This site is about
UK Tax Credits

February 2009 News Archive

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Vote For Tax Credit Casualties          26 February 2009

We need your support! After weeks of trying, we have finally managed to take our 'Justice is an Amnesty' campaign right into the Labour Party parlour, via their 'LabourSpace' website.

What is LabourSpace? Full details can be found on their site, but in their own words:

"Labourspace lets you quickly and easily set up a campaign and share your ideas with the Labourspace community. If you start a campaign which gains the most popular support your ideas will be bought to the attention of senior Labour politicians - your campaign could give you the opportunity to change the world!

You'll win if you have the idea with the highest net support (supporters - detractors)

All you need is to get the most support for your idea - it's all about people power really!"

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

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Ironic? Comedic? Unbelievable? That’s HMRC!        16 February 2009

by Paula Dean.

Anyone who read my blog post of the 19th November 2008 might remember that I was ranting about HMRC responding to a letter they clearly hadn’t read! Well, guess how they followed that up?

The other evening we were filming with 'Dispatches' (they haven’t told us to keep schtum, so I’m not) at my house. Present were me and Sarah and a local TCC member; Dave, plus the presenter, producer and 3 crew members, so it was a little chaotic and noisy while we got set up.

During all the furniture rearranging etc. the phone rang. It was HMRC. There was so much chaos going on while I answered the phone that it took me a while to work out what the hell they were ringing about. (There was a quick panic as the TV crew tried to decide whether to film this or not, but in the end they didn’t).

It turns out the caller wanted to discuss my complaint (into the fact that that they hadn’t read my previous complaint before responding). There was something funny about the way that he was picking his words so I immediately got suspicious and asked why exactly he was calling.

He said he wanted to ‘clarify’ the content of my letter. I asked what was to clarify, and he again being evasive said something like ‘the nature of the complaint’. And that’s when it hit me. I asked him if he had actually seen my complaint letter, to which he tried to avoid answering clearly, but he eventually admitted he hadn’t! He hadn’t even seen the letter he was supposed to be following up!!!!

So I gave him some argy-bargy about how he obviously expected me “to repeat at his will, all I had poured into that letter when I had already explained everything” and asked “how the heck can he follow up a letter he hasn’t seen” and hung up.

I was visibly shaking when I came off the phone I was so angry. For a start, I hate that they ring victims. I can’t say for sure it’s done to put us on the back foot but it certainly does. They have had a chance to prepare when they ring, but we have had no warning and expected to recall instantly all the facts of the matter, despite the many hours of work we have poured into writing it all down and sent to them. When they catch us on the hop they have the advantage of recall and detail over us, and the fact that actually we’re probably busy when they ring. Most of you have told me you hate talking to HMRC on the phone because of all this. That and how intimidating it is.

I have continuously refused to deal with my dispute or related matters over the phone, and have advised many more to do the same. I am dyslexic, but I’m sure it isn’t just dyslexics who have trouble recalling long ago dates, figures and facts at no notice while distracted. If this isn’t a deliberate ploy, then it’s a happy coincidence for HMRC.

As for the tactic of responding to letters they haven’t even read. What is there to say? They won’t read it!

To my mind the sooner we get this system scrapped the better. Asides from the wasteful administrative nightmare, too many brains are being bashed out on brick walls.

A Webmasters Guide to Installing Love        14 February 2009

Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install LOVE. Can you guide me though the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge, and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So LOVE is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. LOVE is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Happy Valentines Day! xxx

Happy Anniversary!        13 February 2009

by Sarah McCall

On Friday 13th February I will celebrate my 4th wedding anniversary with my husband. I’m sure many of you will have been married for much longer than this and think this is hardly worth shouting about. In terms of a marriage 4 years is not long. In terms of fighting HMRC for justice, it feels like a long time.

Shortly after I got married I received a letter from HMRC saying that I had been overpaid by almost £4,000, please repay instantly, you can’t appeal, do not pass go, do not collect £200 – you know the sort of thing. Anyway I rang HMRC and was told the overpayment was because I had got married! This later turned out to be untrue but it took some digging to get to the real answer which I received towards the end of last year – the overpayment was because I got a promotion mid-year and when I provided my new income the system wasn’t updated for the new financial year – the software didn’t allow for that. I’m still fighting as I do think it was unreasonable to have expected me to know how the software worked!

