Honeymoon over!

[kal]

Well i thought the last 3 months had been reletively easy, but this month is a different story.
My Mum has paid for a holiday for us at the end of July and luckily I checked our passports - to be told they need renewing as they don't have 6 months left on them!!!!
That is at a cost of £140 for both of us. I know it is not something i should moan about as lots of people won't even be getting a holiday, but i have to get them otherwsie my Mum would lose all her money, if we weren't to go.
Also I have to ciontact the Child Tax credits - I have this awful thought that we owe them money. We have been getting only £40 a month from them, but on their details they show my husbands wage as a lot lower than it is, so i reckon we are not entitled to it as it goes over £50k between us, and will even end up owing them....arrrggghh! trouble is i never told them that amount, so god knows where they got it from.
I guess i will just end up with having to pay them back mnthly, but a double whammy as I won't be getting it either!
With the price of petrol too hitting us hard, just not been a good month....not much left in the bank!!
k.

[kallis3]

It never rains but it pours does it Kal? I renewed our passports last year even though I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere for some considerable time.

Just think of that holiday you have to look forward to. You will have a great time, be able to recharge those batteries so that you can come back and sort all your problems out.

Can't help with the child tax credits - mine stopped this year when daughter hit 20 (she has been in further education). We have over £50,000 a year coming in (how could we not manage on that?!!) and they payed us just over £40 a month.

[rockbottom]

Hi Kal

I recieved my renewal for tax credits last wk and they had my husbands wages 5k lower than they should have been, i rang them and told them (honesty doesnt always pay) only to be told i had informed them of this drop of wage last year, which i definately did not!!!!, it turns out i owe them £1860 [:0] and wont even be entitled to the £40 most people get as it has been used to pay off the money i owe them, so now i still owe £1360 [V], it was the 1st time i had ever claimed it as i have always worked up until post natel depression, i have asked for a form to complete to dispute it and i am also going to ask for the telephone transcripts to see when i apparently told them this.

hope you manage to get your passports sorted out without to much struggling and enjoy your hols, you lucky devil you [8D]

rb

[kal]

Oh no Rockbottom - that is terrible!
I know I phoned them last year to tell them dh's wags, so no way would I have told them what they have on the form.
I think we get the minium, but I am not sure of there is a limit of wages to earn (joint) before they stop it - i thought it was 50k, and if so then we are over that and have been for some time (like you say Kallis, how on earth do we not manage!), so that will mean that we end up owing them.
I presume if so, then we can pay them monthly?
I am waiting for dh to find hi accounts then i can phone them - only a week to go till their deadline.
k.

[kallis3]

RB, if you'd informed them of this drop last year, then surely they should have done something then? Doesn't make sense to me. If they knew about it then, why wait until these overpayments have built up?

You would have thought that they would have made adjustments then rather than letting it build up. I think they have cocked up somewhere and are trying to put the blame on you.

I hope you manage to sort it out before you are anymore out of pocket.

[rockbottom]

Yes Kal
you can pay them back monthly, you can arrange it over 12mnths instantly, if you need longer you have to go through a different department and give them your i and e, how low a payment and ove3r how long they will allow im not sure, in my case if i have to pay it back im hoping they will allow me my lifetime as hubby earns 30k and at the moment me nothing aarrrggghh we were just starting to manage to break even and that was with the tax credits , OH DEAR.
rb

[rockbottom]

Kallis

i agree totally with that, that is why i want the transcripts off them and am going to dispute it all the way.
rb

[kallis3]

There is a limit, but I'm not sure what it is now. I think you can pay them monthly.

RB, do you still have last years paperwork? It might be worth looking at that to see what was put down.

If you have phoned them and told them then they would have sent out fresh paperwork with new figures on. It might help when filling in your form.

[kal]

Hi Ladyh - I have been in my IVA for just over 3 months - due to pay 4th payment next week (blimey 4 gone already!!!).
So yes the tax credits would have been before setting up - i won;t know until I phone them whether we do owe, but thanks for the info.
As for the holiday - yes we will find the money for the passports - and like you we need insurance etc.
It is all inclusive to Tunisia, so no need to worry about food or drink thank god.
We looked at Cuba (when my Mum said to choose!) - but i was worried about the hurrican season, but everyone says it is lovely...lucky you!
k.

[ann.s]

Just had our child tax credit review in yesterday and guess what they say I owe them £100.17p, back in August 2006 I rang them to say my husband had a new job and his new wage took us over the limit and would they stop the payment as I didn,t want to owe them anything I was point blankly told that I should not request the payment to be stopped and it would be reviewed in 2007, so 2007 came and they decided I wouldn't be due any benefit for 2007/2008, so I don't know where they have got the £100.17p from, surly I can contest this as I requested the payment to be stopped and was advised not to.

[chardonnay]

Gosh I'm dismayed at the continuing chaos with Child tax cits and I hope you all get it sorted out soon. Kal with the passports is £70 the standard charge for a new one if you take your form to the office yourself? It seems a lot, but I hope you can scrape the money together (could you get mum to help some more?).
You have to take the holiday - it will do you the world of good - some hard earned R & R.
Good luck with it,
Hugs,
Chardonnay

[kallis3]

ladyh, that's my dream too - I'd love to go tornado chasing! It's soooooo expensive though! Don't care that it would probably rain for most of the holiday - I love thunderstorms as well!

[kallis3]

We once had our neighbours scratching their heads as we sat in the garden with a glass of wine each watching the lightning!

I'm certainly going to go one day and my hubbie doesn't want to go with me, so if you're after company then I'm your (wo)man!

Thanks for offering to pay as well!!!!!!! I couldn't possibly let you!

It's one of the first things I shall save up for once I'm debt free.

[jpj]

Kal...Dont forget the £7.00 just for the passport photos too!! (

[kallis3]

Sorry, catching up on a bit of viewing!

I look forward to it, They'll need to pull us both back in 'cos I'll be there too with my camcorder!