I have been in dispute with the Inland revenue since 2004. They claim that i did not return my ex partners declaration form even though I did together with mine when requested back in October of 04. I have been dealing with the inland revenue ever since and have spent a lot of time and money trying to prove my case. I have encountered negligence and misinformation from the Inland revenue at every turn but I have not given up and will not pay back money I was fully entitled to. I have dealt with the Inland revenues appeals department and thier director and having extinguished all other routes have now taken my case to the ajudicators office. Unfortunately they have informed me that they are unable to help presently as the Inland revenue computer systems are unavailble(!!) but when they are they will continue with my case. Hopefully they can assist me put and end to this dispute as it has caused me a lot of stress and upset caused solely by their negligence.

Alexandra Marian, Somerset, England

After confirming our details with the inland revenue i was appaled to find out 14 months later that an administration error had meant that i was entered as working 37.5 hours per but earning £0, this meant that we were awarded the highest amount avaliable in error, after going through a yearly review which i again updated my wage details it still was entered onto the inland revenue computers as me earning £0 but working 37.5 hours per week, i then received a letter out of the blue pointing out their mistake and telling us we owed them over £1000 in overpayments which had to be paid back, after appealing we were told their decision was final and we could not appeal, the inland revenue are a joke and this benefit is the worst run out of any i have had the displasure of claiming.

Paul Lindsey, Nottingham,

Last year i received a notification to pay back Tax Credits i was overpaid. I did receive any warning or any reason how i was overpaid. When i requested this information i still didn't receive any explanation.

I have since paid this back bu have noticed i am still paying back a overpayment, whic takes it to over £1000, can you tell me what i'm suppose to do??

Lauren Gowing, Wiltshire, England

I received over £5000 in WFTC in 2005 due to childcare costs as a single parent. Now they say that I have to pay back everything I was literally entitled to as I didn't sign a self-declaration form. They are the Inland Revenue, why couldn't they figure it out internally? All the hours and childcare are correct however they want the money back by October therefore I worked in 2005 for £1000 for the whole year. How is this legal?

Linsey Misik, Cambridge, UK

Far too many tax credits casualties are left brutalised by this foul apology of a 'benefit'. Not only are we stung for huge bills because neither Brown nor the Revenue cowboys have any accountability for their own crass mistakes, but for those who only superficially understand the issues, we are condemned as cheats, spongers, liars and incompetents. Do people know that the Revenue are judge and jury in their own cause? That people are taken to court as 'debtors' with no chance of appeal? Google-search Tax Credit Casualties and, if you're Legal Aid eligible, let us know: justice now looks possible and we now have lawyers interested in fighting this, just like the pensioners before us, who were also ripped off by this callous pseudo-socialist government of 'ignore it and it will go away' ostriches.

Alison Myers-Ward, Portsmouth, Hants

Congratulations Mr. Brown for introducing the poorest and most vulnerable in our society to the same taxation nightmare that was once the sole preserve of the small businessman. Unfortunately, unlike small businessmen, the poor do not have the financial resources or business acumen to dig themselves out of the nightmare - it must be terrifying indeed. Can you imagine what it must be like, when you barely have two pennies to rub together, to suddenly be faced with a demand for thousands of pounds ?

This is the true face of New Labour - incompetent and heartless - making life a living hell for those poor families that gave them their trust and voted them into power. I am utterly, utterly sickened.

Brian Drury, London Colney,

Told year on year we were not entitled to any payments because we were overpayed. They then payed my wife £200 a month for 3 further years , year on year saying that we would not get anything because we were overpayed. i spotted credit on her NHS pay slip. She could not understand what the hell was happening. All our details correct, now they want £7000 back, what a shambles.

jason greenfield, nottm,

ok - but what now ? how do we get the money back ?

patrick mc glynn, eton, uk

Don't forget all the £££££s we spend ringing that 0845 telephone helpline number and being kept on hold for an age listening to their recorded messages!

Jill, Cleethorpes, UK

I have been repaying tax credits apparently overpaid, for 2004 and 2005 , since June 2006. I have never understood how this happened and I have now received a letter, which no one has the courage to sign, saying it is going to be reviewed!
Try speaking to someone about this, forget it! There is no accountability anymore just a load of faceless bureaucrats.

