Half a million parents could get paid compensation due to HMRC payment delay – can you claim?
OVER half a million families who were impacted by child benefit delays could be entitled to a pay out of up to £50.
It comes after 557,000 families reported at the start of June that the money had not arrived in their bank accounts.
HMRC, which issues child benefit payments, said the delay was caused by an IT error which has since been resolved.
About 30% of the scheduled Child Benefit payments for Monday 3 June 2024 did not arrive.
The issue has since been resolved but at the time families complained the issue left them out of pocket or forced to spend in their overdraft to cover essential costs.
At the time, one parent said on X (formerly Twitter): “Can we at least be informed when child benefit will be paid for the ones now in overdraft due to bills!”
All delayed payments to those impacted were made on Wednesday 5 June 2024.
But HMRC has now confirmed to The Sun that families could be entitled to compensation of up to £50 due to the distress caused.
If you were impacted by the delay you can make a complaint about HMRC by visiting this website.
The taxman is assessing each complaint and claim for compensation on a case-by-case basis.
Amounts will be based on the costs incurred and the impact on the customer.
So if it finds your household has experienced distress due to the delayed payment, it will send payment of up to £50.
The compensation is on top of redress for being left out of pocket or incurring extra charges.
For example, if a customer was forced to go into their overdraft or made a failed direct debit payment HMRC could pay more money to them to cover this issue.
An HMRC spokesperson told The Sun: “We’re very sorry that some customers did not receive their scheduled Child Benefit payments as expected and understand the concern and difficulty caused.
“We fixed the problem and anyone who incurred a direct financial loss because of the delayed payment can apply for redress by completing our online complaints form.”
The type of bills covered could include and is not limited to:
- Energy meter top-up
- Council tax payment
- Water bill payment
- Rental payment
- Mortgage payment
- Mobile phone bill
- Broadband and TV bill
- TV licence
- Insurance
But remember you’ll be required to supply as much evidence as possible to help get your payment.
Make sure to take screenshots of bills, bank and credit card statements and more to support your case.
If you want to complain HMRC said it encourages customers to do so via its online complaints form, which is quicker than making a complaint over the phone.
What is child benefit?
You get child benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they are in approved education or training
The payment is used to help parents cover the costs of childcare.
It is paid at two weekly rates – £25.60 for your eldest or only child and £16.95 for any additional children.
Payments are usually made every four weeks, on a Monday or Tuesday, but sometimes are made weekly.
If you are claiming child benefit for a child under 12, you also receive National Insurance (NI) credits.
NICs count towards your State Pension so claiming the benefit can be useful if you are missing any.
The reason NICs are so important is because you need 35 NIC years to receive a full new State Pension.
You are considered a parent, or responsible for a child, if you live with them and are paying at least the same amount as the Child Benefit rates to look after them – for example for food, clothes or pocket money.
It’s important to note that eligibility changes if a child goes into hospital or care and if your child starts to live with someone else.
If you’re not sure about your eligibility, you can contact the child benefit office.
You must contact the Child Benefit Office if you think you are paid too much or too little.
How to apply for child benefit
YOU can make a claim for child benefit 48 hours after you’ve registered the birth of your child, or once they move in with you.
It can be backdated by up to three months if you don’t claim it straight away.
Applying is straightforward and can be done in minutes onlnine.
Parents with a newborn baby should make a claim online as soon as possible and could then receive their first payment in as little as three days.
Only one person can get child benefit for a child, so you need to decide whether it’s better for you or the other parent to claim.
The person who claims will get National Insurance credits towards their state pension if they’re not working.
National Insurance credits build up your entitlement to the state pension.
You can make a claim online by visiting www.gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim.