I rang up this morning to see if there was a chance they could email me a copy the original letter they'd sent me granting the child benefit (for mortgage application purposes) only to be told my national insurance number wasn't working and I mustn't be the named person on the account. I informed the lady I definitely was, I remember filling in the form, payment goes into my bank account etc it should definitely be me.
Upon inputting the child benefit number that shows up on my bank statement, it turns out my husband is the named person on the account. I don't believe for one second I would have put him as the named parent. I've looked at a blank copy of the form this morning and it's quite clear how to fill it out and, coming from a background in HR, I don't believe I would have completed it wrong. We do have very similar names (think Bob Smith and Bobby Smith) which could explain the mistake if they had made one.
Those who receive child benefit also receive credits to go towards their state pension which obviously helps when you're not working (which I wasn't for about 5 years after I started claiming) so I seem to have lost out on 6 years worth of contributions.
Has this happened to anyone else? They are currently refusing to talk to me as I'm not the named person on the account so could I/my husband request a copy of the completed form to check if I did fill it out incorrectly and what can we do about the credits going to him instead of me.