G Hughes, Pembrokeshire, Wales

Yes, this happened to us over the years since tax credits first arrived, the figures they came up with never seemed to add up correctly, they'd hand it out, then take it away, its just all over the place. There have been a few times when we have had to borrow money off family to be able to feed our children because of the mix up, its shameful.

C Brown, Sheffield, UK

i have been in touch with tax credits more than enough.my husband had full/time and part/time work in 2002 we phoned tax credit with all information they said we are still allowed to claim then in 2003 we get a letter sayin we owe over 5000 pd we then get a demand letter to say pay this befor dec 24th 2005 the tax credit have been takin this money back of us for ages but we still owe 5000pound so they say so what do we do we not got a letter sayin we under review but i do believe we should as this is NOT our fault we have been honest all the way even tellin them that they paid £54 into our account when they shouldnt so they took it back as luck would have i saved all the mail from them and i think we have all been taken for idiots all debts should be squashed and what they have taken back illegally or otherwise should be given back and the system scrapped.i now wait to see if i get a letter to see whats happenoing with my account good luck to all

skimmings, brandon suffolk, uk

We have had 100% of our Tax Credits stopped to reclaim £2,000 overpaid by their mistake. This has dropped our joint £1,400 a month income by £70 and will take until our son is 18 to repay. If we try to earn more, our entitlement will be less and so take even longer to repay; if we are unlucky enough to earn less they won't give it to us anyway. Catch 22 or what - how is this an incentive to work?

Julia Merchant, Redruth Cornwall,

I recieved a letter yesterday saying that my case is being reviewed and yes that I will not loose out, but back in 2004 I had to pay money back, was offered no reason other than I HAD BEEN OVERPAID.
They did not explain or break it down so that I could understand where and how much I had been overpaid.
I have tried to understand the award letter and just don't get it!!! This is a system that although could be very positive is too complex for us normal people to understand, and so it seems for the professionals whose job it is to implement!!! So much for progress in politics!

Anna Boston, Muthill, Crieff, PERTHSHIRE, SCOTLAND

We filled the forms in accurately and gave all the correct information with our first child and were shocked to receive a letter out of the blue claiming we owed them more than £4,000. We haven't been able to receive any subsequent payments and are now struggling to bring up 2 children.
Does anyone know how you find out if your claim is going to be re-investigated or how you get them to, if you're not on the list?

Kat, Lancaster,

And all this by the man who calls himself Prime Minister. Now he hides as usual. Why should the taxpayer suffer this expensive mistake - maybe it is time those responsible pay the price.
He wants consensus but denies a referendum - the leopard has not changed his spots- he was a key player in the former administration.

James, Sevenoaks,

Maybe you could start a campaign to help the victims in this by telling us who we contact to make sure we get back what we are entitled to as we haven't had a letter as yet. We have been a victim of that system twice now and it has caused us hardship. We have always informed them of changes. The first time we weren't even aware, they never informed us that they were clawing it back through my husbands wage, we only found out by chance then they said we had been paid twice in 2003. Did you know that you have no right of appeal in this crazy system. Something which organisations such as CAB and Welfare Rights groups have been complaining about bitterly. This time (we're still awaiting their decision) they are saying that in just a few months we were overpaid by £2,500 and it was their error not ours. They fail to notice their error but we're supposed to. We've both been ill and both had chemo but they show no remorse for the misery they are causing us. How dare they be allowed to do this

shirley jones, Manchester,

I bought a house in 2004 with my girlfriend (now wife) and she phoned to change her circumstances as she was claiming on her own for one child. We assumed that this change had been immediately applied as her award changed and we assumed that it was correct. Two years later we were sent a letter informing us that we had to repay £1144 with immediate effect. We queried this and we were told that this was a mistake. When the giro slips came i queried it and was told that the change hadn't been applied for eight weeks. I wrote endless letters requesting information under the terms of the Data Protection Act but had no joy. I involved the Information Commissioner who managed to get the information a year later. I also refered the case to my MP - Ed Balls - and he has done absolutely nothing to assist us, after all it was his creation! Due to this cockup we received no money for 18 months and they are still chasing us for £1144. We were also unemployed for a short period and received 0.

Aidan James, Wakefield, West Yorkshire

Congratulations Mr. Brown for introducing the poorest and most vulnerable in our society to the same taxation nightmare that was once the sole preserve of the small businessman.

