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TaxHelp for Older People (TOP), the free tax advice service for older people on low incomes, was visited by the Moneybox team at one of TOP's regular sessions at Age Concern Wolverhampton. The TOP idea was developed by LITRG three years ago and put into practice in the South West of England and in Wolverhampton.

Big banks badly let down their low income customers. This is the conclusion of a review undertaken by the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group. A mystery shopping exercise in over 50 branches revealed that only 20 could provide an up-to-date registration form to prevent the banks deducting excessive tax.

Many people have claimed tax credits, and then been surprised to find that the Revenue has paid them too much and asks for the surplus back. This can cause considerable hardship to families on very low incomes. In this first of three short articles we consider how this can happen, and whether anything can be done about it.