tax credits

[the original ducky]

does any orgers get tax credits working or child tax credits. i am asing becauuse i have been wating for mine to come threw from the beginning of november and there still saying what they have said for the past month that they are awaiting an award. has this happened to anyone else. does anyone know how to speed this problem along. i have phone everyday and still no soloutions. any ideas???? thanks hannah xx

[BRIE]

i had the same problem when i started claiming it took them 3 months before i saw a penny! told me to go to the social for a loan if i couldnt manage until the money came through!

[DarkAngel]

I get Tax Credits for my baby who is 6 months old, I get £17 sumthing?? a week but got a letter in the other week sayin its goin up to £18 sumthing?? I had no problems gettin mine at all! Guess i was lucky:D

[young]

I get Tax Credits for my baby who is 6 months old, I get £17 sumthing?? a week but got a letter in the other week sayin its goin up to £18 sumthing?? I had no problems gettin mine at all! Guess i was lucky:D

are you sure that this is tax credits and not child benefit (family allowance)?

[Angela]

Sounds like child benefit, it's £17 a week for a first child at the moment.
Child tax credits take a while to come through, but at least they should be backdated...:)

[Alice in Blunderland]

I claimed tax credits a few years ago when I was on my own with the kids and had a similar problem. It took them almost four months to sort out my application and I was also told if in need to go to my local social office for a loan which I didnt so cannot offer advice on how you do this .

Hang in if you can as when they eventually sort you out you will receive all the money at once back dated to when you applied. Once on the system it becomes smoother for subsequent awards I found. :D

I found the system a great help when I was a single parent and was gratefull for the help I received.:)

[JAWS]

I've never had dealings myself so cannot comment on how the system works.
What does concern me is that these systems are set up by Governments because they know there are some people in desperate need of financial assistance.
They then create the systems which work in such a manner that for people to start getting the money they are due can take an eternity.
Do they ever give any thought to how such people are meant to survive during the time they are kept waiting?
If any company operated with the same inept systems they would soon end up with no customers.

[DarkAngel]

OoooPs sorry so it is!! Im still a little under weather and not reading things properly..Sorry guys!:roll:

[rainbow]

The problem with the tax credits system is once again CALL CENTRES (at least it is in the UK). The people at the end of the phone have only been trained in a small area of the tax credits system. They do not understand the benefit system as they have never worked in a government office before, and do not realise that people depend on this money. In particular Working tax credit is paid to those on low income and often they need the money for rent, and the council are not always very patient. Its always easy to say go to Social fund, but not everyone can get access to this eg at social fund limit or they have credit facilities, and it is only in place for those who are desperate. They should have left processing of these benefits locally with staff who have a wealth of knowledge. As a matter of interest, all benefit claims to Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance and Incapacity benefit are all to be processed in Call Centres in the central belt, so time will tell how quick they can clear them or will they cock up things like the Tax credits fiasco.
I claimed Child Tax Credit, and the claim was processed quickly,but it was an easy straight forward case, however hubby got overtime, our income changed and I had to pay back £500. They didn't take long to get on to me for their money back.

[ashaw1]

Hi! I used to work for Tax Credits a couple of years ago and this is what it means. When you send in an application it is usually scanned by a computer or is input by a human if you have made any alterations. These are scanned in large batches as if they were put on a pile. The computer works through that pile and when it comes to yours it inputs the information that day but doesn't do anything with it until the computer updates itself overnight. Once the computer updates overnight it produces an Award Notice which also triggers the payments. The computer doesn't work weekends or Bank Holidays and depending how many applications it received at the same time as yours this time can vary hugely. Another factor is how straight forward the application is, if they need to check childs residency or you could not provide an employer tax reference number it usually takes longer. One good thing is that once it is processed you will receive a large back dated payment. Hope this is a help! :D