Trying to get hold of E401 from Child Benefit office

SuperCharlie

Hello!

Here's an issue that I really don't know how to solve, I hope that someone here can point me in the right direction...

I live together with my partner and our daughter in the UK, and earlier this year I started working for a company in Luxembourg. Of course, this means that I pay social security in Lux, and benefit from their system. This means, amongst other things, that I should be paid Child Benefit by the Luxembourgish authorities.

However, before they will do this, they need a form E401- this is a certificate from the country of residence showing that I do, in fact, live together with the rest of the family, and am hence eligible for the benefit. And that's where the problem lies.

When trying to get them to provide this form, I started by calling the HMRC number, and the helpful-sounding lady at the other end told me that it should be sent within about a month. A month (and a bit) later, nothing had arrived, so I called again. No problem, I was told, it should be with me soon. However, a week or so later, I received a voicemail telling me that in fact I needed to send HMRC a form from Luxembourg, which made no sense. Another exchange of calls reveals that I am supposed (according to HMRC) to provide a form E401 stamped by Luxembourg, which the HMRC will complete and return to me.

However, I took this idea to my HR dept in Lux, and they said that this was impossible, and pointed out that there's no provision according to the form in question for the Lux authorities to do anything until they receive the E401 from the UK. I therefore completed a form E401, and sent it by post to HMRC, to see what would happen. That was three weeks ago, and nothing has been returned to me.

The real problems here are that:

- When I call to try to talk to someone, I speak to a call centre who seem to be able to do little more than take a message.
- A return call takes several days at least, and we're currently bumping heads about who should complete what. For what it's worth, according to the instructions on the E401, HMRC Child Benefit Office appear to be wrong, as far as I can see.
- Anything that HMRC do seems to take at least a month, even if all they achieve in that time is to leave a voicemail which doesn't make sense.

Anybody been in a similar situation? Or perhaps even a good way of talking to an actual human with a working brain in the Child Benefit Office?

Thanks very much in advance...

Cheers
Charlie

xylophone

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/social-security-forms/e-forms_en.htm

This seems to be dated within the last couple of years.

"E 401

Statement of the composition of your family for the calculation of family benefits by the competent country. Useful for migrant workers whose family still lives in their country of origin, or for cross-border workers.

Issued by the country where your family lives.

Submit it to the family benefits authorities in the country where you work."

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-abroad may be worth a look?

SuperCharlie

Thanks for your reply, Xylophone.

Unfortunately, the links you suggest don't really advance us very far at all. Just very general information.

Cheers
Charlie

xylophone

Well, it would seem that your family lives in the UK while you work in Luxembourg?

According to http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/empl_portal/SSRinEU/Your%20social%20security%20rights%20in%20Luxembourg_en.pdf

"General child benefit
All children who are brought up in Luxembourg and have their legal domicile there qualify for family allowances. If you are gainfully employed in Luxembourg, you are also entitled to family allowances for your children if they are being brought up in another EU Member State"

Therefore HMRC issues the form and you submit it to the family benefits authorities in Luxembourg?

SuperCharlie

OK!

Success this morning, completely unexpected. Here's what worked, for the benefit of anyone else fighting the same battle...

I completed the form section 1-3, and sent it to HMRC CBO along with a letter asking them to complete their part and stamp it.

Just short of a month later, they have done so, although they seem to have substituted one of the Luxembourg pages with one of their own. Hopeful that should be ok.

So... Don't bother phoning, just write!

Good luck.
Charlie