Unfortunately, unlike small businessmen, the poor do not have the financial resources or business acumen to dig themselves out of the nightmare - it must be terrifying indeed.

Can you imagine what it must be like, when you barely have two pennies to rub together, to suddenly be faced with a demand for thousands of pounds ?

This is the true face of New Labour - incompetent and heartless - making life a living hell for those poor families that gave them their trust and voted them into power.

I am utterly, utterly sickened.

Brian Drury, London Colney, England

I used to work in benefits and noone in benefits could understand the Tax Credit award letter they were so complicated (no exaggeration). How are claimants supposed to. then asking people tp work out a complicated system of prorating your pay increases to tell tax credit? I found it hard enough. Stupid stupid system.

T, N Ireland,

And how about thosr families who DID tell the Revenue about changes in their circumstances, did so on more than one occasion, and were blithely told by anonymous call centre staff that if there is a change in our assessment it will be reflected in the next payment?

What happened? There was no change because the Revenue itself failed to act on the information it was given. Months later, when you again voice concern, the Revenue decides that you are infact a fraudster. The shambles underneath the systenm mans it has no record of your call, and even when you wield phone bills showing the lengths you went to it still presumes guilt.

Worse still, it then starts briefing the press about all those fraudsters out there, in a brazen attempt to shift the blame away from its own blithering incompetence.

I, and thousands like, have been made to suffer financially and feel like criminals because of a Government agency that couldn't confess to a cock-up of gigantic proportions.

MorrisOx, Nottingham,

My husband and I were overpaid too much Tax Credit. We tried to prevent this occuring by telephoning the almost never answered Tax Credits helpline. When I spoke tosomeone they said our information couldn't be changed until we completed our review form. This couldn't be sent out early as it was done alphabeticaly. This form never materialized. After more phone calls, letters and forms filled in, literally in triplicate and several discussions with supervisory staff they finally agreed with us.
Then came the fun of paying back the overpayments - guess what, we were sent a demand to pay it all back as a two lump sums, no mention of monthly repayments in the letters as discussed by one of the more helpful supervisors. More phone calls and form filling finally resulted in a sensible repayment plan. Am I surprised the system is in a mess ?? A simple concise answer - NO. Best of luck Mr Brown

Nicola Banks, Lincoln , Lincolnshire

i think your news are wrong. Only this morning I have received a letter from the taxman, asking for £696 overdue to them since 2004 in tax credits. i don't konw how I was owning to them. Why would they be doing that if they have other intentions according to this article?

paz, northants, uk

I was overpaid tax credits after I'd changed jobs twice within the year. Although I did advise my change of circumstances. I began repaying the money back (this was deducted from my tax credit payment) After another change in my circumstances my payment was reviewed the overpayment was no longer being recouped ( I believed that all the money had been repaid - after all they are working their computers and have to hand al the information). Now 3 years later after stopping my claim (Yes I was being honest!!) they have realised that I still owe £1300!! I was told by 2 members of staff (verbally) that it was their mistake and they couldn't explain why the overpayments were stopped. I've got to pay the money back. The staff were very rude, poorly trained and told me that I need to sort out my direct debits out and need to reduce them so that I can pay what I owe!! how rude!!!!!

I'm very stressed about the whole situation, I'm disgusted, it's a mess!

Michelle , Tyne & Wear,

read this!!!

shan, southall, u.k

Each year each parent gets a huge envelope and is asked if the tax credit calculations are correct but no one, despite numerous phone calls and explanatory leaflets which fail to explain, has set out how exactly the calculations are made other than the income and expenses figures are input into the computer and out comes an answer amounting to the money paid out.

Only by employing by an accountant, who has bought some software, can the figures be checked, which says everything about the Inland Revenue's willingness to "help" taxpayers asked a question so complex and mathematically challenging that they aren't even given the formulae to do the sums to provide an answer.

The Elizabeth Barlow case is a classic example of untrained staff on a keyboard unthinkingly feeding a computer garbage in and getting garbage out . The system Gordon Brown devised is stupid in the extreme as it substituted tax relief from earning parent(s) and then paid it back into one parent's bank.

Peter Hollander, Canterbury, Kent

If the figure is indeterminable, how do HMRC know that half a billion quid is a 'massive overstatement'? Surely, if the figures were made public, an outside analysis could be performed and a reasonable estimate of the cost overruns could be made?

