New child benefit claim is taking forever to process

[BeTwinklyTealPanda]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing a delay in getting their new child benefit claim paid.

I had a baby in October and applied for child benefit when she was nearly 4 months old. GOV website states they will backdate up to 3 months from date of application so I thought that's fine.

The website also states, based on my date of application (31.1.25) that I should get a reply by the 1st June as they are currently processing applications from November 2024! My claim confirmation email said it could take up to 28 days to receive payment which is why I find this backlog surprising!

I'm wondering if they will backdate from the date I claimed, plus the extra months I wait for the application to be processed which would make it closer to 8 months by June. Or will they just backdate 3 months and that's it. Anyone experience this?

They'll backdate 3 months from when you submitted the claim, if child benefit is similar to other benefits. Their delay shouldn't affect your claim.

Oh dear, I didn't realise the backlog was that bad! I applied on 29 Jan and haven't heard anything except the confirmation when I first applied.

Where did you get the information that you would get a reply by 1 June? I've just been checking the child benefit page and clicking on the link for proof that I get Child Benefit, then it says that I'm not getting Child Benefit and that's the only way I know the claim hasn't been processed yet! Since we applied at around the same date I assume I'll have to wait until June as well.

@lastallI applied a few days before you.
in the confirmation email there should be a link showing you when you can expect a reply.
I checked mine yesterday and it said I can expect a reply by 26th May.
i put your date in and it said 30th May.

my understanding is that they’ll backdate up to 3 months from your submission date - so OP it should backdate to 31/10/24.

Hey @lastall , I also had a confirmation email and it said if you haven't received payment by 28 days to click on a link. That link takes you to a GOV page which tells you to enter the date you applied for child benefit and then it tells you which month they are up to and which date you should expect a response by :)

Thank you for replying. Good to hear I'm not the only one and I will just sit tightly and wait. The first time I checked, it also said end of May and now shifted to 1st of June so hopefully the date doesn't keep moving forward.

Thank you for the reply. That puts my mind at ease. I guess I'll just sit tightly :)

@FinallyMummy @BeTwinklyTealPanda Thanks for the replies, I'd missed that on the confirmation email. Looks like a long wait for all of us.

Does anyone know why it says I have recieved payments but I haven't.. it's a new claim which I applied for on 17th April my twins where born February. I have had a letter confirming my entitlement, but im confused as to why it says this on the hmrc app

Is this your first baby?

I added my new baby to my claim and got paid within a few days early earlier this month.

Hey. I know it’s late. But did you sort it out. As I have the same issue but mine doesn’t show backdated payment only one payment. Which was paid on the date the letter said.

Hi, can anyone here confirm how long it took from your application going in to getting your claim approved in the end? The update date just seems to roll further and further away. I know some in my NCT group have applied and had their payments in a few days, so not sure what's going on!

Mine was slightly delayed by needing to provide extra info (my LO is adopted) but application went in mid January and was finally paid about 2 weeks ago 😳
Only upside is that payout was hefty (over £1k) but that’s no help to anyone struggling. Bloody ridiculous system.

Oh wow that's a ridiculous amount of time, and not close to 28 days!

I can't work out why some first time mums are getting it paid out in days, while others are taking over half a year to process.

For me I applied in Jan, they sent me a form in May, I sent it back within 10 days, they didn’t acknowledge they had it until June and it wasn’t processed until the end of August when they paid me!

I applied in Jan and was told I’d hear back by end of Feb. I hadn’t heard anything and only remembered recently because a friend mentioned hers. I called them up and it sounded like they just missed my application, but I got a text this morning saying I’ll receive my first payment within 5 working days but no reason for the 10 month delay