Tax credits under payments.. Worth appealing?

[Markstevo]

Tax credits..underpayment
Hi, Bit of advice needed please


Sent back tax credit renewals in July, we got our confirmation through and all looked fine on how much we earn etc etc


Im self employed and my accountant does our books in october, so i normally ring tax credits after end of october to give exact earnings..


However this year i have made a monumental balls up, for some reason i have ticked the box that says actual earnings and not the box that says estimated earnings....so come the end of october i rang them and told them my earnings which was substantially less than what i thought i had estimated..they said they would send it to head office as i hadnt ticked the estimated box...
I recieved a letter today saying they would not change it as it is a legally binding agreement (which is fair enough) and that they would not pay the under payment to me...
I rang them querying this and they said i could appeal the decision, my question is is it worth it? has anyone had a decision like this overturned?
Or do i accept it as my ( costly) mistake?


thanks in advance

[Bill-K]

Re: Tax credits under payments.. Worth appealing?

Hi Markstevo, and welcome to you. I've never had to appeal against a Tax Credits decision (as yet) - but I have successfully appealed against DHSS decisions in the past. My own personal opinion is that - provided you can spare the time to do the research, then it is worth lodging an appeal. Unlike legal disputes, there is no cost to you in lodging the appeal, and no danger of any costs being awarded against you. Basically, you have nothing to lose other than your own time and effort.

[labman]

Re: Tax credits under payments.. Worth appealing?

Totally agree. They are not the easiest people to deal with, often because they drive you mad with their own incompetence. However, if you can put up with the battle, then it is worth your while. They can perfectly well change the decisiion. I bet the agreement would not be legally binding if it was the other way round.