So I have spent the whole of my marriage (barring the first 5 weeks or so) fighting for justice. Wading through the lies (yes, sometimes there are out and out lies), misdirection, jargon and downright obtuseness of HMRC.

Being married is wonderful at times, but it is also hard work. It’s hard to adjust to living with someone else, hard to get used to sharing decisions and hard to accommodate one another’s foibles. It’s even harder when the time you should be spending with your spouse is taken up fighting a monster like HMRC.

To think that my married life so far has been spent battling recovery of an overpayment that was caused by a flawed system, not by me, is quite overwhelming. I feel tired by it. I feel ready to stop. But I can’t stop, that would be letting HMRC win. That would be saying that the last 4 years have been a waste of time. It would be letting down every member of TCC who continues to fight their own battles and those of other members.

I will hang on in there and keep fighting for justice, but it is wrong that Gordon Brown and HMRC can do this, wrong that they have had the power to cloud 4 years of my marriage.

(Sarah & Dave - hope you both have a great anniversary, from all of us at TCC! Enjoy your weekend away!)

It Can't Come Soon Enough!        11 February 2009

Matt Edwards kindly sent us the article below for publication. He has also stated that the article is freely available to be published and printed elsewhere on the copyleft principle. If printing or posting it elsewhere, please add a link to Matt's Typepad page (http://mdedwards.typepad.com/) as an attribution. Thank you.

'Why the Brown Fiefdom's 'Tax Credits' System Must Be Immediately Abolished and Replaced.'

Established through the 2002 Tax Credits Act, and applied since 2003, the tax credit system is one of the remnants of the unscrutinised, closed and repressive Treasury fiefdom created during the ten year tenure of Gordon Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer. It has palpably failed. The failure is not surprising, since no system can function without incorporating feedback and the opinions of a multiplicity of different people. If people are prevented from pointing out where a system is going wrong, its problems cannot be fixed and it cannot evolve. As with all legislation and regulations created under the Brown fiefdom, the system was constructed to reflect the opinions of one man: Gordon Brown. The only other people allowed to have any input whatsoever was a coterie of individuals hand-picked precisely because they offered no opposition at all, such as Edward Balls. Since Gordon Brown considers himself to be a living embodiment of some variant of the doctrine of Papal infallibility, all the subsequent evidence that the system was incompetently designed, inadequately formulated and ineptly administered has been repressed and suppressed.

The evidence that the system has failed has been carefully collated by the Tax Credit Casualties pressure group, who have meticulously documented case studies of households that have been bullied with demands for repaid money and produced a superb website that includes a detailed guide on how households can protect themselves against bullying. It can be found at http://www.taxcc.org. The unpaid and voluntary work of the Tax Credit Casualties has been heroic during dark days in the history of Britain. What remains of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has also managed to criticise the system in a series of annual reports since 2003, with descriptions of it as a "nightmare" and "frustratingly arcane". These documents must be widely circulated and the abolition of the tax credits system must be a major issue at the forthcoming General Election. Any candidate in any constituency who argues in favour of the maintenance of the Brown fiefdom's system must face a well co-ordinated opposition bloc of electors and alternative candidates against them. In marginal constituencies in particular, such opposition blocs will help to bring new elected representatives who can preside over a saner system.

Demands for repayments of money, made retrospectively, are merely one symptom of the failed system, though a particularly oppressive one. The demands for repaid money have been based on arbitrary decisions, formulated in documents and telephone communication bearing a jargon which is entirely impenetrable, have failed to take into account the vulnerability and fragility of those households that have been harassed and harangued, and have involved repeated threats of debt teams and court cases regardless of fresh information provided to the 'authorities' by those they have threatened. The system has been prosecuted by an administration which has been stripped apart and fragmented, particularly through the malign merging of the Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise departments to create the HM Revenue and Customs on 18th April 2005.

