Tax Credits Post - Anyone else being bombarded?

Chazpots

Hi there,

Just curious to know if anyone else is fed up with the amount of letters/leaflets from tax credits?

As a result of my renewal, my partner and I received a letter each confirming the new award. Both with explaining leaflets. Just to make sure, they sent duplicates a few days later....to both of us. Both again with the leaflets.

They revised my award a few days later and once again, we both received the letters and leaflets. Thats 6 copies of the same leaflets!!!

It's the same with the final award for the previous years.

The shocking waste of resources on behlaf of the TCO and not to mention the envinronment. Surely they need to look into this - Maybe families could request one letter per houshold? Maybe the TCO could prevent endless leaflets being issued!!

Anyone else being driven mad? :mad::mad::mad:

Chaz

welshnoonoo

I have a whole box file! Some of mine are dated the exact same date, but with different figures on them!

They are now telling me that I have not told him DH is the MD of his own Ltd Co and that my 7 year old is still in day nursery!

I am at the end of my tether now - it is making me ill.

I have told them I would rather go into debt to pay them back the over payments and never, ever claim again and to be honest, that is exactly what I am going to do. I just need to get the information up to date and then I am going to come out of the system because being self-employed it is an absolute nightmare.

SuziQ

I have had the same experience. I had to take my award notice to the council tax desk this week-the lady didn't kow which to photocopy as the last 5 were all the same date but different amounts. For some reason the ct people want to have this even though you get ctb if on income support regardless. The one thing I HAVEN'T got is any sort of acknowledgement that I 'signed off' on last years award on 18th July-and couldn't get through over the last few days to double check it had been entered as it was so busy and even trying the direct number supplied on here,the advisor refused to deal with me as I wasn't phoning from aborad!
I am also annoyed that even though I am now a single parent a letter regarding my current award was sent to my ex-at my address,even though he is no longer on the award. Luckily he has told me to open all his post and phone him re anything important,but I really don't think it is any of his business what I get on tax credits at the moment when he is refusing to reply to the csa-incidentally they are even writing to him at MY address even though I have told them countless times he hasn't lived here since mid April.
I do believe these are computer generated errors rather than human though and I expect those working at ctc get as frustrated as we do!

lighton

The whole system is mad.If you ring to change address, phone number etc.A new award noitice is issued.
My friend had battle with them a few years back she was down as having 3 children , when she has 2 and the one she hasnt got was born 1954, work that out .

Elle00

Hell yes.

I posted about this the other week actually. I don't just get letters - I get different figures on every single one!

Nothing has changed, I haven't contacted them - so why the hell they keep sending me revised award notices it beyond me.

I'm going to make an appointment to see someone at an advisory centre soon but at the minute I'm waiting to see if I get a response to my complaint first.

Sorry for the hells by the way but hell I really am helling sick of it.

Chazpots

Gosh - After hearing some of your experiences, I think I've got off relatively lightly!

Welshnoonoo - I'm so sorry to hear that this is making you ill - It's easy for me to say but you should not let it put you off claming. Have you thought about contacting your MP. I know it's a hassle but I've got my MP onboard for a benefits problem I have. The managers of these departments do seem to take note of MP enquiries. After all thats what our MP's are for eh? I contacted mine by email attaching a letter explaining everything....might be worth a try.

As for contacting the TCO, if your not getting the service you deserve perhaps it's worth asking to speak to a team leader as soon as you get through. Sounds awful but those that make a nuuisance of themselves seem to get a quicker outcome!

Suzi - I think you're right about their systems. Perhaps it's time they changed them!

Good luck with the complaint Elle!

Chaz

bonnie_2

Since April i must have had about 30 peices of incoherent rubbish of them. Oh is losing is job in october, so the postie will get fed up, a new claim is bound to generate tonnes more paper.

nzmegs

it is ridiculous! We get mail sent to each of us - even though we live together and have a shared bank account. My husband is self employed so when he is able to confirm his income we get ANOTHER whole round of paper work sent to us. last year we ended up with 12 items altogether - each one with the same info on them!

welshnoonoo

Chazpots wrote: »

Welshnoonoo - I'm so sorry to hear that this is making you ill - It's easy for me to say but you should not let it put you off claming. Have you thought about contacting your MP. I know it's a hassle but I've got my MP onboard for a benefits problem I have. The managers of these departments do seem to take note of MP enquiries. After all thats what our MP's are for eh? I contacted mine by email attaching a letter explaining everything....might be worth a try.

Chaz

Yeah thanks Chaz - I think I will. I have found a website that deals with all this and they have a petition going etc, which I signed! They suggest the same, go through your MP so it might be worth a go! It's hell on earth.

hotblu

Hey All,

First off, if you are in a joint claim for Tax Credits then by law TCO have to send a copy of the award notice to both applicants as this is a legal requirement. With regards to OP "they sent duplicates a few days later" I am almost certain they wern't duplicates, following renewal completion in a joint claim you both recieve one award each for the previous year and one award each for the current year. So in the case of OP if you look at the dates on the awards one set will say "Final tax credits award for xx/xx/07 to 05/04/2007" and the other set will say "Tax credits award for 06/04/2008 to 05/04/2009". With regards to the explanantion leaflet... again with regards to OP as the example, it would cost more in taxpayers money to have sent one explanation leaflet and four award notices (and that is actually 100% factual), this is because most of it is done automatically through computer systems.
Finally I have a question to all the replies... how many of you have sat down (or stood up lol) and gone through your award notices using the checklist to make sure all details are correct and up to date?

HTH

Hotblu

Chazpots

Hotblu - With the paperwork in front of me, I can assure you that they are in fact duplicates. I am aware of why I have been sent the correspondence and understand that I should receive it for the previous TY. I'm just saying that I'm not happy with the duplicates of letters and leaflets.

As far as the the leaflets - just because a computer generates them doesn't make it correct in my eyes. It's clearly a waste of resources if something is being printed to send to customers several times over. And I don't just mean financial resources...what about the waste of paper?

If it is a legal obligation to send out award notices to both parties in tax credts then why is this not the case for Housing benefit say? I on ly receive one letter from them despite a joint claim.

Clearly, I am not the only one frustrated by this,

Chaz