A few hard months

[kat68]

just having a bit of a hard time lately, and i know i can freely whinge here!

well my iva started off really well, i had my little contingency fund saved and was managing to add a little to it each month out of my share of overtime, and then:-

my dog got ill and went blind, initial vet fees in excess of £200 that was last month. this month my car went in for a service at £160 but needed some work doing to it and the total bill for such pleasures £338. now my garden fence has just blown down in the recent high winds, i knew many of the panels were rotten, how i am going to get this fixed i do not know and with two dogs it really needs to get done.

then this morning i received a letter from a company i instructed on my behalf of myself, to try for a tax refund, looks like i could be getting a few hundred pounds back, not sure of the exact amount yet, although they take 20% for their part in securing the refund. which of course would be great in helping to get my fence fixed, but am i right in thinking if its over £500 it would all have to be paid accross under the windfall clause and not just the excess of £500??
the rebate covers the last six years and is to cover the cost of laundering works uniform and specific shoe purchase.

[Tina Shortland]

Hi Kat68 - I am sure something could be sorted as you need to have a secure garden sorted asap. The high costs you have had have been unfortunate and hopefully (if you believe things go in 3s) - the fence is the third thing and hopefuly things go more postively from here.

Regards,

[Foggy]

Hi. The windfall clause generally, under the current protocol, is worded so that if the windfall is under £500 you keep the lot. If it is over £500 you pay the lot over ( don't get to keep the first £500.

Bit of a bummer if you get £501 !!!!

[komakino]

Read the letter properly just in case!

I only say that as I also had one for a laundry costs rebate and that was backdated for 6 years. It was for a tax allowance adjustment for about £300. Operative work there being 'adjustment'. This means a temporary alteration to my tax code and will give me an extra £300 allowance for the year. This does not mean I'm going to receive £300. It means that the amount of my salary that is tax free has been increased by a further £300 which in real money is around £50-60 savings for the year.

[kat68]

i find the letter i have received from the tax office so difficult to understand, i am not really sure what the final adjusted amount is, but also i have to pay a small percentage to the company who has chased this for me.
so i am guessing i won't know until a check arrives or my tax code changes.
i was hoping it might be no more than £499 so as not to be captured by windfall clause, but at the same time also enough to get my fence repaired.
will just have to wait and see..

Tina i certainly hope thats my 3 for the year, i have no contingency left and that concerns me being a home owner and a single parent, i desperatly want to try and build a bit of a security fund again in case of emergencies.

[komakino]

@kat68 - i was mainly asking you to be cautious as the assisting company want 20%.

Obviously, 20% of a £300 tax rebate will be £60 to them.
However, 20% of a £300 tax code adjustment will be around only £60 to you so only around £12 to them!

Didn't want you getting ripped off!

[kat68]

thankyou, komakino,
i will keep an eye on what they take and also phone the tax office on monday to clarify the letter i have received, it states so many different amounts on it that i am not sure of what amount i am due to be either returned or adjusted.
it does however state that payment will be made to the company nominated by me within the next few weeks.

[kat68]

just read my letter again, and had a moment of enlightenment, i now understand the amount i have overpaid by in total is £208, minus the 20% which will be paid to the company claiming on my behalf should leave me about £166.
obviously will contact iva company when i receive the cheque, but hopefully i will be able to keep this and sort out a few new fencing panels.

[kallis3]

Fingers crossed you can keep it kat.

Hope the dog is still going on ok?

[Rosepetal]

hi the RSPCA might help with the dog,it's worth a try.

keep an eye on freecycle for things ie fence pannel,you see alsorts on there,it's free.

sorry to hear things are so tight,big hug x

[lem]

You whinge away Kat, we all need to let off steam every now and again, I hope things get sorted for you xx

[Skippy]

I hope you can get things sorted Kat x

[MelanieGiles]

Kat

You really have good grounds to keep all of that money and if I were your IP I would not hesitate to let you keep it to cover your unforseen costs. The security of your doggies is absolutely essential, and I would really try and push for the refund and get those bills paid as soon as you can. Liaise with your IP about your intentions, but tell them that you will only be going to the bother of making the claim to cover your exceptional costs.

[kat68]

melanie you are my IP, thanks very much for your reply.
if its ok with you, once the amount is confirmed, i will contact either yourself or laura my case manager, explaining the above and mention this forum.
at the moment my dogs are safe as i have made a makeshift gate preventing them going to the area of the garden where the fencing has blown down, but its far from ideal as they now only have an area of about two meters by three meters outside that is safe for them.
kallis my boxer is doing well thankyou, at first i found her to be a little depressed, but now she seems well adjusted and is back to her old self, only ever so slightly more cautious and therefor a little slower.

[Shining]

Glad to hear the boxer is doing well. My little Cocker who is blind surprised me today, he doesn't like going out and when I go out to the car I never shut the gate, today he followed me, so I watched him and he went to the car, so I opened the door and he jumped in the footwell so I drove him around the block. Not often he'll go out and we let him dictate if he wants to so today he must be having a good day. x