Child Tax Credits

Morning,

how long do I have to leave it before I can tell the tax credit people that my circumstances have changed?

My wife has now gone to stay at her mothers. I can't realistically see her ever coming back but I can only hope beyond hope that she might. There is no additional cost to either of us yet as staying at her mothers is free but obviously she will move on from there before long.

Is it ok to claim the additional CTC now or do I need to wait until she has rented somewhere?

You should inform the Tax Office and/or DWP of any changes immediately.

Hi WY,
I'm not 100% sure on this but I think that after you tell them they carry the payments on for 4 weeks?
I'm not a fan of tax credits at all, I think it's staffed by monkeys and 5 year olds so make sure that when you call you make a note of the date and time of the call and who you spoke to...as, if they keep on paying you (and in some instances it's a nightmare as they keep shovelling money into your account and you cant get 'em to stop!)they'll want it all back which is a massive problem if it's been spent.
Call them today and anything they put into your account after today DONT SPEND as come April you'll get a demand saying you've been overpaid.
Their number is 08453003900.
Lou xx

Lou

I accept that you have had a bad experience with the Tax Credit office, but to say its "staffed by monkeys" is only your opinion.

Your situation with your over-payments was a nightmare, granted, but it doesn't mean that everyone will be over-payed, get send overpayment notices etc.

WY - once a change in circumstances has been received by the TCO, they will send you a new Award Notice, containing the new information, and any relevant adjustments to your claim. They will most likely make a new claim for you, and can do this over the phone, with you giving them the required new information. But they cant backdate a new claim, they can only start a claim from the day on which you give them the change of circumstances, so I wouldnt delay too much longer, or you could end up loosing out.

I just wanted to say that I have had nothing but good experiences with tax credit people!!

No problems setting up the initial payments three years ago and staff are always very helpful. I have several times phoned to ask them 'what if' scenarios regarding increasing or decreasing my hours and what would happen if my partner moved in with me. On all occasions they actually worked out figures for me.

The only niggle I had with them is when my son technically left school but was going straight to sixth form college - I had to reapply after he had started even though I had offer letters and exam results etc etc to prove he was going there. However it was sorted within that month.

Part of my work involves dealing with people on benefits and again the majority don't seem to have too much trouble.

You should, as others have said, inform them of any change as soon as you can in case of over payment and obviously don't go spending any overpayment you may get!!

Ruby...if you read my post correctly it clearly states that "I think...staffed by monkeys" etc etc. "I think" = "my opinion"...I'm not saying "john from next door thinks" or "the government thinks" or "the whole of wiki thinks"...I'm just literally saying "I think"...due to my bad experiences.
As wiki is a forum designed to help people I was literally advising WY of what I've been through to avoid them having to go through the same as the stress ended up making me ill!
I'm really sick and tired of being pulled up about everything I say on here.
Yes, I've had a flipping nightmare with tax credits for 3 years now...and I do THINK!!! that their criteria for staffing could be a lot better.
Lou xx