As in all other departments of state, civil service appointment has been politicised. The checks and balances on the patronage of the office of Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have been further eroded almost to the point of no longer existing at all. It is now time for the citizens to erect those checks and balances once more, and to put in place institutional and structural measures to ensure that the creation of forces and alignments along the model of the Brown fiefdom never see the light of day in Britain again. The 'senior management' who have been installed at departments such as HM Revenue and Customs, who have been in effect barons of the Brown fiefdom, must be sacked immediately. Public apologies by them, and return of as much of their salaries as possible to the public purse as a form of compensation, would be small steps in helping to heal the damage that has been caused. They cannot be allowed to remain in the anonymous shadows of their ivory towers with enormous salaries and bonuses, presiding over a system which is ruining lives and destroying relationships. These HMRC 'senior managers' received an average bonus of £7,727 in 2006/7, which was up three-fifths on the previous year. Bonuses for failure are salt in the wound for those who have been abused and exploited into paying for them.

As with banking irresponsibility, failure should not be rewarded. It should, instead, be punished. Repeal of legislation is a punishment for 'laws' that have failed. The abolition of the 2002 Tax Credits Act is long overdue. Each and every alleged 'overpayment' should be written off immediately in a full amnesty for all the households who have been bullied with demands for money to be paid back. In its place, a genuinely democratic Parliament elected in a genuinely democratic General Election should formulate an alternative system of taxation and tax breaks and credits that is both efficient and equitable and capable of allowing for the incorporation of information from the people it has been created to serve. The Tax Credit Casualties pressure group and all of the people involved with them have a great deal to contribute in that discussion and the re-engineering of our institutional architecture that arises from it.

The products of the Brown fiefdom failed because of the reversal of the equation between citizens and public servants. Instead of serving the people, the Brown fiefdom attempted to force the citizenry to serve it. This pattern has been extended further in the transition of Gordon Brown himself to become unelected Prime Minister after the departure of Anthony Blair, a deal struck in Granita, an Islington restaurant, many years ago, rather than in any form of social contract with the electorate. Politics is not about deals struck over desserts. It is about public election, or nothing at all.

In the transition to unelected Prime Minister, Gordon Brown's policy-making has now reached the apogee of political villainy: the view that L'etat c'est moi, or "I am the state" originally stated by Louis XIV of France. Instead of subjecting to the rule of law, he has acted as if he is above it. As a result, any information about the failures of his structures and systems has been rendered illegal or irrelevant with citizens being branded as criminals or simply ignored when they have spoken out. A vast chorus of voices has been muted through various acts of physical, emotional and mental bullying. Lamentably for the Brown fiefdom, the Brown era ended along with the circuit of illusory derivatives in August 2007. The 'Iron Chancellor' was an Emperor with no clothes all along, and only prospered because the global economy was falsely inflated through various mirages and illusions. Those mirages have disappeared. The mistaken faith that the Brown fiefdom had any understanding of economics and finance whatsoever is also dying out, though not, alas, as rapidly as it should have done.

Because it was closed, repressive and tyrannical, every single product of the closed Brown fiefdom bears the same characteristics: ineptitude, incompetence, and inadequacy. The tax credits system is, therefore, merely one manifestation of a system that was the most repressive in British history since that of King John or King Charles I. The abolition of the shambolic tax 'credits' system must therefore accompany a twenty-first century, democratic version of the Magna Carta. For those households that have been bullied under the auspices of this shambolic system, it is not sufficient that people should have their alleged overpayments written off entirely. Compensation is required. Given the damage that has been done by the Brown fiefdom to the pound sterling (with more to come when its post-derivative policies feed through, particularly if it succumbs to the temptation to expand the money supply even further in the failed policy mystified through jargon as 'quantitative easing') such compensation may have to be paid in a different and valid currency.

Whether in Euros, Yen, or several hundred thousand luncheon vouchers, it cannot come soon enough.

Thank you to Matt for a great article. If anyone wants any further reading, take a look at the Parliamentary Ombudsman reports, which have been almost totally ignored by Brown and Co. Here at TCC, we are always seeing examples of how the Government refuse to listen to, or accept, criticism of the Tax Credit system. The monkeys on our banner, at the top of every page in this website, were designed by Paula to illustrate just that point; 'see no criticism ..... hear no criticism..... speak no criticism....'.

