I received an overpayment of tax credits because of their mistake. Now I’m being taken to court because I cannot repay them. What can I do?

Question – “Between 2002 and 2007 I have received various statements totalling more than £4,500 from the tax office which they say I need to repay as soon as possible. Their reasons range from me making late self-assessment payments to not putting a decimal point in the figure in the correct place – though I feel that it is hopeless trying to find out exactly what the problems are.

Unfortunately I am a bit computer illiterate and therefore have found it really difficult to complete the online forms. They are complicated to understand for someone like me and I don’t think there is enough help available.

I’ve tried to correspond with the tax credits department over the phone and they told me that I would need to fill out forms to declare my income and outgoings, and this would help them calculate exactly what was owed. They said I would need to pay this in one go because they couldn’t take the figure out of future tax payments. However, I’m still waiting for a phone call from them and I’ve also now received a letter saying that if I haven’t made the full payment they will start County Court proceedings against me. The thing is, I haven’t got that kind of money spare so I am worried what is going to happen. Can you help?”

Answer – Getting them on the telephone is hopeless. Make sure everything is in writing. When you receive the court summons, defend it. Complete the acknowledgement of service form and then write out and file your defence. Can use ordinary language as long as you are clear and legible.

Be careful about legal costs because on claims under £10,000 you cannot recover them, so you may want to come to someone like Hylton-Potts who operate highly competitive fixed fees.

At Hylton-Potts we are experts at dealing with problems like this and have a free email and telephone helpline