image source, Victoria Arthur
- Author, Daniel Thomas
- Role, Business reporter
When Victoria Arthur’s Child Benefit wasn’t paid on Monday, she immediately worried 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 each month to pay for the basics for her children.
But a payment processing error at HMRC meant almost 580,000 claimants did not receive their money as planned, causing panic among many families.
Unable to get through to the tax office and with nothing in her bank account, Victoria was forced to call the council to get a food bank voucher which she spent on nutrition, groceries and cereal.
“I couldn’t believe it when I woke up on Monday,” she told the BBC.
“There wasn’t a penny [of Child Benefit] on my account and no explanation, no automated text message.
“I tried calling HMRC but they wouldn’t take calls. It was so stressful. We were left in the dark.”
The tax office apologized and said the missed amount would be paid on Wednesday.
It also said that anyone who suffered a loss as a result of the glitch could seek redress through the complaints system.
But there was an outburst of anger on social media. Some parents said the mistake left them unable to afford food or pay bills.
HMRC has also been criticized for its communication after it told worried parents not to call its helplines on Monday and to check social media updates instead.
“I’ve been worrying about it all day”
John Pain, a single parent of three – two of whom have special needs – only realized his child benefit had not been paid when he received a notice from his bank saying it had not been collected.
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.
“The last year, when money has been tighter, I’ve been using it more and more to pay certain bills,” John told the BBC.
John was also unable to get answers directly from HMRC, much to his frustration.
“I had to find out what happened on Facebook, but they didn’t say ‘we’ll deal with it in the next few days’, just ‘keep checking social media’. So I spent the day worrying about it all.”
Fortunately, he was given room to pay the direct debit he missed on Monday, although he was fined for late payment of the invoice and will have to claim it back through HMRC’s complaints process.
People can claim child benefit if they are responsible for bringing up a child up to the age of 16 or up to the age of 20 if they have approved education or training.
Only one parent will receive the payment per child and there is no limit to the number of children you can apply for.
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 additional child.
‘shocked’
Megan Dragon, 26, said she was “shocked” when her contribution didn’t come through as he is usually “really reliable”.
The mum-of-four from Northamptonshire, who does not work, said the money was “crucial” because her husband’s income alone “isn’t enough to cover us”.
“We need it for fuel, food, our mortgage,” Megan told the BBC.
The family almost missed their mortgage payment on Monday because of the delay, but managed to get a three-day extension from their lender.
Megan was also trying to figure out why the benefit hadn’t appeared, only finding out after coming across a thread on the Mumsnet networking site.
“I was disappointed and angry with HMRC because it seemed like people warned them about this on Friday night and Saturday morning and they ignored it. It was probably avoidable.”
She said the family is now “back on track”.
“We’re in a really lucky position, but others aren’t so lucky.”
With additional reporting by Bernadette McCague