Tax Credit's I can't get through the security questions

Spendless

subsoniccoyote wrote: »

You should probably call up to make sure it is changed - you can get the PAYE from his old p60's if needed.

I'm not risking not getting thru security to tell them.:p I'll tell them when they send the new renewal form that you post back.;)

I'm not worried about overpayments we are and always have been entitled to the family element.

Squirrel29

Spendless wrote: »

Mr Spendless changed jobs since tax credits started.

Be careful with this, I changed jobs in Oct 06, I left one job on the Friday and started new one on the Monday. My hours were the the same and so was pay give or take a tenner. Change of employer wasn't on the list of reasons you need to inform Tax Credits on my award notice, so I waited until my renewal in April.

I was told that I had committed the cardinal sin of not informing them of a change and therefore they would not count me as working for the period since changing job and informing them - 6 months. They would therefore "penalise" me and stop my entitlement to working tax credit for that period of time. They said I had therefore been overpaid.

I argued that I could provide wage slips to prove I had been working but they didn't want to know. I had to go through an appeal process and get CAB involved. Finally common sense prevailed and they backed down!

I'm not sure if this is the norm or if I had a Hitler of customer service agent. The whole this was very distressing though.

[Deleted User]

If the period of time between changing employer is less than 7 days it should not be a problem - the adviser should have changed the actual date and "effective date" (the effective date automatically updates to the actual date of change as long as it is within 3 months of the day you informed them - if it is over 3 months the adviser should have changed it).
If this doesnt make too much sense to people I apologise, but yes the adviser seemed to be a bit of a Hitler (who was wrong in the first place).
However, you should notify TCO of a change in circumstances within 1 month of the change as you could be penalised £300.

Here is an extract from HMRC website:
The claimant may incur a penalty of £300 if they do not notify you of the circumstances above within 3 months of the change taking place. From April 2007 this period will be reduced to 1 month
Taken from http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/changes_cofc/ntc0170790.htm

It also shows that change of employer is one of the things that you should notify TCO of. Random checks are done to make sure people are employed with the company stated on their claim.

LilacPixie

I personally can't see problem with security, maybe i'm just lucky. Every time i call which admitedly isn't often I get asked the same questions, name DOB address, employer and husbands DOB.

crazyangel_2

subsoniccoyote wrote: »

If the period of time between changing employer is less than 7 days it should not be a problem - the adviser should have changed the actual date and "effective date" (the effective date automatically updates to the actual date of change as long as it is within 3 months of the day you informed them - if it is over 3 months the adviser should have changed it).
If this doesnt make too much sense to people I apologise, but yes the adviser seemed to be a bit of a Hitler (who was wrong in the first place).
However, you should notify TCO of a change in circumstances within 1 month of the change as you could be penalised £300.

Here is an extract from HMRC website:
The claimant may incur a penalty of £300 if they do not notify you of the circumstances above within 3 months of the change taking place. From April 2007 this period will be reduced to 1 month
Taken from http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/ntcmanual/changes_cofc/ntc0170790.htm

It also shows that change of employer is one of the things that you should notify TCO of. Random checks are done to make sure people are employed with the company stated on their claim.

Yes but they don't give advice about how we can notifiy them of changes when we can't get through security.

fi_trix29

tigtag02 wrote: »

I haven't failed anything THEY hold incorrect information!

Whilst I appreciate the need for security these *establishments* need to realise that life is not as black and white as providing A telephone number that may or may not match what the computer says, which is usually a resounding *Noooooooooooo*

rant over

I'd just like to point out that the security questions are based almost entirely on information the customer provides (with the exception of the amount of last payment). If we have the wrong information then it's because you haven't told us the correct information so if the telephone number we have is wrong, it's because you haven't told us that it changed, if the employer is wrong then its because you haven't told us it has changed. As advisors we can only go by what info is held on the system and that is simply the info the customers gave us. If customers don't keep us informed then of course our info is going to be out of date.

LilacPixie

crazyangel wrote: »

Yes but they don't give advice about how we can notifiy them of changes when we can't get through security.

Write to them in preston notifying them of the change. then you won't have an issue with what is only telephone security in the first place.

tigtag02

fi_trix29 wrote: »

I'd just like to point out that the security questions are based almost entirely on information the customer provides (with the exception of the amount of last payment). If we have the wrong information then it's because you haven't told us the correct information so if the telephone number we have is wrong, it's because you haven't told us that it changed, if the employer is wrong then its because you haven't told us it has changed. As advisors we can only go by what info is held on the system and that is simply the info the customers gave us. If customers don't keep us informed then of course our info is going to be out of date.

Sorry but this made me :mad: :mad:

How often does anyone get their OWN info wrong ~ what rubbish, more a case of TC's getting it wrong (AGAIN :rolleyes: )

And who in the name of g*d would ring HMRC/TC's/CB when they change their telephone number ~ its LUDICROUS!

flipcat

O this thread has made me chuckle,all I can say is never move house,we did and o dear after informing them time after time of the CORRECT address they thought they would send our award notices to a similar address where we live with all our personal info in it,we only found out when they were being forwarded onto us opened and swellotaped up.
Then when ringing and trying to get through security because they had the address they wanted us to live in and I gave them our actual address I didnt pass the security,what a sham,I kept repeating myself and saying," I am who i am saying I am and I live where I say I do",I had to go into our town to the tax office and have a appoitment and bring ID to prove who I am,then on top of this we go away on holiday for a week and we get back to find 18 of those stupid Big white envolopes on my mat,18 and guess what all different.One for hubby,one for me,one for hubby,one for me,then in sep a nice letter stating we owed £3000 as we have been overpaid,their fault not ours,Id done everything by the book but they seem to have their own rules,now they are taking £100 pound of us a month to pay back,this was all last year.So yes in all a fantastic experience of the Family tax dept.I dread every year and those letters,they just never get it right and you never know which white award notice is the correct one.We moved house again and thank god this time they got it right ,only now I seem to be having some other poor souls papers coming here,I dont open them I send them back,I hated it being done to me so would hate it to be done to anyone else.Family tax its more trouble than its worth.

flipcat

As for the comments by fi_trix29 what utter rubbish.They refused to accept our address and its where we lived because the computers wouldnt recognise it so obviously decided they would send it to one thats similar.It was all their fault and not info I had given them,they unfortunately refused to listen to the address I gave them over the phone and in writing,and may I add each time I complained because this happened for a few months each time I was told by staff it would be corrected and changed.Empty promises because when ever I managed to get through (in the early mths of this saga)they would still have me down at the address they wanted me so much to be at.I would ring up the next day to check the promise had been made of the address change to find it hadnt.It was only when i had the appointment and expressed my anger at the shambles that are going on that I got a human being to listen to me and change my details from the mistake THEY had made,Im still angry now over it all,what a mess.So yes they do make mistakes and BIG ones.