image source, Victoria Arthur
- the author, Daniel Thomas
- role, Business reporter
When Victoria Arthur’s child benefit wasn’t paid on Monday, her immediate worry was that she wouldn’t be able to afford nappies and milk for her four-month-old daughter.
Like many others, the mum-of-three from Romford relies on the £238 she receives every month to pay for essentials for her children.
But an error in the processing of payments at HMRC has meant that almost 580,000 claimants have not received their money as planned, causing panic for many families.
Unable to contact the tax agency and with nothing in her bank account, Victoria was forced to call the council to get a food bank voucher which she spent on formula, food and cereal.
“I couldn’t believe it when I woke up on Monday,” she told the BBC.
“There was not a penny [of Child Benefit] to my account and no explanation, no automated text message.
“I tried calling HMRC but they wouldn’t take calls. It was very stressful. We were left in the dark.”
The tax agency has apologized and said the lost amount will be paid on Wednesday.
It also said that anyone who suffered a loss as a result of the defect can apply for redress through its complaints system.
But there has been an outburst of anger on social media. Some parents have said they have been left unable to afford food or pay bills because of the mistake.
HMRC has also been criticized for its communications after telling worried parents not to call its helplines on Monday and to check social media for updates.
“I’ve been worried all day”
John Pain, a single parent of three children – two of whom have special needs – only realized his child benefit had not been paid when he received a notice from his bank saying a direct debit had not gone through.
At first, he was confused.
The 32-year-old relies on Child Benefit to pay for his daughter’s ballet lessons, food bills and days out with the children.
“Last year, as money got tighter, I’m using it more and more to pay some bills too,” John told the BBC.
John was also unable to get a response from HMRC directly, which disappointed him greatly.
“I had to find out what had happened on Facebook and they didn’t say ‘we’ll fix this in the next couple of days’, it was just ‘keep checking social media’. So I was worried for days.”
Fortunately he was given room to pay the direct debit he missed on Monday, although he was fined for a late bill payment and will have to pay it back through HMRC’s complaints process.
People can claim Child Benefit if they are responsible for bringing up a child under 16 or under 20 if they are in approved education or training.
Only one parent receives Child Benefit and there is no limit to how many children you can claim.
The benefit – which is usually paid every four weeks – is vital for many low-income families. Parents can claim £25.60 a week for one child and £16.95 for each subsequent child.
‘shocked’
Megan Dragon, 26, said she was “shocked” when her benefit didn’t arrive because she is usually “really reliable”.
The mum-of-four from Northamptonshire, who does not work, said the money was “important” as her husband’s income alone “wasn’t enough to cover us”.
“We need fuel, food, mortgage,” Megan told the BBC.
The family almost missed a mortgage payment on Monday because of the delay, but managed to get a three-day extension from their lender.
Megan also tried to figure out why the benefit hadn’t appeared, only to stumble upon a thread on the networking site, Mumsnet.
“I was disappointed and upset with HMRC as it seemed people had warned them about this on Friday night and Saturday morning and they had ignored it. It was probably avoidable.”
She said the family was now “back on track”.
“We are in a really lucky position, but others are not so lucky.”
With additional reporting by Bernadette McCague