In this section:

Paid too much or not enough tax credits
Where to start if things go wrong with tax credits
Reasons why your tax credits might go down or stop
Tax credits - how to complain
Appealing against a tax credit decision
Tax credit penalties
Tax credit enquiries
Tax credit fraud

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Tax credits - how to complain

Tax credits - how to complain

We aim to provide a good service, but mistakes and delays can happen and you have the right to complain about poor service.

When to complain

If you've had a bad experience, let us know as soon as possible. You may want to complain about:

mistakes you think we've made
unreasonable delays
how you've been treated

We're keen to learn from errors and put things right as quickly as possible.

How to complain

Step 1 - Contact the Complaints Manager

As a first step, you should contact the Tax Credits Complaints Manager by:

calling the Helpline on Tel 0845 300 3900 or textphone 0845 300 3909
writing to: Complaints Manager, Tax Credit Office, PO Box 145, Preston, PR1 0SB
visiting any HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) Enquiry Centre

Tell us all you can about your complaint, including:

what went wrong
when it happened
who you dealt with

If you write to us, put 'Complaint' at the top of your letter and include your:

full name and address
National Insurance number
telephone number or email address

We'll look at your concerns and contact you - normally within 15 days. We try to resolve most complaints at this stage.

Step 2 - Ask us to look at your complaint again

If you're unhappy with our response, you can ask us to look at your complaint again. A senior officer will:

take a fresh look at it and how we've handled it
give you a final decision

You can do this in writing, by phone or you can ask the person you've been dealing with to do it for you.

Step 3 - Ask the Adjudicator to look at your complaint

If you're unhappy with this decision you can ask the Adjudicator to look into your complaint. The Adjudicator is an independent referee and can be contacted at:

The Adjudicator's Office
8th Floor
Euston Tower
286 Euston Road
London
NW1 3US

Tel 0300 057 1111 or 020 7667 1832
Fax 0300 057 1212 or 020 7667 1830

Step 4 - Ombudsman

If you're still not happy with how your complaint's been handled, you can ask an MP to refer your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

For more information:

visit the Parliamentary Ombudsman Service website
call the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Helpline on Tel 0845 015 4033
send a fax on 020 7217 4000
send an email to phso.enquiries@ombudsman.org.uk

You can also ask your MP to take up your case with HMRC or Treasury Ministers.

Visit the Parliamentary Ombudsman website

What to expect from us when you complain

If you need to complain we'll:

tell you that we've received your complaint, who's dealing with it and when we'll reply
treat your complaint seriously and confidentially
not treat you differently from other people because you've made a complaint
not discriminate against you for any reason

Claiming back costs

You may be able to claim costs caused by our mistakes like:

postage
phone calls
travel expenses
professional fees
financial charges

We may make a small payment if:

we caused you a lot of worry
your complaint was handled badly
we took too long to deal with your complaint