WHEN Stephen Fellows opened a letter from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) demanding he pay back £1,100, he assumed it was a scam.
The note said he had received too much money when he claimed child tax credit and needed to pay it back within 30 days or it would be passed to debt collectors.
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That’s despite it being almost two decades since claiming the benefit, which has now been replaced by Universal Credit.
The 66-year-old retiree had stopped claiming child tax credit more than 15 years ago when the eldest of his four children finished full-time education.
Stephen, from Chester, immediately contacted the taxman to check whether the letter was genuine – and was gobsmacked when they confirmed it was.
He was sure he had never been overpaid and couldn’t come up with so much cash unexpectedly.
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“We always acted in complete honesty with any dealings with HMRC,” he said.
“I suffer from Parkinson’s disease and this ordeal has sent my anxiety through the roof.”
Stephen contacted The Sun and asked for help with how to proceed, as he was terrified of debt collectors showing up at his door, despite having no understanding of how he owed the money.
Government departments including HMRC have the right to ask customers for money back if they have been overpaid.
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The general time limit for collecting a debt in England and Wales is six years under the Limitation Act, but unfortunately this rule does not apply to tax credits, according to HMRC.
However, they should ensure this is done fairly, and 30 days’ notice to come up with a lump sum hardly seems reasonable.
Listen to the scary HMRC scam where fraudsters claim there’s a warrant out for your arrest
These departments do also make errors sometimes, so it’s always worth asking for any claims of money owed to be double-checked.
After The Sun spoke with HMRC, it transpired the taxman had indeed made a mistake in Stephen’s case.
Following investigations into his claim, it found he didn’t owe anything at all and should never have been sent the letter asking for the money back.
HMRC has now wiped Stephen’s debt and offered him £100 compensation for the stress caused by the error.
A HMRC spokesperson said: “We’ve apologised to Mr Fellows and confirmed he doesn’t need to take any further action as the debt has been cancelled.
“We have also sent him a redress payment.”
Stephen is relieved not to owe any money – but his case is alarming.
If he hadn’t asked The Sun to intervene, he likely would have just paid the money back.
Who knows whether the taxman would ever have realised its error?
And how many other people have wrongly paid money back they never owed?
Earlier this year, The Sun helped a pensioner fight the DWP after he was asked to pay back £22,000 for an error he had apparently made on his pension credit application six years ago.
After we intervened, an investigation found the mistake was down to a staff error at the DWP and his debt was written off.
Write to us if you’ve been asked to repay money you don’t think you owe
The Sun is now calling for anyone who has received an unexpected overpayment demand from HMRC or the DWP and would like it investigated to contact us.
Write to our consumer champion: Laura Purkess The Sun, 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF or email her at [email protected].
Tell us why you don’t think you owe the money and include your full name and your case reference number. It may also help to share your National Insurance number.
How to contact our Squeeze Team
Our Squeeze Team wins back money for readers who have had a refund or billing issue with a company and are struggling to get it resolved.
We’ve won back thousands of pounds for readers including £22,000 for a man asked to pay back benefits to the DWP, £2,800 for a family who had a hellish holiday and £635 for a seller scammed on eBay.
To get help, write to our consumer champion, Laura Purkess:
I love getting your letters and emails, so do write to me at [email protected] or Laura Purkess, The Sun, 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.
Tell me what happened and don’t forget to provide your phone number so I can ring you if I need more information. Share any reference number the company has given you relating to your case, or any account name/number if you’re a customer.
Include the following line so I can go to the firm on your behalf: “I give permission for [company’s name] to discuss my case with Laura Purkess at The Sun”.
Please also include your full name and location in your email/letter.
How to challenge a tax credit overpayment
If you’d like to challenge a demand for overpaid tax credit yourself, you need to contact HMRC directly.
The most direct way is to fill out a dispute form online – visit: gov.uk/government/publications/tax-credits-overpayment-tc846.
If you can’t use the online form, you can print out a form from the above link and post it to HMRC.
In your form, explain why you’re disputing the overpayment and include your National Insurance (NI) number, as well as your partner’s NI number if you are jointly liable.
If you do have to pay the money back, but need more time to pay, phone the tax credit payment helpline on 0345 302 1429.
You’ll need to quote your tax credit reference number on the call.
To tell HMRC online, you’ll need a Government Gateway account.
To register for an account, you’ll need your NI number and two of any of the following:
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- a valid UK passport
- a UK photocard driving licence
- a payslip from the last three months, or a P60 from your employer
- details of a tax credit claim
- details from a self assessment tax return
- your credit record information
Visit: gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services to get started.
