To tell you to write to your MP..

[IAmSamSamlAm]

If you're having any problems with the HMRC/ DWP etc?

They stopped my tax credit payments with no warning and said they didn't receive the evidence I sent before Christmas. Sent it again two weeks ago recorded delivery (wish I bloody did this at first - lesson learnt!), they only just put it on my file yesterday and said it would take at least two weeks to sort out.

I've been distraught. I'm late on DDs Nursery payments due to this and if I don't pay in the next week she won't be able to go anymore. If she can't go, I can't go to work - I'll lose my job. Ill miss my final university exams. I'll be evicted. I haven't done anything wrong and have replied to letters the day I received them. But they said there's no way of marking the application as urgent, or putting my payments back on temporarily whilst they investigate, or ensuring this is paid back as a lump sum instead of spread out throughout the year (as an extra £10 a week won't help me with my £700 Nursery bill due now). They didn't give a shit.

I emailed my MP in desperation late last night. By midday, I'd had an email from him saying he's phoned them and my payments would be put back on immediately and somebody would be investigating how much I'm owed today - and that it would be paid back as a lump sum. Just phoned them to check this was definitely the case and there is indeed somebody working on it right this minute and they'll be calling me at 4 to update me.

I'm actually in shock! Never realised how useful our MPs could be. I understand that all MPs might not be as brilliant as mine, but please - if you're struggling with anything like this, it's made a monumental difference to their attitude towards my case.

God, I've been having panic attacks, the lot. I'm so happy and grateful

Gosh OP sorry to hear about your situation! :( So glad it's being sorted out now though!! Your MP sounds great! Who's your local MP (out of sheer nosiness? )

Agreed, your mp sounds amazing!

Is it a Labour MP? Or Conservative?

I wouldn't like to say as it would be pretty outing I guess wish I had NCed so I could tell you! But he's Labour, done loads of work encouraging apprenticeships and creating jobs for unemployed youths in the area, and has done aid work abroad etc. He's a good egg, I already knew that. But he sheer speed in which this was sorted - I'm amazed!

Party affilliation is not related to how useful an mp is - there are idle bastards sitting in both types of safe seat.

Good news that the op has one that does some work! Name and praise!!

Nice to hear a good news story about this. Hope others can learn from it

glad its been sorted
there are some good ones out there
unfortunately we hardly hear about them

Update:

Had a missed call from the HMRC today so I phoned them back. The girl said that I didn't tell them that I started a new job in July so they would not be giving me any payments whatsoever. Not child tax credits, nothing. For at least the next ten months.

I've been distraught. Crying. Had a panic attack. My daughter and I can't survive without that money.

Rang EE to ask for an itemised bill to prove I informed them. I remember where I was; i know I did it in my lunch break in the park In the first week of my new job. I definitely informed them. They refused, said they might give it if a lawyer asks for it, but that's it.

Then I googled, found out that they can't ask for repayments over 10% of my claim. Rang them back on my lunch break and the man said there was no record of the call I had earlier; head office hadn't even come to a decision at all yet. They had put on a note today saying that they needed a few more days.

What an absolute shambles! I'm so worried, upset and angry.

Had a bad experience with mine when I got him involved with HMRC overpayments. He was useless. Eventually gave up on him and wrote to them myself asking if I could pay back a small amount each month. that was 5 years ago. Still awaiting a reply ........

Back to your MP ASAP then. . Email him tonight op.

Hope you get it sorted op. If I knew how to do the little pic of flowers here I would...!

What a fucking nightmare. I'd contact your MP again.

Many years ago I had problems with child benefit, ie I wasn't getting any and they owed me £ hundreds - a lot of money then. You couldn't get through on the phone, I spent hours on bloody hold.

My MP was John Major who was Foreign Secretary. I wrote to him, got a response in less than a week and the money a few days later. He was an amazing constituency MP, shame he's a Tory.

What a nightmare 😞 I hope you get it sorted soon. It’s almost promising that the second person hasn’t a record of that call but weirdly shambolic.

From now on, take the name of the caller (If they’ll provide it) and note the time and date of each call with what was said.

(Wine, you do [ flowers ] with no space)

@IAmSamSamlAm if you know the approximate date that you rang HMRC, you can ask for a copy of the call. Provide them with the time and date if you can and the number you rang from. Cite the Data Protection Act 1998 and request a Subject Access Request. Send recorded delivery for the attention of the Data Protection officer

I don't work for HMRC but I'd be very surprised if this doesn't get you a result of at least proving you reported your change of circumstances. Good luck.

I had a similar experience with my MP. Nothing to do with tax, but similarly needed help and contacted him in desperation.
I was astonished at how fast he got the problem resolved.

Not sure if you’ll believe it: my MP is Jeremy Hunt!
It was before he became Health Secretary, mind you.

They said I didn't call them at all in July

I'm sure I did! I started convincing myself I was going crazy, but then I had this 2nd call who said himself how strange it was that there was no record of the previous call. Makes me wonder too about the big pack of evidence I sent them before Christmas which 'never arrived'.

If they're saying there's no record of the call, I guess there's no point making a subject access request? But I have the time and date of this call and the previous one - so can prove that their records clearly aren't up to scratch.

Have just emailed my MP informing him of the latest. Really hope he can help. I'm going out of my mind with worry. I suffer with anxiety and it's starting to make me think they're doing all this deliberately

I know it's silly. But I'm in my early 20s, have escaped from a relationship which nearly killed me, I'm a single parent to a two year old, I'm in my last year of a degree, I work for the NHS. I was homeless three years ago; I've built everything we have from morning. And now I might lose it all.

Everyone who is entitled to tax credits deserve tax credits; I'm not special I know that, but honestly I'm working my arse off here. I need this to stay afloat. I was so embarrassed to tell one of my colleagues about it today because I was so upset; for her to know I'm claiming tax credits. I wish I didn't. But I work hard, and I need them for me and my daughter to survive. I've not done anything wrong

@IAmSamSamlAm honestly, I'd go ahead with the subject access request anyway. Just because a call operator can't see a call on their log doesn't necessarily mean it isn't there.

Keep pursuing it through your MP, tell them about calls not logged and provide them with the dates and times, give your MP all the details of what was sent in your evidence letter. Years ago I worked in a very busy complaints section of a public sector organisation and you'd be surprised what can be "found" when there's suddenly an MP shouting for it.

Huge hugs, I know this must be incredibly stressful and scary but big deep breaths, you have truly got through worse situations and you'll get through this

Ugh. I feel your pain. It’s a horrible stressful system.
I don’t know why EE won’t give you an itemised bill?

Do try and contact your MP again.

I echo what “GiveMyheadPeace* said about how much of an impact MP involvement can have. Unless you tell them about the current chaos, they won’t realise.

This is exactly what your MP is for.
Mine was brilliant when I couldnt get an urgent hospital appointment.
She got simeone on the case and it was sorted within days. This was after weeks of me phoning around the ridiculous choose and book system.

How useful your mp is depends generally on how safe their seat is, not the party. I used to live in a v marginal seat, sometimes labour sometimes conservative, both fantastically helpful. Now I live in one of the safest seats in the country and he does sod all for his constituency. I’ve written to him, phoned him, got answers that it’s not his problem. I did have a chuckle when he was demoted at the last reshuffle (just after I overheard him say how glad he was that a man had been appointed as vicar of the village church, not another woman )

Good MPs come from both parties and yes, people underestimate how useful they are.

Yes, indeed. My local MP is a Tory, and I disagree with her on nearly everything. However, I cannot deny that she is a bloody fantastic constituency MP.