The most recent glaring example of this follows TCC's attempt to join in with the sprit of Labour's new website, 'LabourSpace'. The site states  ".... If your an individual with a great idea or an organisation that wants to raise the profile of a new or existing - start a campaign now. And remember, try and get as much publicity as possible to maximise the effect of your campaign!". Ed Miliband is quoted as saying "By listening to each other and debating the pros and cons of policy ideas and campaigns on Labourspace, we can be part of the mission to reshape the country around our values; fairness, justice and the equal worth of every individual. We know we achieve more together than we do alone, so I hope you can join us" . (By the way, the spelling and grammatical errors in the quotes are theirs, not TCC's).

LabourSpace states that their aim is to get every campaign up and running within 24 hours of submission. So why, five days later, are we still waiting to hear anything from them?

I'll tell you why .... 'Catch-22' is why. Labour are in a no-win situation; if they publish our campaign on LabourSpace, it represents an acknowledgement regarding the failure of the system. Yet, if they refuse to allow our campaign a page on the site, they are effectively practicing 'campaign censorship'. So in typical Labour style, they have simply done nothing. 'Let's ignore it and it might go away .....'

There's an election coming, sometime in the future.

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

Rewarding Failure: Double Standards        10 February 2009

by Ali Myers-Ward.

Gordon Brown, having bailed out Britain’s recklessly greedy banks with billions of pounds of our taxes, has vowed that there should be "no reward for failure" and that bank staff will not receive the customary huge bonuses this year. (BBC News article)

After HMRC’s “Datagate” debacle in November 2007, when HMRC sloppily lost the personal information of 25 million Child Benefit claimants and Paul Gray was obliged to resign, the shamed ex-head of HMRC was quickly given a prime position in the Cabinet Office reportedly paying £200,000 a year.

No double standards there, then!

Then there was the Labour Chancellor who spent 9 million pounds promoting a top-up to the wages of the poor, promising “Money with Your Name on It” whilst basing his overly-complex new Tax Credit system on an Australian model which had already brought debts, misery and a partial Amnesty down under.

So bad was his Tax Credit fiasco that the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, ended up famously apologizing for it! His bungling successor (a man greatly disliked, it would appear, by the outgoing Prime Minister), ensconced himself at number 10 promising, and then bottling out of, an election that we are still eagerly waiting for.

Meanwhile he has arrogantly proclaimed himself as The Man who sold (oops, sorry), saved – the World (oops, sorry) - the banks.

Failure spectacularly rewarded!

What, too, about the £72.25 million HMRC has now recouped from the failing EDS, who supplied the famously inadequate computer system which has overpaid up to two million claimants every year? Does this compensation for failures that we suffered now mean that we no longer have to repay this “Money with Our Name on It” [sic] which Brown’s Heavy Mob Recovery Criminals at HMRC are continually threatening us for?

No? So HMRC fails, and then gets the money paid back twice? Heads they win, tails we lose.

Failure rewarded. What double standards Mr Brown has…

Listen to Dawn Primarolo, Mr Brown! Most claimants are honest! Listen to Jon Cruddas, Mr Brown!

Listen to Tax Credit Casualties. It shouldn’t be one bail-out rule for the rich (banks), and another for the innocently indebted (Tax Credit Casualties).

Justice is an Amnesty!

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

Calling All Of The Welsh!        8 February 2009

Without sounding smug,  Wales had a good victory over Scotland in today's rugby, and they face England next week. 

Cor-blimey-'eck!! Wales may be on a winning streak, but playing rugby must be easier than fighting for justice for Tax Credit Casualties.

Welsh 'casualties' must band together, now! Don't stand on the touch line. Don't hope for extra time. One person can't make a scrum. Tax Credit Casualties need you on the winning team. No time for licking wounds or sitting in the sin bin. Time for action!

Come on Wales; the country of voices. Let's make yours heard!

Contact Janet@TaxCC.org , Regional Coordinator for Wales.

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

Urgent !!        5 February 2009

We have been approached by a TV company who are making a documentary for a prominent TV programme. They are looking at tax credits specifically from the point of view of families of deceased claimants being harassed for recovery of overpayments. Apparently there are 180,000 families, with approximately £8m paid to the deceased, every year. If you've been harassed in this way, please e-mail Sarah@TaxCC.org with your story and contact details. It may be a sensitive time for you, and please accept our sincere condolences, but by coming forward you can help to get this vile and shameful practice stopped.

