I haven't come across this before, but have been similarly concerned about the use of the Taxes Management Act 1970, which provides that a signed certificate by a tax official is sufficient evidence for the Court. (This sounds similar - have you tracked down a copy of the Tax Credits Act 1971?? TMA 1970 has been is referred to in section 29 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 - i don't know anything about TCA 1971 - it must be a different type of tax credit however...)
I was worried that the Courts would take the approach you describe, but in the two cases I was involved in however, although TMA certificates were submitted by HMRC, the Courts _did_ get involved, or at least, were prepared to get involved with the defence against the claim, and we were granted a set aside in one case, and an adjournment in another...
my untested view is that there must be an HRA Article 6 argument against the use of such powers when the defendant has been denied the opportunity to dispute the overpayment.
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