Obtaining the infamous 18-digit payment reference from HMRC??

P0123

Hi All

I am trying to get hold of the HMRC to obtain the obligatory 18-digit payment reference to enable me to pay voluntary NI contributions before the due date in a few weeks.

I cannot get through by phone - it keeps just referring people to use their "digital assistant" on the Gov. website.  I had already tried that, but all I get is a blank box to state why I am contacting.  Once I state this, it just says no-one is available.

How am I supposed to obtain this necessary reference?!

This whole process has taken years (yes, YEARS, not months) on and off.  I can't even get through to MoneyHelper.  First, I was left in a non-answered queue, and since Martin Lewis' recent programme, they refer to it in the answering message and state that, now, people have to go to standard websites to deal with any voluntary NI contributions instead!

My hair is turning whiter after each stage... 

Ayr_Rage

Have you tried using the new online payment page?

P0123

Ayr_Rage

Which new page is that?

I have gone through the Gov.uk Pension Top-Up pages, with the HMRC online/digital assistant.

Is there another one?

molerat

Looking at your NI record / click View payable gaps / Check if you can pay gaps on line

But have you already spoken to the Future Pension Centre as HMRC don't like giving out the code without their say so in case you are topping up years that won't count.

P0123

Yes, I've done everything that I'm supposed to do; I'm just asking how to get through to HMRC to get the payment reference.

molerat

The only way to contact to HMRC is to get on the phone at 8.00 sharp and hope you get through.  Quite often when speaking to DWP they would put you through to HMRC.  Did clicking through to pay on line not work ?

P0123

Okay everyone, I have finally managed to pay a very high sum of money for voluntary NI contributions!!  (I had better live a long time after all of this - not to mention after the official "Retirement Age" if it carries on increasing like it has!)

Something that wasn't mentioned on the Martin Lewis programme, by the Future Pension Centre or any other information that I have heard or read, but there is an additional button to click on to look at payment gaps (- which wasn't there on previous attempts, as I have printouts of the pages!!), in addition to the drop down lines that show payment gaps according to each tax year.

This new screen offered three different options to pay to bring my pension up to the full amount, (in spite of previous screens saying that my forecast was going to be a full pension).

It then asks a few standard questions which don't allow for answers that are not straight "yes" or "no" circumstances, therefore, different answers may be given at the end, resulting in a different screen.  When I realised this, I returned to this screen and gave a different option which took me to a screen offering me the chance to pay online.

However, nowhere in this process did it mention the obligatory 18-digit payment reference code to be obtained from the HMRC!

I decided to chance it and started completing the boxes to pay online.  This was done via a third party engine and so no account details from HMRC were needed, and towards the end of the process it gave a number - which happened to have 18 digits, but nothing was mentioned about HMRC or to what the number referred.

The remainder of the payment continued in the same way as a standard online bank payment, and certain boxes were completed automatically, until I reached the payment sent page.  That was it!

So it would seem an additional new button to click has been inserted, leading to additional questions and options to consider answers.  The latter can appear ambiguous, hence going back and changing an answer, upon when I finally reached the option to pay online.

No call or online digital assistant to the HMRC was needed, and no more queuing, retrying or stress!

I do wish the powers that be would realise that they need to produce these procedures to fit their audience, and not what they have in their bespoke heads.

  

Sarahspangles

Somewhere in HMRC there is a project team, and in April they are going to meet and decide that never again will they roll out significant changes in the weeks before a deadline affecting millions of people.

molerat

Sarahspangles said:

Somewhere in HMRC there is a project team, and in April they are going to meet and decide that never again will they roll out significant changes in the weeks before a deadline affecting millions of people.

Like the "new" forecast that lasted about a week ?

Sarahspangles

molerat said:

Sarahspangles said:

Somewhere in HMRC there is a project team, and in April they are going to meet and decide that never again will they roll out significant changes in the weeks before a deadline affecting millions of people.

Like the "new" forecast that lasted about a week ?

Yep, I’m a project manager and I strongly suspect there was a directive from on high that that had to be released….