specialist team for tax credits renewal (merged)

kaitlinsmummy

PINKPIGG I will let you know what happens we get our payments weekly and they are usually pretty quick sorting it out inbetween payment dates, I was worried sick when I got our letter on friday wasnt expecting it OH said to me oh you have a letter from TCO I was expecting the renewal pack turned out to be this letter after reading this thread we decided to just renew as normal and not say anything unless they raised it with us which they didnt when I rang to renew this morning. We rely on our TC awards alot like most on this thread to. I will take what they said to me on the phone to be correct that I dont need to do anything else as it was complete and leave it at that as ive never had any problems with them in the past. I honestly dont think they have sent letters to people who fall in certain categories like amounts claimed school leaves etc I think it is all down to a random computer draw and I dont think this specialist team have signals on peoples account as like I said surely the normal TC line would also see these signals.

Pinkpigg

Kaitlinsmummy: Thanks. When I rung last week the main TC Helpline number they told me my annual declaration had not even been printed and that they were in the process of doing these for claimants - suppose they do these in batches etc. Some people on here have said they have renewed, been lead to believe all ok but when they have phoned back they have been told they had not been renewed/finalised - that's the worrying thing cos if they hadn't phoned back how would they know?? Did you try phoning the number on the letter you received. I have tried mine again today and yet again it has just rang and rang!!!

kaitlinsmummy

PINKPIGG- Nope not even tried it and Im not going to either Im just going to wait and see what happens now. The Man I spoke to did say I would get a couple of award notices through the post in the next couple of weeks and to just check everything is correct so Im assuming one will be an award notice for 2010/2011 and the other will be the finalisation notice of 2009/2010 award

Pinkpigg

Kaitlinsmummy: No probs. I will let you know how I get on too - as soon as I receive my annual declaration I will be on the phone to them to renew - I not gonna mention the letter to them again when I phone, afterall the fella I spoke with last week just told me to phone the main number - if they need to pass it to another department so be it! Seems bizarre though that the tax credits office have set up a new scheme allegedly to renew claims, afterall I thought that is something that would automatically be done by the main number??!!

compoff

Just in reply to a few who asked there, haven't had chance to read all. If you call the main number, they will take your details but your declaration will not be processed. It will be passed to the specialist team who will probably contact you again to go through all your details with you. All details on your claim will be double checked with you to ensure that you are receiving the correct amount of money.
If you renew by post, the same thing will happen, the data will be captured but it will not process, again it will be passed to the specialist team and so on. The process has not been managed that well from within, however, the aim is to help customers get it right at this stage, so that mistakes are not found later in the year.

kaitlinsmummy

compoff wrote: »

Just in reply to a few who asked there, haven't had chance to read all. If you call the main number, they will take your details but your declaration will not be processed. It will be passed to the specialist team who will probably contact you again to go through all your details with you. All details on your claim will be double checked with you to ensure that you are receiving the correct amount of money.
If you renew by post, the same thing will happen, the data will be captured but it will not process, again it will be passed to the specialist team and so on. The process has not been managed that well from within, however, the aim is to help customers get it right at this stage, so that mistakes are not found later in the year.

Compoff How do you know they wont be processed if you ring the main TC number?

Pinkpigg

Compoff: If the aim of this exercise then is just to double check the details people's claim's why don't the tax credit office just check people's details at source - eg. wage details, childcare details and so on afterall they have all the details in which to do this and this would make more sense and be a better way of "double checking. The different numbers given on all these letters that people have received seem to be only in operation 8am-5pm - these hours are not convenient for me (and I ama sure I am not alone in this) as I work (in an office) all day every day - you would expect some out of hours service. Why are operators on the normal tax credit number telling me that there is nothing on my file to say a letter has been sent from another department, surely without the note on my file how would they know not to process my details?? I don't get it - what should be a simple process just seems all of a sudden very complicated in deed. My panic now is that my payments will stop, through no fault of my own - being on my own I depend on my tax credits. Can't believe that the tax credits office have not put anything on their website to put people's minds at rest!!!

uolypool

I renewed over the phone with the tc helpline last week and I phoned earlier this evening just to make sure my renewal had gone through and they said it had and told me what my new payments would be nothing was mentioned about it had to be done by the specialist team ,and when I mentioned it they said no it had live on there system and everything was ok

Pinkpigg

Presumably then you had also received one of these letters about contacting a renewal specialist?? Maybe it was passed to this department after you had phoned the main TC number???

bubbles12345

I too have just received a letter from the specialist tax credits renewals team. I'm not really sure what to do as last Friday I had contacted the Tax credits to give them a change of circumstances (my partner has moved in) and they said that they would cancel my single claim right away and that they would send out a new application form for me to fill in. The renewals letter is regarding renewing my single claim but I'm not going to be doing that now anyway and have to send my new application by post. I'm kind of confused, any advice?