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No more Tax Credit
suspensions until Concentrix delays cleared, campaigners urge
HM Revenue and Customs should ensure
that Concentrix do not suspend or stop any more Tax Credit payments until the
problems which are preventing Tax Credit claimants from raising queries by phone
or post have been resolved, campaigners for those on low incomes have said.
The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) report that they have experienced a
significant spike in the last 2 weeks in contact from Tax Credit claimants who
are unable to get through to the main Concentrix helpline number, although they
have seen; and made representations to HMRC about; problems with poor service
levels going right back to the start of the contract with Concentrix taking
effect in November 2014.
The Group has produced a Question and Answer guide on its website to help Tax
Credit claimants who have received a letter from, or are struggling to contact,
Concentrix.
Anthony Thomas, the Group's Chairman, said:- "We hope our question and
answer document will help those who have had their payments stopped to get them
reinstated where that is appropriate, and those who are experiencing hardship
because they cannot get through to Concentrix to find ways of resolving the
difficult situation in which they find themselves."
In an article posted on LITRG's website, the Group says:- "While HMRC's
helplines have been steadily improving since the middle of 2015/16, call waiting
times to Concentrix, the company HMRC have engaged to check Tax Credit claims,
have dramatically worsened. Yesterday's announcement that HMRC will not renew
Concentrix's contract when it expires in May 2017, and meanwhile will redeploy
150 HMRC staff to man the helplines, should go some way to alleviating the
hardship caused by Concentrix's poor performance to date. In November 2014, HMRC
contracted with SYNNEX Concentrix in order to increase their capacity to carry
out checks on Tax Credit claims. The purpose of these checks is to ensure the
accuracy of claims; for example that claims are made in the right capacity
(joint or single); and to correct those that are found to be wrong. Since then,
Concentrix have carried out around 667,000 checks on behalf of HMRC. Since the
beginning of the contract we have raised a number of concerns with HMRC about
the quality of decision making and service offered by Concentrix. However, in
the last two weeks, we have experienced a significant spike in contact from Tax
Credit claimants who are unable to get through to the main Concentrix helpline
number. Some people are faced with an engaged tone, whilst others report being
on hold for up to an hour before eventually giving up. Even the most patient
person would find this hugely frustrating, but many of the claimants who have
contacted us are facing hardship because their Tax Credit payments have been
stopped. Some are unaware of why the payments have stopped, but are advised only
by the main HMRC Tax Credits helpline to contact Concentrix. Others say they
have sent to Concentrix information that the company requested, but Concentrix
have stopped their payments with no prior warning and no letters of explanation.
The action now taken by HMRC should ensure that the helplines are better
equipped to cope with the increased demand. In the interim, HMRC should ensure
that Concentrix do not suspend or stop Tax Credit payments until both the postal
delays and the telephone line issues are brought up to an acceptable standard.
In the longer term, there should be a published review of the Concentrix
contract both in terms of value for money for the taxpayer as well as the
performance of Concentrix and the impact on claimants. This will be essential if
HMRC decide to continue with a payment by results model of working with private
companies in future. No doubt this could be an issue for consideration by the
Public Accounts Committee in due course." |
