Mrs A used the Tax Credit Office's (TCO) leaflet TC600/10 to fill in her tax credit application form but the leaflet had ambiguous advice that led her to incorrectly tick a box she should not have. This caused Mrs A to be overpaid tax credit, which she had to pay back a year later.
What happened
Mrs A complained to the TCO and the Adjudicator's Office but they did not agree with her that the leaflet was ambiguous or misleading. The TCO recovered all of the overpayment from Mrs A's entitlement, meaning she got less the following year.
What we found
We decided that the leaflet was indeed misleading and if it had not been, Mrs A would not have filled in the form incorrectly. However, we did not find that all of the overpayment had been the TCO's fault.
Putting it right
The TCO paid Mrs A £200 for worry and distress, refunded the part of the overpayment that it caused and apologised to Mrs A for failing to put things right. We did not have to recommend that the TCO amend the leaflet as it had already been amended by the time the complaint reached us.
The Adjudicator's Office apologised to Mrs A for missing the opportunity to put things right.
The Adjudicator's Office
HM Revenue & Customs
Tax Credit Office (TCO)
UK
Did not keep proper records or audit trail
Apology
Compensation for non-financial loss
Other