- Are you affected by the delay? Email arthur.parashar@mailonline.co.uk
Furious parents say they are unable to put food on the table after an HMRC glitch meant some child payments did not arrive as scheduled on Monday.
HMRC apologized after about 30 per cent of child benefit payments scheduled for June 3 failed to arrive in claimants’ back accounts – equivalent to around 500,000 parents.
The tax authority said they would have to wait until Wednesday for the money to reach their accounts.
Child benefit is usually paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday. Allowance is generally £25.60 per eldest or only child and £16.95 per child for additional children.
“Disgusted” parents accused HMRC of “leaving families with nothing”, while others claimed they were being hit with bank charges because they had overdrawn.
Crystal Kelly, who desperately needed Monday’s payment to buy food and other essentials for her three-year-old son, told MailOnline: ‘This situation is a joke, I need the money.
“I can’t borrow anything to help me, and that money helps me every Monday.”
She said HMRC had not handled the situation well, adding: “I have to wait badly for tomorrow to get it. [the money] which is not right for a single parent like me.”
Ms Kelly said it made a “big difference” if we had to wait until Wednesday.
Click here to resize this module
After HMRC apologized and said they were “working swiftly to resolve the issue”, parents reacted angrily on social media.
Natalie Pratt said she was worried she would have to wait until Wednesday for the money and wrote: ‘We had baked beans on toast for dinner (no complaints it was quite nice) but what do I do for the kids I have packed tomorrow with lunch? Really infuriating and extremely stressful.’
Ashleigh Jade Kutryk said it was “totally unacceptable” and added: “It was a mistake on your part so you should make the payments faster because now vulnerable families have to fight another day.
“Don’t you think today has been stressful enough for all of us. I like how all of tomorrow’s payments are posted normally, but we have to play the fight and wait game. It’s not on!”
A third mother, Chantelle Whitehead, wrote: ‘This is shocking, how can you leave families with nothing?’
And another, Sinead-Cassidy Phelan, said: “An absolute joke! I relied on it today to get what my son needed! Hardly anything in the cupboard for it, you expect me and everyone else who relied on it today to wait until Wednesday!
“Absolutely furious!”
Nick Cough added: “People still haven’t introduced child benefit, it’s disgusting.”
Jane Fairclough Greenwood wrote: “Not good enough HMRC. No one should ask – you know who you haven’t paid – so send them a late payment credit and then pay any loss the individual has suffered.
“This could have caused people to go over their overdrafts, leaving them in dire straits with their bank. This is again disgusting behavior.
In August 2023, 6.91 million families received child benefits.
People may be entitled to child benefit if they are responsible for a child under the age of 16 and live in the UK.
The payment problem was caused by a processing error.
An HMRC spokesman said: “We are sorry that some customers’ child benefit payments have not arrived as planned and we are working urgently to resolve the issue.
“Issues that caused payment problems today will not affect payments scheduled for tomorrow.”
HMRC also released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying: ‘We are sorry that some child benefit payments from some customers have not arrived as planned and we are working urgently to resolve the issue.
“Customers do not need to call us and we will provide updates here as they become available.”