I have 2 seperate clients that had all tax credit payments stopped in September of last year and were told that they were not entitled to any payments of any kind. After getting involved IR eventually admitted in January of this year that they had made an error and payments should not have been stopped in the first place, both clients were infrmed that payments would be reinstated, which they were, and that they would be paid the monies that they were entitled to for the period when no payments were made.

Up to today, these monies have not been paid and after numerous telehone calls and letters, we just keep being told it is being dealt with by another department and we will have to wait

How can we force IR to make the payments asap? We have already logged formal complaints about the errors and the financial hardship caused and again these are being dealt with within the slow system of IR.

Any tips would be appreciated esp as the payment to one client is in excess of £2,000.

Allan

I sound like a dripping tap - this is all i ever seem to suggest!

Contact the local MP's office and ask them to chase up these payments, things can happen quickly once the MP becomes involved.

Contact their MP. Ive done this a couple of times with annoyingly rapid results. I spend months writing letters, phone calls, complaints and the MP just makes one phone call and the money/decision/notification letter appear. Though these were before the election.

I recently complained to the adjudicator's office about a similiar problem, and although the adjudicator couldn't intervene because we hadn't exhausted the complaints procedure (our complaints went ignored!!), they referred the complaint to the revenue and it was resolved within two weeks. My client got her tax credit in full and the standard £30 compensation.

Send a pre action letter to HMRC solicitor's office, copy to TCO, saying you intend to sue the Chairman of the Board of Inland Revenue in the small claims court for the missing money, plus costs, if not paid within, say, fourteen days.

This tends to attract some interest from the higher reaches of the corporate food chain.

What a good tactic! Will keep that one in mind!

If you take the small claims route there is a case mentioned in CPAG handbook in relation to replacing missing payments, Walsh vs DSS in Bromley County Court springs to mind.
This may help to persuade a Judge.

Now we are talking. What about issuing a winding up petition against the HMRC? I can just see the Bailiffs van pulling into the Preston car park to sieze computers for auction. Might have a salutory effect on claim turnaround.

The only thing, other than court action, is to complain vigoursly, and frequently, starting at the top (Chief executive) and working downwards - even a letter to No 10 might stir someone - personally, I don't think IRS computers will fetch much given their track record...........

I'm sure if the software were removed, the computers might fetch a tidy sum!!

The computers would have to be reformatted, because don't they keep crashing!!!

I will folow up the suggestions made. Thanks.

Allan