Concentrix claimants whose tax credits were wrongly stopped getting up to ‘£100 compensation’ as 90 per cent of cases are upheld
Reports are now emerging that some people are being given as much as £100 in compensation due to the blunder
NINETY per cent of people who complained about wrongfully having their tax credits cut off have successfully got them back - with reports emerging some have been awarded up to £100 in compensation.
In September this year thousands of people had their tax credits stopped after a firm called Concentrix, which which was employed by the government to cut tax credit fraud and overpayment, made a series of blunders which left them without access to vital cash.
The company has since been told that it will not have its contract renewed by HMRC after it expires in May next year after thousands complained to the department.
Today the latest government figures have revealed that 32,358 people had complained about the scandal between September 14 and November 15.
Of these cases 26,990 have been "closed" - with 24,219 or 89.7 per cent being upheld in the person's favour.
The remaining cases were wrongfully classified, while thousands more have yet to be processed through the complaints system.
While HMRC has remained tight-lipped about whether any of those affected were due compensation over the blunder, some have reported receiving payments for the inconvenience suffered, such as for bank or phone charges.
The website claims that it has had several reports of people getting cash back - with the typical amount ranging from £50 to £100.
Paul Eite, a single parent from Portsmouth, told the website: "I complained about the time of phone calls, the costs incurred - £52 approximately - and general inconvenience. I then received £100. I didn't even ask - I just complained."
While Rachel Bloomfield, also from Portsmouth, added: "I sent three emails explaining my situation, how disgusted I was and how the stress of having no tax credits for eight weeks had a negative effect on my health conditions. HMRC sent me a letter acknowledging they did not deal with my tax credit claim as well as they should have and sent me £100 because of the worry and distress their actions caused.”
When we asked about how much people were being awarded in compensation, a spokesman for HMRC told The Sun: "HMRC will pay redress where it is evident that Concentrix has made a mistake or that its actions have caused undue worry or distress, this is dependent on individual cases.
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"Claimants should write to HMRC to complain and HMRC will decide on a case-by-case basis whether redress is appropriate."
They added that the average time taken to deal with a complaint was 35 days.
Jon Thompson, Chief Executive of HMRC, said: “We have reached agreement with Concentrix to exit this contract early. HMRC’s dedicated staff have cleared all of the cases transferred from Concentrix while striking the right balance in both providing the standards of service that customers rightly expect and bearing down on error and fraud in the tax credits system.
“This is the right outcome for customers and for the taxpayer. I’m also pleased to receive 250 Concentrix staff, who will help us to deliver our priorities, offering job security to them well beyond the scheduled expiry of the contract in May 2017.”
Last month HMRC announced that the National Audit Office will be conducting an investigation into HMRC’s contract with Concentrix.
Concentrix has not responded to request for comment.
The government is now deploying 150 staff to help those who may be wrongly been cut off.
The 19-year-old from West Yorkshire received a letter from the company saying her tax credits would be cancelled.
How to apply for compensation
You should write to HMRC to complain and it will decide on a 'case-by-case basis' whether compensation is appropriate and if so, how much for.
To get your tax credits reinstated you’ll need to speak to Concentrix who will continue dealing with them until their contract ends in May next year.
To do this you can either call the number on the decision letter or write to the department that issued your letter and say that you want “mandatory reconsideration”.
You must explain why you think the decision is wrong and have evidence to support this.
This will usually take one month to process, however, the there is no guarantee.
If you’re still unhappy then you can appeal. If you live in England, Scotland or Wales then you can contact the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal and in Northern Ireland it’s the Appeals Service Northern Ireland.
HMRC says that it will prioritise your case and process it as quickly as possible.
If you can provide information to show that you were entitled to tax credits then you will have your money backdated for any period where payments were stopped.
We pay for your stories! Have you had your tax credits cut off or received compensation? Email [email protected] or call 0207 782 4485