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Stopped child tax credits

11 replies

eviep73 · 25/04/2013 11:11

I dont know if anyone can help or not. For the past three weeks i have not received my child tax credits. When i phoned them initially i was told it was a technical error on their part and that they would try force the payment through. They tried this while i was on the phone and this could not be done, they then told me it would be sent to their manager to try and force through and to phone back following day, this was on the 11th of April.
I phoned the following day to be told this could not be done and they had sent it to another department, it was then passed about from department to department until the 17th when they sent it to the head office. I was then told they had a two weeks to sort it out but to phone every day for an update, I have phoned every day and am getting nowhere with them.
I asked for a manual payment to be sent out and this has now been refused twice with no reason given to myself. I am currently a long term carer for my husband who is registered disabled, we have three children and rely on benefits and tax credits to live on. I have bills coming out the bank which i cannot pay for, fuel to buy which i have not been able to do and am just managing to scrape by on income support for food. I dont know how they expect us to live and pay for electricity and other bills when we are not receiving any money.
My husband is depressed due to worrying about our bills and I dont know how we can cope much longer with this.
The tax office is not giving us any information and phoning every day is incurring extra costs which we dont normally have. I do not understaand why thye cannot give us interim payments until it is sorted out and the people who answer the call centre do not seem to understand the urgency this is causing us.
If anyone can help in any way with advice it would be much appreciated. I have contacted our local mp, and am awaiting reply

OP posts:
Wallison · 25/04/2013 11:13

OP, if you PM me I think I may be able to help you.

lottieandmia · 25/04/2013 11:13

This is terrible, hopefully someone will be able to advise you what to do. If they can't force the payment through then they should be paying you another way until it's sorted.

Wallison · 25/04/2013 11:16

If you don't know how to PM, look at the blue bar with my name on above my post. Click on where it says 'Message poster'.

eviep73 · 25/04/2013 11:31

I really hope someone can help, am at total loss as to what to do

OP posts:
ParsleyTheLioness · 26/04/2013 09:22

Any nearer a solution OP? Did you message Wallison?

eviep73 · 26/04/2013 09:39

Yes i did message Wallison, mp got back in contact yesterday to say she had been in contact with them and had basically got same response from call centre, she has now asked for a manager to phone her and give her a better explanation. She will be back in contact when she hears from there.
They have told her i could get an emergency payment from my local office, which is miles away and would incur further travelling costs, which at the moment i would rather buy food with. Also there is no guarantee that i would receive the emergency payment so i could travel all that distance for nothing. This would also mean leaving my disabled husband on his own and no one to pick kids up from school, which i cannot do. I dont have family nearby who could help me with my husband or kids, so i guess its further waiting.

OP posts:
ParsleyTheLioness · 26/04/2013 09:41

That's a bummer, but think your MP involvement will carry weight, and help. Shouldn't be the case...Any friends that could sit with the kids, or would do pick up for you?

eviep73 · 26/04/2013 09:58

No as we have just moved to a new area, we dont really know anyone here well enough yet. Just been on phone again and got a really nice lady whos team leader is going to find out why there has been no manual payment sent out, they cant understand why when its not my fault they havent sorted it out quicker.

OP posts:
eviep73 · 30/04/2013 09:46

Wee update - on Friday my mp was told i would receive manual payments, so we thought everything was sorted. Well weren't we wrongAngry. My mp received a call yesterday morning from the tax office telling her that manual payments would no longer be given out to us, and they were waiting for the computer to sort out the problem, she told them about our hardship and has now written a letter of complaint to the head of tax credits. They are still telling her its their fault because of a computer problem but yet they still refuse payments to usConfused. Never have i seen such incompetence from a agency such as this.

OP posts:
ParsleyTheLioness · 03/05/2013 08:28

That' s crap Evie...I am wondering if your local CAB could help you at all...

eviep73 · 06/05/2013 20:45

Wee update - mp got it all sorted out and i will receive my backdated credits too, so at least i can pay my bills now. Thanks so much to everyone who helped and offered help, it is so much appreciated and nice to know there are people still willing to help others xxxxx

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