CLAIMING TAX CREDITS CAUSES STRESS AND GREY HAIR

by Rachel (unedited)

I split up from my violent hubby on the 29th of November 2008, and had to stop the old Joint claim, and make a claim as a single mother. I put the claim in on the 1st December as soon as their office opened, and was told on the phone by the advisor that it would only take 2 weeks to process my claim. I thought great i need the money as xmas was a mere 3 weeks away, 2 weeks went by and not a word, i phoned the helpline and was told the computer was refusing to accept my single claim as it kept coming back as a joint claim.

I was told to stay in touch and check progress, they were in no rush to sort it out either, meanwhile xmas was upon me and i was surviving on £86 a week to feed me plus six children, and put electric on the meter key. I kept phoning HMRC’s helpline but got absolutely nowhere, they just didn’t care, and were in no rush to sort it out, even though myself and six children were relying upon them.

I waited and waited and waited, i had to eventually involve Mr David Laws MP, as my attempts to get answers fell on deaf ears, HMRC have this knack of avoiding answering your questions proclaiming not to know the answer you seek, and when you ask to talk to the manager they wont let you, its frustrating how the bosses never come to the phone to answer you isn’t it?

I waited 7 very long arduous weeks surviving on very little money, stress levels were beyond a joke, i made phone calls to the Tax Credit helpline about 5 times a week, and wrote to David Laws twice about this matter.

The laughable thing in this though is how HMRC found time to send me a letter of demand for an overpayment that occured on the old joint claim for £400 within a week of my split, but failed to process my new single parent application for 7 weeks.

I was panicked and afraid of how me and the kids could possibly survive, stressed out to the max, on anti depressants, and sleeping pills, though the extreme pressure i was under keeping my family afloat.I felt ill constantly from lack of sleep, and dreaded getting up in the morning. Im 32 and greyer haired than most 70 year olds because of the weight of stress put upon me by HMRC Tax Credits.

HMRC’s incompetence and extremely slow services put me and my kids through a kind of hell. The way they put getting their overpayment money over processing my claim was disgusting.

I advise anyone going through this to buckle down the hatches your in for a long bumpy ride...

www.TaxCC.org