Missing child benefit

Boardbird

I've just realised that I haven't been receiving child benefit (for almost two years). I've signed into the gov.uk portal today, and they have the wrong address for me. I live at the same address that I've lived at for 20 years but the address now on my account is the office address of a temporary job that I worked at in autumn of 2022. Weird.

If my child benefit has been stopped because of this errant change of address (the timing seems to suggest so) I won't have received any subsequent correspondence and therefore have received no notifications - hence my delayed response.

So I have some questions:
1. Can I reclaim the benefit that I should have received?
2. GDPR plays a role here. Who could have changed my address? Or what would have triggered the change? Can I request this information from gov.uk?

peteuk

I dont think you can claim it, the limit is three months I believe.

DWP/HMRC have a central computer, so in some situations if you change your address, it works through on the central computer…but a change of address shouldn’t stop payments.

marcia_

Boardbird said:

I've just realised that I haven't been receiving child benefit (for almost two years). I've signed into the gov.uk portal today, and they have the wrong address for me. I live at the same address that I've lived at for 20 years but the address now on my account is the office address of a temporary job that I worked at in autumn of 2022. Weird.

If my child benefit has been stopped because of this errant change of address (the timing seems to suggest so) I won't have received any subsequent correspondence and therefore have received no notifications - hence my delayed response.

So I have some questions:
1. Can I reclaim the benefit that I should have received?
2. GDPR plays a role here. Who could have changed my address? Or what would have triggered the change? Can I request this information from gov.uk?

 How did you not notice that you were not being paid for 2 years? Do you not check your bank statements? Though moving house or your address being changed in error wouldn't stop your payments. 

Lindlou

Are you separated? Could someone else be claiming the child benefit?  Do you earn too much to qualify?  

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Lindlou said:

Are you separated? Could someone else be claiming the child benefit?  Do you earn too much to qualify?  

No one ever earns too much to qualify for Child Benefit.

Flugelhorn

moving house shouldn't affect it as paid into account directly. did you ask them to stop paying?

elsien

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Lindlou said:

Are you separated? Could someone else be claiming the child benefit?  Do you earn too much to qualify?  

No one ever earns too much to qualify for Child Benefit.

However it may have been helpful if you’d then carried on to explain that if your income is over 80,000, the charge you pay is equal to the amount of child benefit and so effectively cancels it out, 

Dazed_and_C0nfused

elsien said:

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Lindlou said:

Are you separated? Could someone else be claiming the child benefit?  Do you earn too much to qualify?  

No one ever earns too much to qualify for Child Benefit.

However it may have been helpful if you’d then carried on to explain that if your income is over 80,000, the charge you pay is equal to the amount of child benefit and so effectively cancels it out, 

That isn't true though.

There are plenty of people with income over £80,000 who will keep some or all of the Child Benefit.

elsien

Sorry, should have said individual income. 

The point remains though that there are still people for whom effectively they don’t get any child benefit because of their level of earnings. 

Boardbird

I found that information about the 3 month limit, but the wording suggested that was for new claims? This is an approved claim that has been paying for 12 years prior to it stopping - we still meet all the criteria for payment.

I didn't notice because I got a full time job at the time of the payments stopping, which at the time made us more comfortable financially (but neither of us have salaries above the then £50k and now £60k threshold) - so I didn't 'miss' it because we were significantly better off in general. I feel daft that I didn't realise before now, but as it doesn't get paid on the same day each month maybe that's why I didn't clock it?

We aren't separated, our circumstances are the same as before at the same address with both children still under 16. The CHB was being paid into our account. The gateway said that the last payment was made in December 2022 - which tallies with our bank statements.

I haven't had any communication with gov.uk or the department that pays it - not since my last application/approval for my second child in 2013. I most definitely have not asked for child benefit to be stopped.

So this is why it is somewhat concerning that the information that gov.uk hold for me is not only incorrect, but it can be changed by whomever without any confirmation from myself?

poppy12345

Boardbird said:

I found that information about the 3 month limit, but the wording suggested that was for new claims? This is an approved claim that has been paying for 12 years prior to it stopping - we still meet all the criteria for payment.

I didn't notice because I got a full time job at the time of the payments stopping, which at the time made us more comfortable financially (but neither of us have salaries above the then £50k and now £60k threshold) - so I didn't 'miss' it because we were significantly better off in general. I feel daft that I didn't realise before now, but as it doesn't get paid on the same day each month maybe that's why I didn't clock it?

We aren't separated, our circumstances are the same as before at the same address with both children still under 16. The CHB was being paid into our account. The gateway said that the last payment was made in December 2022 - which tallies with our bank statements.

I haven't had any communication with gov.uk or the department that pays it - not since my last application/approval for my second child in 2013. I most definitely have not asked for child benefit to be stopped.

So this is why it is somewhat concerning that the information that gov.uk hold for me is not only incorrect, but it can be changed by whomever without any confirmation from myself?

The 3 month rule applies in all cases. Child benefit is paid on either a Monday or Tuesday and which ever payment day yours is, that day will only change if it's a bank holiday but the date changes because it's usually paid 4 weekly, not monthly. https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-payment-dates