To be angry that DD is being asked to pay back child tax credits she doesn't owe.

Tell her to take her docs to your local MP surgery.

Or CAB - she needs some back-up. These companies who take over benefits administration have targets to meet - they are not there to do right by the individual.

A friend of mine (who has cancer) is paying back a vast amount in benefit due to an error - it makes no difference that the error was not hers and she had pointed out to the agency that she did not think she was entitled to it and they told her she was!

While DD was with evil ex-partner they received working families' tax credits, paid through his salary into his account. She has now been told that a percentage must be repaid. Went into his account but she apparently is responsible for paying back! He won't discuss it and she's the one who is being chased to pay it back!

For goodness sake mcem - that is truly iniquitous.

Luckygirl, I fear the whole system is 'truly iniquitous', or at least has the potential to be.
Our fabulous admin support member of staff found herself being asked for £3000 from the working families tax credits system about a year after she'd returned from mat leave. She was beside herself with anxiety. The fact that it was later found to be inaccurate and unnecessary meant nothing because she'd spent a year (with her husband) feeling totally under pressure. Neither of them earned much, both were the much appreciated 'hard working families' - just awful. It links to the discussion on another thread about the need for people to earn a genuine 'living wage'. I'd cut taxes right down at a specific level, i.e. no tax, contribute towards child care in a meaningful manner (i.e. not 30 hours a week) and pay good child benefit to lower income families. Am I bonkers?

We got working tax credits years ago and I always called them and informed them about any changes in our circumstances. In the end they told us we owed £1790!!! I was furious and rang them several times to no avail. We refused to pay but they just changed DH tax code and took it through his wages!!! I just couldn't believe it.

It is infuriating that large organisations and very rich individuals can use various tax avoidance schemes, whereas your classic 'hard working families' get shafted every time.

We got caught by this, years ago. We were awarded the credits, only to be told a couple of years later that we had to pay the lot back. It wasn't our mistake but that made no difference. We had fought so hard to keep afloat during the previous recession, we were still struggling (not on any benefits at all) and this almost wiped us out. Did they care? Of course not.

www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/chartered-institute-of-taxation-ciot/article/hmrc-s-poor-customer-service-tackle-the-causes-not-just-the

Looking at HMRC from a different angle. Whose fault is it that there are so many problems collecting tax?

A few years ago my DD had a letter from HMRC enclosing a cheque for about £1500 which they said they owed her in tax credits. She felt it was a mistake and rang them a total of five times (in the days when you could actually get through). She was assured by five different people that it was correct and it was her money. As money was very tight, the money was soon spent. She then received a letter saying that it had indeed been a mistake and they wanted the money back. As she couldn't pay it back in a lump sum, they stopped her tax credits completely and she has never received any since.

HMRC get lots of things wrong, had a letter just this week,about something that they had got completely muddled, in spite of our clear explanation given some months ago.

The year after I retired they claimed £234 back from me in over paid tax credits from the previous year.
I'd never claimed tax credit and hadn't paid tax for years as I hadn't worked enough hours a week since returning to work after DD was born !
I bet everyone of us has a HMRC tail to tell.

I was still paying back overpaid tax credits when my youngest daughter was 23. They had totally miscalculated for years but of course it's never their fault. In fact I still owe them money but as I retired through ill health they can't deduct money from my wages anymore.

DH is being chased by HMRC. They say he owes them £138.50. This was actually paid back in March 2014 but somehow they've either paid it into someone else's account or it's floating around in the mysterious 'don't know where this should go' account. I spoke to them again today. Now I have to send them a letter detailing the bank sort code, account number, cheque number and the date it appeared on the bank statement so that they can attempt to trace the payment. Meanwhile they're sitting on over £1000 that was paid by his pension even though he doesn't earn enough to pay tax. Apparently he can't have that back until after April 5th just in case he has a massive increase in income between now and then. They must think we're going to win the lottery....let's hope they know something we don't know