No doubt we will have an inquiry into the source of the leak rather than in to how the illegal demands could have been made in the first instance.

The amount of public money wasted to satisfy the ideological whims of senior members of the government is beginning to cause embarrassment even in Whitehall. That states something about the magnitude of the problem.

Edwin Thornber, Bucharest,

This government is paying tax credits to those on good wages, in order to secure their votes. Whilst at the same time withdrawing Incapacity Benefit from those in desperate need. For example a person who only 2 weeks after undergoing a triple heart bypass is examined by a government Doctor and passed fit for work. Therefore loose their only source of income (max £82 p/wk) this can’t be fair. The minimum anticipated recover time for this surgery is 3 months. I suppose when those employed to carry out these medical examinations are encouraged to reduce the numbers on this benefit this is the inevitable outcome. This £6Billion overpayment would go along way assisting those in real need. Labour Ministers and MP don’t even care enough to reply to pleads for help, in sorting out problems.

Michael, Sheffield,

So if this idiot Gordon Brown (he was Chancellor of the Exchequer during this time) has lost £6 billion through misadministering the tax credit system, can we expect a reduction in our income tax in line with this loss to compensate us for his incompetence?

Peter, London,

When they asked for my money back they gave little reason and I was not allowed to talk to anyone who was dealing with the case. I was a single parent on a tight budget at the time, my mistake? Not returning one form.

Even though I provided them with every figure they asked for the reclaimed a whole years money. There was no letter or call asking for it from them, it was handed straight to a bailiff. I had to sell my house to pay this.

Graham, Slough,

I am one of the people to receive one of these silly letters. I am still frustrated and they are still taking overpayments of me weekly. Speaking from my own experience the people on the other end of the phone at the tax credits office havent got a clue, when i have asked to speak to a manager or asked to speak to the same person each time i have phoned they just fob you off. I have never had so much stress in my life before than dealing with these people.

lynsey, manchester, england

How much money has gone into admin? What the money could have achived if spent wisley?

First to claim the tax from normal tax payer, then to pay this complex benifit system, then try to claim back the money.

arron, london,

Humiliating maybe. But probably a few votes!

Graham Beck, Wolverhampton, West Midlands

this system nearly ruined my life i had demands from the tax office demanding nearly £12,000 in overpayments. Whilst arguing with them the began to recover the ammount from my award. This left me in financial hardship. Evenyually i got my local MP involved Jeff Ennis they eventually suspended collections and told me that it would be cleared up within 6 months This is over 3 years ago. The news is welcoming to families like me. with a bit of luck this matter can be put to bed once and forall. Will the government learn from there mistakes? I don't think so.

paul shaw, rotherham, uk

Here we go again......

Judy , Liverpool, england

My ex husband and separated in 2003 but continued to live together for a few months until the council rehoused us. Because we were living under the same rood the DSS refused to treat us as single people so the claims were complicated for some months. We finally got it sorted, he left and I claimed Income support and child tax credit. Then 4 years later they have writen to me (incidentally just as I have started work and so can afford more!!) to say that because we didnt both sign the paperwork for one of our claims in 2003 the whole years tax credits of some 1400 would have to be repaid in full immediately or face legal action! Noone ever told us that we needed to sign these forms and even if they had - how can they justify reclaiming a whole years money!! I appealed and lost the appeal but am refusing to pay - maybe finally now they will see sense! Its a complete farce!

Lisa, Birmingham, UK

Congratulations Mr. Brown for introducing the poorest and most vulnerable in our society to the same taxation nightmare that was once the sole preserve of the small businessman.

Unfortunately, unlike small businessmen, the poor do not have the financial resources or business acumen to dig themselves out of the nightmare - it must be terrifying indeed.

Can you imagine what it must be like, when you barely have two pennies to rub together, to suddenly be faced with a demand for thousands of pounds ?

This is the true face of New Labour - incompetent and heartless - making life a living hell for those poor families that gave them their trust and voted them into power.

I am utterly, utterly sickened.

