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Underpayment decision notice
Client has an HB overpayment of £3K, due to various apparently-undeclared changes, mainly tax credit income. On appeal, we pointed out that some of the tax credit figures used to create the overpayments were too high. This has been accepted - or at least data matching with HMRC has made the case for us - and the overpayment has duly been offset by underpayments of £2K. We have received a list of the underpayments created, and the date periods to which they relate. From these, I would think that the £1K claimed figure is now correct, but it is a complicated series of calculations (there were other changes, eg non-deps coming and going). The client would like to see the actual income figures used. We have lodged another appeal against the new amount, with the proviso that it will be withdrawn if they show their working, but the LA say that do not provide breakdowns of underpayments, and “it is not our procedure to verify these details”.
Given that the calculation of the underpayment is part of how they have worked out the amount of the overpayment still owing, are they actually obliged to provide a calculation, as per Schedule 9 para 15 of the HB regs?
For the record, I believe that the LA are not trying to be obstructive, they seem genuinely incapable of getting their system to produce the calculations, in which case perhaps we will have to be satisfied with “well it looks about right”. And, would we be right to say that it could be problematic to let this case go to tribunal, because if the decision that £1K is owing is set aside, that will just leave the previous decision standing that £3K is owing..