first child payment completely wrong

lauramack

hi everyone new to this site, i am writing this post to hopefully gain some advice as feel i am getting no where with HMRC

I had my first child in october 2022 and applied for my child benefit claim not long after, i understood i would need to wait 12 weeks or more for my backdated payment and monthly payment to start, the first error on HRMC was i received a letter in the post with my childs name and amount they would recieve each week  and a completely different child aswell, i only have one child not two! also my childs name was given the second rate of pay not the first and only payment. it is now february and i have had to phone now many times to explain over the phone i only have one child, i had one payment of £145 in november which is technically not my money as this is a payment for 2 children. i have yet to recieve a letter to confirm i only have one child to claim for and how much i will be backdated. i seem to keep getting passed onto different people on the phone, i also believe the other childs name on my form is against GDPR

Alice_Holt

I would suggest:
i) formally writing to HMRC, copy in your MP and ask for their intervention in sorting the issue,
ii) be sure to keep copies of all correspondence, dates & times of phone calls who you spoke to, and a note of the conversation,
iii) request a Subject Access Request of HMRC to see what info they hold on you and to check its validity,
iv) Formally write a Mandatory Reconsideration request to HMRC challenging the incorrect payment amount of the child benefit.
v) Notify the ICO of the GDPR breach.

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-hmrc

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-subject-access-request#:~:text=You have the right to,to access your personal information.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/child-benefit-appeals/challenging-a-child-benefit-decision-mandatory-reconsideration/#:~:text=You'll be sent a,check it's being looked at.

https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/data-protection-complaints/data-protection-complaints/