There are two questions on the form. The first asks whether you are disabled. The second asks whether you are getting DLA at the high rate. Did the client tick both, or only the first (you may have to ask for a copy of the form to check)? If both, then I don't think they have any hope. If only the first, then they did not claim severe element at all but TCO gave it to them quite erroneously. It then seems very unfair for TCO to turn round & say they should have realised that they weren't entitled and want the money back, but this is the way they work.
I think you could try to mount an argument on the lines that the award notices are so confusing and complex that it is not reasonable for someone who is not knowledgeable about all the ins and outs of tax credits to be able to understand every thing about them - particularly as the client is disabled and could not reasonably be expected to know the detail of what effect this would have on the credit amount.
Its not as if TCO own staff find this easy. I've just had a case where both of a couple are disabled and for some unexplained reason TCO removed the disability element from one of them for 54 days then reinstated it. When this was queried the answer came back that only one disability element was payable to a couple both of whom were disabled. This was plain wrong, and if it had been right they should have removed the second such element from all the claim (which of course they had not done!).
|