Also, we still need your data horror stories, now as a matter of urgency. If you haven't sent us yours yet, please e-mail to Graham@TaxCC.org . Anonymity guaranteed. Don't know about this yet? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Other news:

The website reached 70,000 unique hits a few days ago. There are still millions of people out there resigned to repaying a Government 'loan' that they don't deserve and don't know they can fight, so please help them by spreading the word.

For those of you who come straight to this page, we have a new survey on the home page, "How Did You Find Out About TCC?". If you join in with this one, you'll be helping us to see how we can reach even more victims. Thank you.

Our last news item for today may be something that the Government will come to regret. Labour has launched a new website www.labourspace.com , which, in their own words is '.... a unique site giving organisations and individuals the opportunity to set up campaigns they want to bring to the attention of Labour politicians'.

Ed Milliband MP said:

"LabourSpace is the Labour Party's campaign social networking site. I hope it will provide a unique home for organisations and people to host and promote their campaigns - and to bring their ideas to the attention of Labour ministers and the wider party.

The idea behind Labourspace.com is really simple. You get your own webpage within the Labourspace network where you can tell us why you think Labour should be implementing your campaign ideas.

I will be regularly checking out the site which I expect will become a lively forum for discussion and debate. I hope people will use it to let us know what their priorities are for a better, fairer Britain under Labour in the future."

Which seems to insinuate that, because they have a hip new website, they're going to suddenly start listening to everything that everyone's been telling them for years.

Am I being unfair? Not a bit.

We can but try .....

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

Thank You, Mr. Timms!        4 February 2009

When is a Lie not a Lie?        3 February 2009

When is a Lie not a Lie? And when can an unpalatable truth safely be hidden by one choice of words over another?

Children, it seems, quickly learn that adults expect them to tell the truth, yet to admit wrongdoings bring punishment. They might feel obliged to tell the truth, whilst preferring to conceal. So when asked, “Did you hit your brother?”, they might feel perfectly justified denying this if, rather than hitting him with their fists, they merely kicked him strategically in the shins with their foot. Meanwhile little bro' is crying and rocking, and quite obviously in pain.

So when Chris Grayling, Shadow Home Secretary, asked the government how often HMRC used bailiffs to recover tax credit overpayments, Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, categorically denied that HMRC used bailiffs to recover tax credit debt:

Chris Grayling (Shadow Home Secretary, Home Affairs; Epsom & Ewell, Conservative):
'To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times bailiffs have been deployed with respect to the recovery of tax credit overpayments (a) in each year since 2003-04 and (b) in each month in 2008-09 for which information is available; and what the average level of overpayment was.'

Stephen Timms (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; East Ham, Labour):
'HM Revenue and Customs does not deploy bailiffs to recover tax credit overpayments.'

Timms is correct, of course: the Revenue itself won’t send bailiffs to your home. What they can do is drag you prematurely to court where you could end up with bailiffs enforcing the court judgment. So the Revenue didn’t hit you. They just had a little word with their friends in court, and word got round, and then some stranger came out and hit you.

So what should you do if your tax credit overpayment has resulted in a CCJ and bailiffs are going to call? Advice on this issue is :

1. If you can, ring the agency beforehand to stop them coming out, as a fee is added for each visit.
2. Do not open the door if you can avoid it. Act as though you’re not in or just plain ignore them. They can enter through a closed but unlocked access but cannot force a locked one. They can try and push past you too, so talk through a closed window if possible rather than opening the door or going out to talk to them (this rule only changes if you have let them in previously and arranged that they could come back to collect items).
3. Do not sign ANYTHING. If you sign a list of ‘goods’ you are giving them power to seize them.
4. If this is not a court enforced judgment, but still ‘just’ a HMRC overpayment bill, ring the police and say it’s illegally enforced and they’re scaring you, then ring your MP, Tax Credit Casualties and the Press.
   

We have been told that distraint should not be used for a tax credit bill. We want to know if innocent people are being bullied and threatened for debts they do not owe, especially when they have not been given the chance to dispute and challenge recovery.