Brian Drury, London Colney, England

I read in the latest FT book on taxation that if the amount owed by HMRC is less than x sum (sorry can't remember figure, maybe £2,500) due to HMRC's mistakes, overpayments do not have to be returned.
The point though is that there is no such thing as easy money. I spent so much time trying to understand the tax credit system, filling out the forms, and afterwards telling them year after year after year that I was no longer eligible, that I wished I never applied for it in the first place. The time expended wasn't worth it. If we all didn't apply, these bureaucrats wouldn't have a job, how about that?

Lala, london,

In the late ‘90s, in order to reduce fiscal drag, the Revenue introduced balancing payments for the self-employed. This produced a one-time tax receipt surge; advance payments being credited against future liability. A taxpayer was compelled to make a forward payment of 50% on their current tax year tax liability against conjectured future liability. However, two problems arose:
- Upon retirement, typically a refund of several thousand pounds fell due. But identity theft meant the Revenue paid the refund to white-collar criminals, then had to pay again when the rightful refund recipient claimed. So the Revenue panicked and put a stop on all refunds.
- Those emigrating were charged the conjectured balancing payment for a period they were not working and not even in the UK. The Revenue also charge interest payments and penalty charges on tax that is not owed, conjectured on totally erroneous assumptions. This is nothing short of loan-shark accounting.

Andrew Milner, Yokohama, Japan

And this government wants to put all of our personal and medical information onto the internet - of course it will be safe! The civil service never get it wrong!

KR, Stockport,

I gave all the correct information from the start of my claim and I believed that they knew how to do their job - I now have to pay back £9,000! It is very wrong and distressing.

D.Isaac, Chippenham, Wiltshire

Maybe something needs to learn from China.

Michaellzheng, Zhejiang, China

we havent been paid a penny for three years ?? come on show me the money

jamie innes, bristol, england

I am paying £2611 back from 2004/05. My case was virtually identical with the tax office incorrectly entering an income figure.

I await my letter Mr Brown

Danni Gee, Bolton, England

I am disabled and was previously receiving a disabled persons tax allowance and then the whole system changed. I informed hmrc that I had got married and all my correspondance changes to my married name. It was'nt until 2 1/2 years later that I realised then were still considering me as a single claimant, despite my attempts and letters to inform them of this change. I always contacted them immediately when a change happened. I now owe around £1200.00. I have appealed and appealed and I am sticking with it until a get a satisfactory result.

I was issued with a summons to attend court, but when I contacted my local belfast hmrc, where the summons had come from, then had no idea about my case or ongoing appeals!

I would advise anyone to note all telephone calls, whom you were speaking to , dates and times as this may prove useful in the long run. Copying your annual renewal pack and taking copies of all correspondance will help too.

I will do time if I have to!.

Joanne, Downpatrick, County Down, NI

I was advised that I owe £4000.00.

The department concerned, dispatched an offical to my house to discuss how I was going to pay back the £4000.00.


I simply informed the offical that I wished to appeal against the amount owed.

I duly completed the appeal form and returned it to the tax department. Two years down the line and I have not been informed of the outcome of my appeal.

Peter Smith, Stockport, Greater manchester

I have just been told i have to repay over £3000 in overpayment of credits. This fiasco is leaving people beside themselves with undue worry. It's time the government held their hands up apologised and scrapped these totally unwaranted debts.

Paul Sweeney, Falkirk,

when we first claimed after our eldest daughter was born we explainned that my partner had beenof sick for a number of monthsand that now back at work what our estimated income should be. when we recieved the first award we new we were being paid to much so contacted the inland revenue they said the award was right . then some months later a friend in simlar circumstances said that they were not recieving as much as us so we contacted them again but still they said the award was right.
i started work and contacted them and was told the award would continue as normal at the same amount. we recieved comfirmation award laters on all ocations. then when asked to renew our claim we were told that we had been overpaid by £2,500 we appeald this but was told that this was not their fault but ours even though we had told them on three ocations we were being paid too much and updated our information regularly.

louise, manchester,

So what, its only our tax money. It came out of my meagre pension and yours. Indeed people get the government they deserve.

