04 June 2024 , 06:32
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Child benefit payments did not arrive on time for approximately half a million people yesterday after an HMRC glitch.
The tax office - which is in charge of the benefit payments - confirmed on Monday morning that there had been issues with the system that sends the money to bank accounts. Over 7.5million households claim Child Benefits and usually, it is paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday. If you are a single parent and claim Universal Credit, you can be paid weekly. Currently, Child Benefit is worth £25.60 a week for an eldest or only child and £16.95 a week for any other children.
HMRC said the issue impacted 500,000 people and later in the day confirmed that it was fixed and those who missed out on their payments would receive them on Wednesday morning. It also apologised for the glitch and said it was working to "put measures in place to prevent this from happening again".
HMRC initially confirmed there was a problem post in a post on X after Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis raised the issue after many parents affected contacted him for help and advice. HMRC's post read: "We’re sorry that some customers’ Child Benefit payments have not arrived as scheduled and we are working urgently to resolve the issue. There's no need for customers to call us and we will provide updates here as soon as they are available."
Did you not get your Child Benefit payment on Monday? - let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
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Some parents reported the issue arising on Friday last week. One parent said: "Child Benefit hasn't gone in. Seeing some kids unable to get to school because of no bus fare and others with no money for food. Miss that one tiny payment and we're all fucked. That's how poor they keep us." Another parent asked the tax department: "Can we at least be informed when child benefit will be paid for the ones now in overdraft due to bills!"
A third shared: "@HMRCgovuk What an absolute disgrace You have had since Friday to solve this child benefit payment issue, but everyone kept getting the same generic message to wait till today. Millions of kids off school and not fed today due to your incompetence!"
A fourth said: "@HMRCgovuk You’ve been well aware of the child benefit issue since Friday afternoon when people who normally receive it early didn’t and all you could advise was to wait. Well, we’ve waited, and funnily enough, you haven’t paid it is the issue! This is a cock up of massive proportions…"
Many parents responded to a poll by Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, with around 80% of those saying they had experienced the delay. Posting on X, Martin said: "It's early, but currently, it looks like 80% of people expecting child benefit payments this morning haven't got it."
An HMRC spokesperson said: "We are very sorry that some customers did not receive their scheduled Child Benefit payments as expected and we understand the concern and difficulty this may have caused. We have now fixed the problem and are putting measures in place to prevent this from happening again. Affected customers will now receive their payments on Wednesday morning (5th June). Anyone who has incurred a direct financial loss because of the delayed payment can apply for redress by completing our online complaints form.”