Working Tax & Child Tax Credit Helpline Hell With Experian Security Checks

Claiming working tax credit?

Perhaps you are claiming child tax credits?

Maybe you are claiming for both child and working families tax credit?

Well, I have some news for you! Helpline hell is back with a vengeance!

Contacting HM Revenue and Customs has always been hellish but it seems that it has just got worse!

Why? New Experian security checks are causing delays, anguish and upset.

Working tax and child tax credit helpline really is hell now big brother checks you with Experian. Be prepared and read on!

The system has always been filled with complications. Callers and form fillers have to provide masses of information to dear old Inland Revenue - income status, declarations and, what always feels as though we continuously report a change of circumstances - all of which have a direct affect on the income and life of families.

Life is an evolving, changing thing and it seems that many people must be spending lots of their time on the phone to the working tax & child tax credits helpline. They want to report changes in their circumstances because they play by the rules of HM Revenue & Customs. Is it not surprising, therefore, that callers get that 'urksome' feeling when they have to communicate with this helpline from hell?

Joe Public knows that as soon as they report a 'change of circumstances', for example, tax credits are frozen until the HM Revenue & Customs have 'completed' their investigations. The system, not only makes you feel like a criminal, but can leave families on the bread-line whilst some 'unknown' tax Inspector is rifling through your personal affairs which can take months!

The situation is compounded further by the frustrations from the HM Revenue and Customs Helpline from hell. Why? After you ring 0845 300 3900, if there are too many callers, the automated voice tells you:

'We are sorry that all our operators are busy at the moment. You can access information on the Internet on www.taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk. If you would like to call back later - we are open from 8am to 8pm 7 days a week - we will be happy to assist you then.' At this point you are cut off.

If you do manage to get beyond the above message, you have to go through the various options - you know the sequence - we have all been there at some point! When you have eventurally completed this task, guess what? You get the above message and get cut off.

This helpline from hell really is a 'put off' to people who are just trying to abide by the rules and report what they should. Most people are honest and law abiding citizens who just want to do what is right.

If are lucky enough to speak to a human, there is a new development. A development from the helpline from hell that goes beyond a mere security check to a total invasion of privacy. A method that side-tracks the caller, cross integrates him or her and adds to the overwhelming, already over worked, helpline from hell. Bring on Experian!

Experian are leaders in global information. They provide data, analysis, manage credit risk and help to prevent fraud via automated computer decision making processes.

This has got to be a good thing, right? Yes, in one way, but in another it makes MOST people, who are legitimate and honest, feel like they are doing something wrong when they are just trying to play by the rules. It is HM Revenue and Customs who operate the working family's and child tax credit system that are using this system every time a caller rings up for a query or to report a change of circumstances.

This is a way of combating fraud but the process is very intrusive. The questions can stem back from years of information from 'what mortgage company are you with and how long ago did you take it out' to 'who do you bank with?' If you can't answer the questions straight away - which can be difficult when you don't have the paperwork to hand - callers details are sent to the nearest tax office for an 'interview'. Scary stuff eh? It makes you wonder if Experian and Inland Revenue are Big Brother. They are watching you!

Inland Revenue operators on the helpline are calling this an extension to a security check and refuse to take details of a change of circumstances statement before this check has been completed. It is the fault of the caller, ultimately, for not reporting the change - but how can they do this when Inland Revenue refuses to take their details?

So why are we being security checked so extensively? Because Government are looking to cut back after the mess that our previous Government has put this green and pleasant land through financially.

If you are claiming working tax & child tax credit you now know what to expect. HM Revenue & Customs are using Experian to target the most vulnerable people in our nation. It is they that have to suffer and pay back for the mess created by the Bankers. It is the most honest of our people who have to be scrutinised for every penny that they have hard earned - not the well off. They don't have to go through the humiliation of the Experian security check, neither do they have to put up with the indignation of the helpline from hell. Why? They are the section of the population that don't qualify for working family's and child tax credit, so they need not go through Inland Revenue's scrutiny. Seems the poorest of our society are the most closely watched whereas the richest, including those well off Bankers, are left in peace to look for the next profit-making scam.

© 2010 Shazwellyn - this work is covered under Creative Commons License

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