child benefit stopped??help

bonjovibel_729

hiya was just wondering if anyone cud help me and my husband split up in june and are in the process of a divorce...i rang the child benefit office and asked for a entitlement letter to be sent out in the middle of july to which they said it would take 14 working days...its now the beginning of october and i have still not recd anything they say it is because my ex partner has also tried claiming child benefit (out of spite cos he knew my money would be stopped if he did )for my son so my case has been sent off to a technical dept which they have no phone contact with...i have left numerous messages and asked for call backs i got to speak to a manager today who said it has been passed to a complaints team on the 21st and they have 14 working days to get back to me which would be around the 8th oct i asked what happens if they do not contact me and was told i have to ring again and complain and will be contacted agqain within 14 working days in other words i will be going around in circles...tbh i am gettin reaaaaaaaaaaallly fed up of bein giving the same speech over and over agan...i have also asked about gettin the benefit reinstated for my son that my ex partner is disputing and she told me they have twelve weeks to process it but when they ask for information which they did on the 27th august i have to wait indefinitely for a answer while they investigate she said it cud be tomorrow it could be next yr i think this whole system is ridiculous and was wondering if anyone else had any experience with the child benefit office or if anyone knew of any complaint telephone number i cud ring thanks in advance for any help x

[Deleted User]

the only way i can think of to attempt to speed this up is to contact your MP see if they can bring any pressure to bear?

bonjovibel_729

hi thanks didnt realise i cud do that

Tehya

That is awful. I don't have any advice but just wanted to offer my support.

I've seen a few other posts on here with similar circumstsances. Parents who do this to their ex (& their children) are the lowest of the low. I really think your ex should be prosecuted for wasting public money and causing you and your son such distress.

bazzaboo

Been in the same situation as you. My ex put in a claim last yr sept. It took a WHOLE year for the claim to be sorted. I did call endless of times, never got called back etc. I put in a letter of complaint last month.Finally got my notification yesterday that child benefit will be reinstated and I will receive my backpay soon.
I dont want to worry you but be prepared that it may take a long time.

bazzaboo

Put your complaint in writing, if you go onto the child benefit website there is a guide on how and to whom to complain. Good luck.

bonjovibel_729

bazzaboo wrote: »

Put your complaint in writing, if you go onto the child benefit website there is a guide on how and to whom to complain. Good luck.

hiya have put in numerous complaints and it would seem they are not to dissimilar to the csa i have numerous complaints in with them over the last three years and not heard one thing back or recd one call back from them either...

thanks for the words of advice i thought i was going mad going around in circles thought i was the only one....my ex tried to take the tax credits too and they stopped them but only for around a week... thank god i dont know what my ex thinks im gonna feed my son on in the mean time while he has his fun messin around with my benefits....my son has a school trip coming up soon which is not for much only a tenner but thats a lot if ya aint got it...i asked him for half and he said tough hes not payin for anythin until he gets the ridiculous access he has asked for...why are some ppl so selfish???

System

Unfortunately the Child Benefit are stuck in the middle of you and your ex. A rival claim has been made by your ex and they have to allow both of you time to respond to their requests for information before they decide who to award the child benefit to. They will not pay it to both of you at the same time.

If you have a solicitors letter or court order confirming you have responsiblilty for your child then pass that on to CBO to see if that will speed their decision.