Compliance interview child benefit tomorrow - help?

[farming4]

I've received a letter telling me I will be having a compliance interview tomorrow regarding my eldest DS. He was in further education until June if this year and I informed tax credits when he graduated (level 3 btec) I was asked if I wanted tax credits to let child benefit know and I said yes so assumed all was sorted.

I'm assuming the cross over never happened and this is what they are checking up on?

What happens in a compliance interview (it's over the phone) will I get a fine for not telling him he was no longer in education?

I don't think I've done anything wrong but I'm stressing somewhat here!

You will be fine. Just tell it as you have here. I had a compliance interview a few years back. I am on ESA. I had tried working 10 hours per week in a shop under the permitted earnings rules. I could not manage the role and had to give it up within a few weeks. This meant I never notified DWP. They were informed via Inland Revenue. I just apologised and explained what had happened.

Well that was weird! Phone call came at 8.56, answered it to hear a pre recorded message saying due to technical difficulties they were u able to connect me.....

So now what? Should I try and ring them? Or wait and see if they ring me again?

I've had to arrange to go into work late today so I was able to take their call - not best impressed to be honest.

How old is he? My son finished his Level 3 Btec in June and child benefit for him automatically stopped in August, I didn't have to inform anyone. It might be different if your son was 19, rather than 18 though.

He's 19 - did a 3 year level 3 diploma so only finished in June.

He's come off my tax credits claim easily enough - they managed to delete my 16 year old dd as well but that's another story 🤷‍♀️( apparently child benefit didn't tell tax credits she was going on to 6th form despite telling me they would update both systems)

If you have been receiving Child Benefit for him since September then they will want that repaying.

The only sticking point is that you would have known you were still getting the child maintenance. You knew that payment was still coming and hadn't been reduced and the onus is on you to call and sort it out.

Just explain, apologise and pay it back.

No, you have to fill in a form stating that your 16 year old is continuing into education. I think you have to state which school or college they are going to.

I did fill in the online form for dd and ticked the box which says they will share the info with tax credits. So assumed that would all be fine, it's all been sorted on that side anyway but during the phone call I confirmed my son had been removed and they said they would check with child benefit that he would come off my claim for that too.

My child benefit payment dropped in September so I though it was all sorted?

Glad its sorted.

The situation with my dd is sorted but still not been able to get hold of anyone about what's happening with this compliance interview- I've tried ringing them but keep getting cut off!

If your child benefit reduced in Sept, I wonder if they screwed up, deleted your DD from CH but kept your DS on instead of the other way around?

This is what I'm beginning to wonder but unfortunately there's no way of checking which kids are on my child benefit claim on my government gateway 😞 I can see which are on the tax credit claim but not child benefit

Finally got through and the person on the end couldn't do anything bar email the person who was supposed to ring me this morning. She couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me which dc were on my child benefit claim and said that someone should ring me back within 48 hours.

So still none the wiser of what it's about!