WTC major problem

Craig25

Hi All

This post is not a rant or moan its just me explaining my experience with tax credits, i put a claim in for WTC just after i turned 25 (end of feb) i knew i was entitled to it from checking the various benefits checkers. I made my first phone call after 2 weeks just to confirm everything had been received ok, it had all been received & no further info was needed from myself so i thought ok it wont be too long now till its all into payment. 3 more weeks passed & still nothing so i decided to give them a call again & find out what the hold up was, i was told it was still waiting to be processed & still nothing is holding it up, so to cut this all short after another 20 or so phone calls & having it escalated twice (its on the third one at the moment) ive still yet to receive my WTC. What i don’t understand is how it can take so long just to process a claim even when it goes to head office 3 times, i just don’t know what to do next i was told it could be a "technical issue" but when i phoned up a few days ago they said it had not been sent off to the tech department & now they are sending it to the customer relations manager who would contact me within 72 hours which he/she hasn’t done. Has anyone got any idea what i can do next?

Thanks

dmg24

Stop calling so much and let them get on with it? You will get your money backdated, but your calls are taking up resources that could be better used actually processing claims! Limit your calls to one a fortnight - you will find it a lot less stressful.

TaxCreditHelp

It can take a while to fully process a brand new award but once it is processed your award will be backdated up to a maximum of 93 days from the date it was received by Tax Credit so you shouldn't lose out.

It could be a range of problems from anything from how it was scanned onto the computer system, an incorrect character or stray mark in a box it shouldn't be in, if you sent any additional correspondence along with your claim form, checking your employment and income details, and ensuring you are who you say you are. I understand this is frustrating and while Tax Credit Office are certainly not accusing you of anything it is important full checks are carried out on brand new Tax Credit claims as there is a huge number of fraudulent claims submitted on a regular basis.

Craig25

Oh i understand these things can take a while & i know it can be backdated 3 months, but the thing is what do they do if it goes over the 3 months to process it? Its been 78 days since they recevied my claim forms. The worry for me is that my girlfriend has had to start her maternity from work early due to some problems in the pregnancy & we wont receive MA till the start of june (hopfully), so im kinda relying on WTC so i can cover the bills till the MA starts.

Craig25

Well it now been over 12 weeks since they recevied my forms & still nothing, im still being told the same thing over the phone "its waiting award" "we need no further information". I honestly dont know what to do now, ive had it escalated i dont know how many times now & still nothing. Does anybody know what the next best step to take after escalation is? It would be a great help. Thanks

craig_dufc

There's nothing else you can do really other than complain?

As advised earlier in the thread there are numerous reasons it could be held up.

But you wont lose backdating even if it goes over 3 months...its 3 months backdating from the date TCO RECEIVED the form...

Craig25

Already put in 2 complaints to the customer relations manager but still heard nothing, ive even been down to one of the tax credit advise centres & even they are confused as to why its not been processed. The thing that frustrates me the most is that nobody knows why its not been processed & im guessing the guys at the head office have no clue either because its been escalated 4 times already.

craig_dufc

Can I ask what procedure you went through for your complaint?

I would advise you to do the following:

Phone tomorrow. Explain to the advisor (nicely!) that you wish to make a complaint about the processing of your claim, they'll say something along the lines of " i want to try to resolve this" etc but stop them there (again nicely...!) and advise u want to speak to a team leader in order to ensure the complaint is dealt with.

From there, the complaint would be passed on to the Customer Relations Manager within the centre of the TL you have spoken to. As it's a processing claim, it would be passed again directly on to the CRM for Tax Credit Office.

Failing this, which I would hope would not happen, contact your local MP. it's amazing how quickly things move on when an MP get's involved,

I don't understand why it is taking so long either from your posts and can only sympathise!

thrifty81

Failing this, which I would hope would not happen, contact your local MP. it's amazing how quickly things move on when an MP get's involved

I agree with craig_dufc. i had a similar problem a few years ago where I ended up borrowing money to cover my child care fees because my claim took so long to process. After getting no where over the phone I wrote a letter explaining politely my frustration and added that if it wasn't resolved I would contact my local MP to see if they could help. Amazingly my claim was sorted shortly after and I then recieved a phone call offering me compensation for the cost of all the phone calls I'd made (I had complained about this in my letter too!).

Craig25

Yea both of the complaints i have made have been through team leaders, one told me i would be contacted within 72 hours & the other told me it would be 15 days before i received a responce. Both of them have passed there timescale, sounds like a good idea to write a letter & see where that gets me, i have another apointment at the tax credit advise centre on friday so i hope they can contact somebody to see whats goin on. As for phonecalls i must of spent about £40 - £50 over the past few months on the phone to them.

property.advert

The geographic number is 01355 359 007 I think and Child Benefit is 0161 210 3086. Saves the 0845 if you have to pay for them. Open later at night as well if your landline has free evening calls to 01/02/03 numbers.