Overpayments - Disputed Liability Following Household Breakdown (AG)

• An Enquiry Centre by Taxpost Direct
   
• A Contact Centre through a Work Area Mailbox (WAM)
   
• Debt Management by Taxpost Direct

Or

• A letter received from a claimant

• Before you continue with the guidance in this Action Guide, follow the guidance in Action To Take Before Processing A Claim Or Work Item

Then

• If you can continue to action the overpayment referral, go to step 2

• Use Function VIEW HOUSEHOLD NOTES, selecting the joint household where the breakdown occurred
   
• Check for any messages stating when the claimant notified us of the household breakdown

• If there is a date when the claimant notified us of the household breakdown

• Make a note of this date on a form TC648

Then

• Go to step 3

• If there is no date when the claimant notified us of the household breakdown, go to step 3

• Go to the Select Application Version screen for the finalised award that the overpayment relates to
   
• Click on the first version to highlight it
   
• Click on the [OK] button. An Alert screen will display showing Household Breakdown

Note: If the overpayment is being disputed, an Alert screen will display with Disputed Overpayment first. Click on the [OK] button on this screen

• Make a note of the household breakdown date on the form TC648

Then

• If you have already established the household breakdown notification date at step 2 above, go to step 5
   
• If you have not already established the household breakdown notification date at step 2 above, go to step 4

• Go to the Award Summary screen for the first available award version where the Period End Date column shows the household breakdown date you noted in step 3 above
   
• Select ‘Navigation’ on the toolbar menu
   
• Select ‘View Application’ from the options available
   
• You will be taken to the Application Summary screen in Function VIEW APPLICATION
   
• The date in the Date Received field in the Application box at the bottom of the screen should be used as the household breakdown notification date
   
• Make a note of this date on the form TC648
   
• Go to step 5

• Give them the claimant’s details including their NINO
   
• State the year the overpayment occurred in
   
• Make a note of the office details you are given on the form TC648
   
• Go to step 6

• Go to the View Award Period Summary screen for the relevant tax year that the household breakdown date is shown in
   
• Make a note of the outstanding overpayment amount on the form TC648
   
• Click on the [Postings] button. You will be taken to the View Award Period Posting screen
   
• Establish which claimant received WTC and / or CTC after notification of the household breakdown and make a note of this on the form TC648

Note: To establish this double click on each payment to determine who it was paid to. The name in the Payee Name field will be who the payment was issued to. If the account was in both claimant’s names, then this will be joint liability

Note: You will also need to check the following year in case the payments continued and note who received these payment of CTC and / or WTC on the form TC648

• Go to step 7

Then

• Add together all the payments of WTC made after the household breakdown notification date

Note: Do not include any payments that were issued on the day of the household breakdown notification

Note: If there has been PVEpaid as part of the WTC entitlement you will need to calculate how much PVE was paid after the claimant notified us of the household breakdown

• Go back to the View Award Period Summary screen and click on the [Schedule] button. You will be taken to the View Direct Payment Schedule screen
   
• Click on the [View PVE] button. You will be taken to the View PVE Schedule screen
   
• Make a note of which claimant was being paid the PVE payments of WTC after the household breakdown notification date
   
• Check which dates the PVE payments were paid between
   
• Calculate how much PVE was paid from the day after the household breakdown notification date
   
• Make a note of the total payments made to each claimant after the household breakdown notification date on the form TC648
   
• Go to step 8

• If the outstanding overpayment amount is higher deduct the WTC and CTC payments from the outstanding overpayment amount

Note: Both claimants are jointly responsible for the balance of the outstanding overpayment

• Record the difference between the outstanding overpayment amount with the payments of WTC and CTC after the household breakdown notification date on the form TC648

For example: The outstanding overpayment is £1000 for WTC and £400 for CTC
 

The View Award Period Posting screen shows that since the household breakdown notification date, claimant 1 has been paid £400 WTC and claimant 2 has been paid £200 CTC

The balance of the outstanding overpayment amount for WTC is £1000 - £400 = £600

The balance of the outstanding overpayment amount for CTC is £400 - £200 = £200

The total balance of the outstanding overpayment amount is £800

Claimant 1 is liable for £400 paid after the household breakdown notification date and will be held jointly liable for the £800 of the outstanding overpayment

Claimant 2 is liable for £200 paid after the household breakdown notification date and will be held jointly liable for the £800 of the outstanding overpayment

• Go to step 9

• The whole of the overpayment after the household breakdown notification date is to be recovered from one claimant only

Note: This will be the case if after we were notified of the household breakdown the payments of CTC and WTC were all made into one claimant’s bank or building society account. This claimant will be held liable for the overpayment that occurred after the household breakdown notification date

• Complete the Joint and Several Liability pro-forma with the relevant details
   
• Email the pro-forma to the office dealing with the overpayment

• Part of the overpayment after the household breakdown notification date is due from each claimant

Note: This will be the case if after we were notified of the household breakdown, WTC was paid into one claimant’s bank or building society account and CTC was paid into the other claimant’s bank or building society account. Each claimant will be held liable for the payments they received

• Complete the Joint and Several Liability pro-forma with the relevant details
   
• Email the pro-forma to the office dealing with the overpayment

• Part of the overpayment after the household breakdown notification date is due from one claimant and both are jointly and severally liable for the balance

Note: This will be the case if after we were notified of the household breakdown, the WTC or CTC payments were paid into one claimant’s bank or building society account and the other tax credits payments were paid into the joint bank or building society account

For example: Claimant 1 received the WTC payments into their bank or building society account and both claimant 1 and claimant 2 received the CTC payments into their joint bank or building society account

• Complete the Joint and Several Liability pro-forma with the relevant details
   
• Email the pro-forma to the office dealing with the overpayment

Note: Both claimants will be held jointly and severally liable for any overpayment incurred before the household breakdown notification date

(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

• Go to step 10

• Go to the View Overpayment screen for the award version the overpayment relates to
   
• Click on the [Maintain Dispute] button. You will be taken to the Maintain Dispute screen
   
• Select ‘Decision Correct’ from the Resolution Reason drop down menu
   
• Click on the [OK] button