specialist team for tax credits renewal (merged)

TaxCreditHelp

Mrs_Beatson wrote: »

I'm sorry... I'm a little lost.
I too have had one of these letters and I'm trying to work out *why* !
I have tried to read through this thread but it's a little long.

In summary is it the case that you are referred to this "specialist team" because either they think you are "dodgy" or because there has been a "hiccup" with a previous claim? (Last year I successfully appealled against an overpayment claim from them on the grounds that I had called them to advise of THEIR error within the 30 days time limit and they had not amended their records at the time, something that saved me £3000 in overpayment repayments)

It seems (from what I have skim-read) that we have all had something a little strange happen and suddenly we are referred to this "team", be it a payment query or a change in childcare costs or a low income etc

No one has been 'referred' to the Specialist Renewals Team, this is part of an exercise to ensure all the details held on the National Tax Credits system are correct and up to date and the Specialist Renewals Team have been set up for this sole task.

Those who are being asked to call the Specialist Renewals Team to complete their annual renewal are those who have Tax Credit awards of over £8500, as Tax Credit Office have found that (speaking on general terms) they are the customers that require most assistance with their renewal and Tax Credit Office is taking this opportunity to check all the details held are correct so unnecessary overpayments can be avoided.

I understand the process has been a little frustrating for some but there is nothing to worry about.

TaxCreditHelp

Borgie wrote: »

They told me the same thing as you about 6 times they said I definitely did NOT need to call specialist team and yet low and behold in the end I DID need to phone the specialist team ! I suspect you will in the end too !

Unfortunately news of the Specialist Renewals Team exercise doesn't seem to have filtered through to all advisers on the main Tax Credit Helpline, no matter how much they are notified of this.

If you ask them to check the 'Manage Finalisation' screen for an 'Inbhit marker', this will also help to indicate if you are a Specialist Renewal Team case.. just don't tell them where you found this out!

The main thing to look out for is a 'Provisional' award notice. This is a pretty strong indicator that your renewal has not yet been fully processed through the system.

TaxCreditHelp

Cuddles1678 wrote: »

Taxcredits- what are these additional checks then???

At any point Tax Credit Office can carry out additional checks, and certainly things are moving much more towards a 'check now, pay later' culture within Tax Credit Office.

These can include checking with DWP for benefits received, checking the Child Benefit system to see where child responsibility lies, or even contacting ChildCare providers direct to confirm Childcare costs paid.

pugsley29

so far renewed on the phone, then nothing for a few weeks then they asked for more info as I have no income that they count, rang a different phone number with more info and then got a provisional award through and then a final award for last year and still waiting for this years award, taking ages and this is the first time it has all gone strange,

I haven't declared income in all the years I have been claiming as I was living on students loans for awhile and maintenance which both are not counted.

anyway glad for this thread as I know I'm not the only one experiencing problems this year and it seems no income is also a reason for them to check your details carefully

kerry13238

TaxCreditHelp wrote: »

No one has been 'referred' to the Specialist Renewals Team, this is part of an exercise to ensure all the details held on the National Tax Credits system are correct and up to date and the Specialist Renewals Team have been set up for this sole task.

Those who are being asked to call the Specialist Renewals Team to complete their annual renewal are those who have Tax Credit awards of over £8500, as Tax Credit Office have found that (speaking on general terms) they are the customers that require most assistance with their renewal and Tax Credit Office is taking this opportunity to check all the details held are correct so unnecessary overpayments can be avoided.

I understand the process has been a little frustrating for some but there is nothing to worry about.

so is everyone whos claim is over £8500 claim being handled by the specialist team? i didnt get a letter but when i called a couple of weeks ago the advisor said that when i had filled in my renewals form i had crossed a box to say that i had a change of circumstances that i had not told them about and the tax credits have been waiting for me to call and tell them what this change is before they can finalise this.
he said it wasnt a problem and he would take the cross off he then said my award is now finalised and 3 days later i called and was told it is now finalised. i called on the 5th of april to tell them that my parnter had moved in and it did state this on my renewal but im worried now that this cross he said i put was acctually because of the specialist team i have had no letter and they have not contacted me.
i went over the form 3 times because i get nervous about tax credits and i really dont know how i could have crossed a box to say there is a change?

Telfordstar

kerry13238 wrote: »

so is everyone whos claim is over £8500 claim being handled by the specialist team? i didnt get a letter but when i called a couple of weeks ago the advisor said that when i had filled in my renewals form i had crossed a box to say that i had a change of circumstances that i had not told them about and the tax credits have been waiting for me to call and tell them what this change is before they can finalise this.
he said it wasnt a problem and he would take the cross off he then said my award is now finalised and 3 days later i called and was told it is now finalised. i called on the 5th of april to tell them that my parnter had moved in and it did state this on my renewal but im worried now that this cross he said i put was acctually because of the specialist team i have had no letter and they have not contacted me.
i went over the form 3 times because i get nervous about tax credits and i really dont know how i could have crossed a box to say there is a change?

Did you not have to fill in a whole new xcaim form for your partner moving in? mine moved in on tues I phoned up they ended my single claim and are sending out a new claim form.

kurjam

how long after renewing with specialist team does it take for paperwork to arrive ? Wil the main tax credit be able to tell me the payments . . . ?

hayleylou30

hey my claim is for over £8500 and i have been worried sick only to find my finalised award for last year and my new award for this year was put thru the letter box this morning.
up til now i have only dealt with main line, i hope and pray everything is sorted now, just waiting my nhs exemption card

kerry13238

Telfordstar wrote: »

Did you not have to fill in a whole new xcaim form for your partner moving in? mine moved in on tues I phoned up they ended my single claim and are sending out a new claim form.

hi yes i did but i still had to do my renewal for 09/10 had the new forms for new claim old single claim was closed

helenj36

taxcredithelp

i phoned main helpline again and asked about my claim being inhabited.the lady said she know what i was talking about regarding the specialist team and that there was no marker on my account.she explained it had been sent of to be proccessed.does this sound correct or do you still think it could be a specialist team case.my award is way less than the £8500 pr year yo mentioned earlier