Dawn Primarolo once famously said: "Most claimants are honest"

Can the same be said of some politicians?

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'Learned Helplessness'        2 February 2009

One of the things that really saddens us here at TCC is the fact that so many of our members feel so helpless, and that nothing they can do to get this vile system changed will make any difference. So they simply don't do any campaigning. Don't get me wrong .... we don't feel sad because they don't campaign; we feel sad because they feel that way.

Why this happens, as in many things, is best illustrated in a story. Lots of you will have heard this before - it's well known. But why don't elephants in captivity break free?

On the African & Asian continents, captured elephants are used for many tasks where strength is required. Dragging, pushing, lifting - that kind of thing. Now elephants are natural wanderers and herd animals, and as we all know, very strong. But, when their work is finished for the day, their keepers stop them from wandering off by tying a leg with a thin length of rope which is then tethered to a small post or stake. The elephant could easily break the rope and escape, but doesn't. Why not?

While still a calf, the elephant is tied to a tree every night using a strong rope or chain. Every night, the baby elephant tries to break free but simply isn't strong enough. After many months, it gives up trying and accepts that freedom isn't possible - the rope or chain is just too strong for it to break. From that day on, the elephant can be tethered using thin rope or even twine. It has learned that it cannot break free, so it just doesn't try any more. The elephant has been conditioned that it can't break the rope.

It's the same with people, but a little more complex. Humans go that little bit further, and can learn to be helpless through seeing other people banging their heads against a brick wall. We don't even have to actually see it happening; we can read about it in the papers, watch it on the news, be told about it by someone else ....

Think about it. How many times a day do you read, watch or hear about people taking on the big guys/gals and losing? We are all conditioned to feel that we are helpless in some way. It's called 'learned helplessness'.

Don't you think that they depend on us feeling that way?

The great news is that we aren't elephants! We can easily de-condition ourselves. All that's needed is to make a start. Send that letter. Put up that poster. Write that e-mail. Join that group.

Once you've done it once, it gets easier. Confidence begins to overcome fear, and you actually start to feel good about it.

Take back your life.

You know what to do.

Make change happen!

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Ode to the Innocent Indebted        1 February 2009

“Watchdog” claims that Britain’s debts are at their highest yet.
One point five trillion pounds is owed in personal debt.
If shared around the population with an even hand
Every single one of us would owe twenty five grand.

Whilst we’re all in recession, and our prospects are nose-diving,
We hear that there’s one line of work that’s positively thriving.
Not only is it fierce and strong, but growing like infection.
Our debts are being bought and sold by firms in Debt Collection!

As “Watchdog” warns, this trade in debts is sinister, not funny.
The firms who buy your debt don’t know or care why you owe money.
Not only are we chased for cash by people we don’t know,
But often we are threatened for debts we don’t even owe!

“Watchdog” tells of one firm which is harassing the nation,
With hundreds of complaints received about its reputation.
The letters that they send out don’t explain how debts occurred.
There’s no prior correspondence, and their bill is the first word.

“Any legal permitted method” will be used, or so they claim,
To recover every penny they deem owing in your name.
This lack of explanation “Watchdog” views with much disdain,
Noting, “you’d expect a company… to fully explain”.

The Debt Collectors have no records setting out the truth,
But victims, if they have the chance, can often show them proof
That they owe them nothing. And sometimes they’ll concede.
But often they’ll be back again, through more mistakes and greed.

“Watchdog” tells some sorry tales of debt firms coming back,
After they’ve apologized, renewing their attack.
Still no explanation, as they claim the debt’s too old,
But surely if it’s payable, their reasons must be told?

Even though this dubious debt’s a real mystery
The firm has power to raise default on your credit history.
Bad communication leaves the innocent distraught.
It ruins their credit ratings and drags people into court.

The Office of Fair Trading has strict guidelines for this mess.
Where debt is in dispute, firms must “minimize distress”.
Recovery must go on hold, with proof of owings given.
If the firm can give no proof, the debt must be forgiven.

“Watchdog” shows us how some Debt Collectors operate.
But what about the Debt Collecting tactics of the State?
HM Revenue and Customs made Tax Credit overpayments
And now they’re Debt Collecting from millions of claimants!

