Terms & Conditions

[Shankers]

Greetings

Hope in order to add to this thread.

I am looking at an overpayment appeal.

03 August 2017 original overpayment created due to undeclared sustantial increase in Self Employed earnings in a previous tax year.

10th August 2017 customer appealed decision but also submitted a Self Employed proforma for relevant Tax Year which indeed showed that Self Employed earnings had increased. They also a included Tax Credit notification had informed HMRC they had received PAYE earnings for the Tax Year covered by overpayment decision – not declared to the Council.

22nd January 2018 we wrote to customer to double check whether there were any Self Employed expenses they wished us to consider to see if original overpayment was correct. We also asked for evidence of PAYE earnings that appeared on Tax Credit notification.

On 3rd May 2018 there was still no response from our customer . New decision made that no further grounds to review overpayment due to SE earnings AND that PAYE earnings figure declared to Tax Credit had to go on claim for said tax year.

This led to a new overpayment decision for said time period showing that amount owing was much higher. Customer written to, explaining the new decision, why held to be recoverable and given a month to appeal the new overpayment decision.

Customer did not appeal new decision or respond at all so original appeal was counted as having lapsed.Overpayment started to be recovered from ongoing HB. Earlier this year HB stopped and they received an invoice for the outstanding balance.

Now from looking at the HB Decisions and Appeals Regs 2001 17 (1) (4) (5) and the commentary in ‘Findlay’, have started to think that we have got it wrong and that said original appeal of 3rd August 2017 had not lapsed after all. Especially considering that the new decision was not advantageous to our customer.

Would welcome any thoughts.

Regards

Shankers