Does anyone have any examples where, and on what basis the IR are using their discretion NOT to recover. In all the cases we have looked at the overpayments are automatically deducted from this years award, no questions asked. Where clients have asked the IR to use their discretion not to recover this has been refused.

We have a client about to lose their home because of the effect of the yearly awards. He had to reduce his hours in September to secure custody of his son but had already earned an amount which prevented him from receiving working tax credit for the year.

We advised the helpline of his new circumtances, he was then paid four lump sums of tax credit? He lived off credit cards and his part time wage for 8 months until he received his 04/05 award, which now has deductions for overpayments.

I would be grateful for any hints / help. Thanks.

no real examples, but the IR's TC overpayment guide @ http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.pdf says -

When we consider whether it would cause you and your family
hardship if we tried to recover an overpayment, or whether we
should agree to you paying back the amount over a period of
time, we will take account of

• your current and future income and essential living expenses

• your savings, investments and other assets which you could use
over the short to medium term to make the payments - these
might make it more appropriate to delay payment than not ask
for payment at all

• your other liabilities, for example, repayments of your mortgage,
rent or rent arrears, overpayments of social security benefits or
other debts

• whether you are due to make other payments to us, and how
paying the current debt over a period of time might affect them

• how long it will take you to pay back the overpayment

• your previous payment history with us

• whether paying what you owe us would result in you not being
able to afford essential services, such as gas, electricity or water,
immediately or over time, because you would not be able to
continue paying those bills if you were paying back your debt
to us

• whether you have a child or children under five or a chronically ill or
disabled person in the family whose health could be affected
by your paying back the debt, even over an extended period

• any other factors which are relevant.

Just had my first, 'real', 'Request to reconsider recovery of overpaid tax credits form' come through for a client. First saw this in draft form at a CPAG training course last week this appears unchanged from that draft sorry to clog your fax machine Shawn but I've sent you a copy hope that's okay.

no problem andrew ... thanks for forwarding ... here it is -

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/TC_recovery_discretion.pdf

(i note there's no questions though re hardship etc?)

...and the worst form design award for 2004 goes to....<drum roll please>....

I know. It's okay to spill over a page to list all EEA countries but not okay to give details about hardship or to give people space to dispute entitlement or just say that entitlement is disputed.

I got this form with a letter saying no appeal would be passed to TAS because op recovery is non-appealable. Where there was a clear dispute about recovery and TAS have directed the TCO to produce a submission on it.

Sorry I meant 'entitlement' not 'recovery' in that last sentence.

The "request to reconsider recovery" form includes a question allowing the claimant to say they knew the tax credit payments were wrong and took steps (to be specified in answering the question) to tell TCO this; also the notes on the form indicate this can be the only question the claimant has to answer. The implication is that TCO will consider non-recovery in these circumstances. However, the Code of Practice says nothing about the possibility of non-recovery in these circumstances, and emphasises the need for the claimant to believe the payments were correct if non-recovery is to occur. So why is this question on the form? Are they having a re-think? Has anyone any ideas?

Thanks for the form an item that the tax credit helpline forgot to say existed. I wonder did the CPAG course give any ideas on tactics for making the request. We were torn between submitting a factual statement of events or resorting to a begging letter. Either way we also wondered whether the TCO could just defer collection to a later tax year.

Not only do the helpine not know about the 'overpayment disputes team', but customer relations in the same building don't know about them either, and the fax number they put on their letters is not connected to a fax machine (or a telephone). Trying to get a viable fax number for them took me via a Glasgow TC overpayment recovery team and Preston County Court IR enforcement team.

CPAG had only had the form faxed to them last Friday (the day of the course) so they didn't know what to do with it either really, other than to point out the parts of COP26 you might want to refer to when making a request as Shawn did.

It's so frightening that such an important battle is being played out using the contents of a leaflet sent on inadequate forms to an organisation happy to just stop people's money at the drop of a hat rather than in relatively civilised tribunal rooms.

Nearly everyone I've seen in a Tax Credit mess and all of the worst cases dragged below the poverty line have been very vulnerable lone mothers. Surely S 28(5) is article 8 / article 14 able?