It may surprise “Watchdog” that the tactics they’ve uncovered
Are used when Tax Credit overpayments are recovered.
Just like private firms, huge bills are storming round the nation,
Demanding several thousand pounds without an explanation!

The first thing claimants think about when they receive these blows
Is why they owe the cash at all, and how these bills arose.
They phone the pricy Helpline, to find that no-one knows.
And then the court threats follow. That’s how the story goes.

Debt collectors may be mean, but the Revenue’s no better.
Nothing is explained to us, in person or by letter.
Those we contact to dispute don’t do the debt collecting,
So there’s no chance of those two halves in any way connecting.

Imagine the scenario… you’re told, out of the blue
That ten thousand pounds you do not have is owed to the Revenue.
You’ve always been compliant. You’ve never told them lies.
For years they’ve paid you that award. How could you realize?

You’re shocked and numb: you want to die. It must be a mistake!
You really want to clear your name. What action must you take?
The Revenue has lied to you. It says you can’t appeal.
Actually you can dispute, but this fact they conceal.

If no-one tells you of your rights, you might decide to pay.
Five pounds a week’s all you can spare. Offer that and pray.
I’ve known folk take out mortgages. Some to the Loan Sharks go.
It might even be for money that they never really owe!

Some suspect they have some rights, although it’s not explicit.
They write a stinking letter, explanations to elicit.
They find “Tax Credit Casualties” by doing a web search,
Enraged at how they’re honest but their names have been besmirched.

There’s lots of other agencies to help them fight their case,
But only if they know they’re there, which is a sad disgrace.
The Revenue should let us know that they’re not always right,
And how we can dispute our case and put up a fair fight.

Just like the commercial firms, the tactics are the same.
Debt collectors come for us. They barely know our name.
They don’t know how the “debt” arose. They get paid. They don’t care.
They turn up on our doorsteps. They terrify and scare.

We write defensive letters. We beg they check our case.
We wait six months for answers – a National Disgrace.
Meanwhile debt collectors turn up outside our place,
With briefcases and clipboards, nose inches from our face.

If it was any other firm than HM Revenue
They’d face some fearsome sanctions. And prosecution too.
Tax Credit Casualties have files and files of all their antics.
No wonder that the innocent come to us quite frantic.

There’s so much more to tell you of the traps, and how we fell.
Those honest, decent families plunged into a living Hell.
Our “Voices of the Victims” tells the story well.
I hope that “Watchdog” tells the tale it breaks my heart to tell.

Alison Myers-Ward
on behalf of Tax Credit Casualties
1 February 2009


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Tax Credit Casualties (TCC) is a voluntary, unfunded, not for profit organisation run by members for members. We cannot take any responsibility for decisions made by HMRC, The Parliamentary Ombudsman, The Adjudicator, or any other organisation, regarding claimants cases. We offer free advice on how to dispute unfair overpayments based on our own experiences, the experiences of other claimants and HMRC guidelines.
Please note that we are not tax professionals and are working on a voluntary basis, unpaid, in our ‘free time’. Between us, we have a lot of experience and knowledge in this area, gained over the last few years of supporting victims and helping them fight for justice and their rights. Legislation, operating practices and individual cases change all the time, and while we aim to be professional and accurate at all times, please understand the circumstances we are working under and accept our support, guidance and information in the sprit it is offered; goodwill and camaraderie.

Our Standards
TCC was established to provide advice and guidance on disputing recovery of non-fraud tax credit overpayments and to lobby for fundamental change on the inbuilt flaws and inequalities of the tax credit system. Whilst TCC provide guidance and information on how to handle disputes and even provide an advocacy service in some instances, neither TCC as an organisation not any participating members are responsible or liable for outcomes of disputes which remain wholly the remit of HMRC, the Adjudicator and/or the Parliamentary Ombudsman, as appropriate and dependent on the stage of dispute. TCC operate in a professional manner and endeavour to give accurate and appropriate advice based on information provided by members. TCC endeavour to respond to members as quickly and efficiently as possible, given the voluntary nature of the organisation and limited resources available. TCC is an inclusive organisation and will treat all members in a fair and equitable manner.

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