does it really pay to work ?

[widowmaker]

YES it pays to work, and despite what you hear, there is loads of work out there. Did Richard Branson get where he was to day by thinking I will see what the state will provide.

Work ?

Loads ?

Where ?

Do tell, cos as a knackered postie i am interested

 

[Russell]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

If you're genuinely at risk of losing the roof over your head as a result of paying this back, how would you have paid the rent/mortgage if you'd not received the money in the first place?

 

[RobMac]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

Yes but who made the error?


Note : To the OP, offer to pay it back bit by bit they will try to make the payments huge but keep offering what you can afford as long as they get it back eventually.

 

[Russell]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

Yes but who made the error?

Does it matter?

The tax office shouldn't have got it wrong but the OP should have known something was up.

There are online calculators that show you how much your tax credits should be. Most people with a handle on their finances would be aware that they were getting a little (£1500!) too much.

 

[suburbanreuben]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

Yes but who made the error?

Precisely! When you are notified of the award for the year the letter includes no hint of how it is calculated and the call centre staff don't know either. You have to trust that the amount they say you are entitled to is correct. If it isn't, it is usually only spotted in following years or by random audit.

Does it pay to work?
Between an annual wage of £10,000 and £20,000, the marginal rate of "taxation" (tax, NI, loss of benefits) is 70%. For every pound you earn, you only take home 30p. Factor in additional costs such as travel, child care (largely subsidised but still costly) work wear etc, quite often it costs money to go to work. It's easy to see why some people can't be bothered.

 

[suburbanreuben]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

Yes but who made the error?

Does it matter?

The tax office shouldn't have got it wrong but the OP should have known something was up.

There are online calculators that show you how much your tax credits should be. Most people with a handle on their finances would be aware that they were getting a little (£1500!) too much.

The trouble with these online calculators is that they are very generalised. They take no account of a family's specific circumstances, illnesses, work patterns etc.
and if you're self employed, God help you!

 

[videojetman]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

If you're genuinely at risk of losing the roof over your head as a result of paying this back, how would you have paid the rent/mortgage if you'd not received the money in the first place?

i suppose if i was a politicain, i'd have got it written off.

 

[legrandefromage]

Speaking as an unemployed self employed person, if I went fully unemployed and claimed for benefits, I would lose my home. But if I went unemployed I could then qualify for the free training that should then get me a better job.

I believe that is a classic catch 22 situation...

As for hundreds of jobs, yes there are but if you slipped through the education net and the industry that you chose to follow career wise has all but disappeared you are fucked.

 

[BobToo]

Regarding the OP, what you're essentially saying is that you've happily received (albeit in error) and spent £1500 too much from the Gov't, and now you're a bit pissed that they've got the cheek to ask for it back?

Yes but who made the error?

Does it matter?

The tax office shouldn't have got it wrong but the OP should have known something was up.

There are online calculators that show you how much your tax credits should be. Most people with a handle on their finances would be aware that they were getting a little (£1500!) too much.

This happened to us about ten years ago, I think the overpayment was a little over £2000. Every few weeks we were getting a revised award letter (and three different ones in a single day), usually with a back payment of a few hundred pounds. We queried it every time we spoke to the office, which was quite a lot. Eventually they convinced us that there had been no mistake and we used the money, which we hadn't touched until then. There had been a mistake. Their system couldn't cope with me being unemployed and employed in the same year, and I've a feeling they counted one of our children twice. My wife has a very good handle on our finances but it is practically impossible to work out these systems, particularly if your circumstances change. We had a pile of letters literally two feet high from them, how is anybody supposed to keep track of that?

We did get the overpayment written off, and you might be able to as well. I won't go into it here because it's a long story, but you should find the necessary information online.

 

[gibbleking]

i was overpaid every year without fail.this cost me 1000s,crate loads of stress,a bank account that looked like maxwell had paid me a visit ...i hate them .and thats the truth.they dont know what they are doing,bad training,slow processing of claims,deliberate overpayment(we had the guy on the phone admitting it) because they just cant be bothered to do it properly.its no wonder this country has money issues when the tac credit people leak funds to this extent.it must run into millions the overpayments.oh well at least abu qtada still has his private police force keeping an eye on him ...as well as all the nice things we give him including a nice new car every year and a house we pay for....