hiya
I am just writing a long letter about all the problems ive had with TC over the years. Im on annual leave at the moment but when I go back to work I am going to ask one of our Trustees, who is a liberal councillor, who to complain to in the commons. When you are on means tested benefis you should not be put at a financial disadvantage. I think everyone should complain and hopefully they may change the way they deal with claims. As soon as I find out who to write to in the House of Commons I will post details. For now this link is full of useful info.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/...vice_standards

Good luck with TC I will get back to my complaint. Its going to be a long one..
LavenderRose :/

[Sapphire]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Well she got her first payment in her account on Friday 27th, so it took 10 days in all, not bad eh !

[Amethyst]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

Not bad at all

[shamen]

Re: TAX CREDITS ... change of circumstances may leave you without money for 6 to 12 w

When I moved in with my (then) fiancee we informed tax credits straight away. As it was the beginning of april it was a new tax year anyway so they stopped her claim and did a new joint claim for both of us. True to form, took us 6 weeks to start getting any money. We called in week two only to find they had 'lost' the form and didnt have it. Thankfully it was sent special delivery so it was tracked down. Until I produced the tracking number though, tax credits were adamant I had sent them nothing.

As a boot note, we had a great letter last week - tax credits were stopping everything and demanding full back payment to april - because my wife had forgot to 'renew' her claim. A few frantic phone calls later and it seems the system had decided we needed to renew our claim which only started in april. The reasoning was that even though the wife and I made a new claim together, because she used to have a claim with them, our new claim wasnt actually a new claim at all. A bit of negotiation later (along the lines of 'you made us wait 6 weeks as it was a new claim and now tell us it wasnt a new claim and we should have renewed') and everything is now back to normal. Took some talking to higher ups tho (and why is it that the phone operators at tax credits always say 'my manager will just tell you what I have' when you ask to speak to managers?)