'Online consultation on tax credit overpayments wants to hear from you!' - says Norman Lamb

1.13.37pm GMT Wed 2nd Mar 2005

Norman Lamb is calling on constituents who have faced problems with tax credit overpayments to report their experiences to an independent advice network collecting evidence on the problems people are facing.

The online consultation is being run by adviceni - an independent advice network based in Northern Ireland. They are seeking the views of tax credit recipients from all over the UK.

Norman Lamb said, "The Government's continued inability to pay families the money they are owed is breathtaking. Many local families have contacted me because they are being left out of pocket without the means for everyday living.

"The introduction of the new tax credits has caused real problems for many families. I have learned of countless cases of late payments, overpayment, claw back of payments and reassessments," Mr Lamb added. "It is time the Government looked at simplifying the system and ended the misery of the hundreds of thousands of families caught in a bureaucratic nightmare,"

Norman Lamb is calling on anyone who has had experience of tax credits overpayment to get online and send adviceni their experiences. He said, "The more evidence that can be gathered about the problems for ordinary hard working families the better. For anyone who has internet access, I recommend using the opportunity of highlighting your experiences in this way."

Despite being based in Northern Ireland, adviceni would welcome feedback from people across the UK - please say where you are based if you log onto the consultation.

The online consultation page is here: http://www.adviceni.net/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=5.

For more information generally on adviceni, their website is: http://www.adviceni.net