Tilak, London,

We fell for the adverts not believing we were elegible and answered the questions openly and honestly on the badly worded website and all it gave us was grief.
For example, is your child under 19 and in further education?
Logical answer yes and yes!
Correct answers no and no. Why? He was not in receipt of child benefit and was on the wrong sort of course.
They of course knew all that, but all the computers don't talk to each other. Strange - I thought we had 10 years of joined up government. Then they don't tell us the answers were wrong for years, finally demanding immediate repayment.
So why did they not ask the correct questions. Too lazy, we have a glitzy, lazy ,sloppy Government. Good on the idea rubbish on the implemention.
They should pay for their mistakes not us. No wonder the economy was booming - erroneous cash injections at all levels.
Remember the adverts - don't ask what you are due just click on the web site and be surprised - you bet we were!

T Begg, Paisley,

Same old problems,same fundamental errors,same old rhetoric,same profligation,but a much higher level of ineptitude.And where shall we put the spin andwho shall we blame this time?
Well Brown,here's looking at you!
I appeal to all decent people if you feel anything at all for your country and the restoration program that it now needs, next time around use your votes to get this man out of office!

Graham Harris, Blackwell, Worcestershire

I have received a letter from HM Revenue and customs stating my case is one which `we did not follow th correct proceedure'. Last year I was realy hard up, because I paid them back £161 per month, and I stopped claimng for my 14 year old daughter as I did not want to have thi shappen again - an dI am stil to claiming, I am digusted at the incompetance of this dept.

F howe, coventry, west midlands

i have been overpaid although i did send all my details to the tax people, and , at the end i was told i have been overpaid by nearly £ 9000.00 and been told to reimburse the overpayment on a montly basis. although my wife is disable and all my three chldren are full time student where i ned to meet extra expenses to help them with their studies.its been very unfair for peolple who has been overpaid to reimburse the money, although its been a clerical error when the figures were calculated by the said "expert".i think the government should scrap the payment of those wo has been overpaid.

a.s. peeroo, harrow middlesex, u.k.

I have been claiming Tax Credits since november 2004, I have informed them of every change in my circumstances and for the first couple of years received the amount of money to pay for my child care. Then they sent me a letter in 2006 to say that I owed them about £2,000, which I acccepted without really knowing the correct procceedure to appeal. This year I received a further letter stating that I again owed them £4,000 ( I have still contacted them of every change in my financial circumstances.) i cannot understand why I owe this amount of money. I contacted them and was told that I didnt owe them £4,000 it was only £2,000. I have recently been sent a letter explaining that my 2006 claim is being reviewed by them. I await the next installment from them. I cannot beleive that something so simple like entering numbers into a computor can make mine and others lives so unbearable.

S Warne, Plymouth,

So this is how it works.
The government collects money from us in taxes. They then give us some of it back in tax credits. Then they recalculate the award and claim some of the money back. Then they recalculate all over again and return it. The money has now changed hands four times. With all the beauracratic overhead involved in processing these transfers, how much is actually going to be left at the end of it ?
And that's ignoring the fact that the public, unlike HMRC, are paid nothing for the time and trouble this all causes them.

Richard Briscoe, Amersham, Bucks

In 2004 my ex husband and myself filled in a joint claim which the tax revenue misread. They wrote that he earned nothing even though we have proof that we wrote his yearly income (a quite high figure) When we challenged them they told us that it didn't matter and that subsequent claims would reflect this and we probably wouldn't receive any benefit for the following year. After 12 months of permanent threat of court action and summons, we eventually had to pay back £2,500. By this time we were separated pending divorce and I had no income. They insisted on a monthly figure of £108.00 to pay back my share of the debt. Good luck to any one who can get either some money back from them or some sense out of them. They are poorly trained in their jobs, the same as the miserly government they represent.

Susan Anne Fleet, nantwich, cheshire

Oh Ive been penalised n billed n left scared, anxious and skint on account of this mish mash of complicated documentation
They have had every pay slip n still could figure it out.
I'm 42 n working over full time...still! To pay em off.
I'm a nurse n have a 17 year old daughter Ive always supported on my own and always worked. What for?

How intimidating, scary and alone you feel when they demand money off you, I felt shame as I felt like a criminal!

Susie Birtles, Dewsbury, West Yorkshie

We seem to have the same lack of integrity as ever, in the 'new' administration.

d aldrich, minehead,

"He added that it was impossible to put a figure on the amount that would have to be repaid but that £500 million was a massive overestimate."


If it is impossible to put a figure on the amount how can he state that £500 million is a massive overestimate? Lies and more lies.

Barry Mellish, Bromley, UK