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LITRG has appealed to HMRC to ensure that Concentrix do not suspend or stop any more tax credit payments until the problems preventing claimants from raising queries have been resolved.

The LITRG reports that in September they have experienced a significant spike 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.

LITRG hopes that its 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.

What LITRG reports

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 LITRG has raised a number of concerns with HMRC about the quality of decision making and service offered by Concentrix.

However, in the last two weeks, LITRG has 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 LITRG 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.

LITRG's Question and Answer guide: HMRC tax credit checks by Concentrix

This guide tells you what to do if your tax credit claim has been selected for a check by Concentrix. Please note there are no live links on this page on TaxationWeb – the article with links can be accessed under Useful Links below.

Who are Concentrix?

Concentrix (or SYNNEX-Concentrix to give them their full name) are a private company hired by HMRC to carry out checks on tax credit claims on HMRC’s behalf. HMRC will also continue to do their own checks. 

Concentrix should carry out the checks following the same processes and to the same standards as HMRC.

Why are Concentrix investigating my claim?

HMRC routinely check tax credit awards to make sure they are correct. This can be done during the tax year, after the end of the tax year or even before any payments are made on a claim. Over the last few years, HMRC have increased the number of checks they do. However, in order to allow them to carry out more checks they have hired Concentrix to help them.

Your claim could be checked by either HMRC or Concentrix – who checks your claim should make no difference to the outcome because Concentrix should follow the same process and guidance as the HMRC staff who are doing the same checks.

Most checks are carried out randomly. Both HMRC and Concentrix will identify claims that carry a risk and some of those claims will be selected for a more detailed check.

Many of the claimants who contact LITRG have been selected for checks because they have claimed as a single person but HMRC or Concentrix believe that there is another person connected to them and the claim should be made jointly. You can read more about when a claim should be joint on LITRG’s website for advisers.

Both Concentrix and HMRC use automated systems to identify claims that they want to carry out more in depth checks on. These systems look at credit reference and financial data and will flag up if another person is linked to the claimant’s address.

When will my claim be selected for a check?

It is not possible to say when or if your claim will be selected for a check. HMRC and Concentrix don’t share detailed information about the risk checks that they use for identifying claims. The important thing is that if you are selected for a check, you don’t ignore the letter.

How do I contact Concentrix?

The main Concentrix number is 0345 600 3130. LITRG understands that letters sent by Concentrix may have direct-dial numbers for the caseworker dealing with your case.

Their address is:

Concentrix
PO Box 4949
Lancing
BN11 9YS

If you are from an intermediary organisation, there is a specialist helpline number at Concentrix that you can use. See the LITRG’s website for advisers for more information.

I can’t get through to Concentrix on the phone – what can I do?

Recently LITRG has received a large number of website enquiries from tax credit claimants who are unable to get through to Concentrix to discuss their claim either because the line is engaged or because they are placed on hold for a long period of time (sometimes up to an hour).

If this happens, LITRG advise that you keep a note of the date and time you tried to contact Concentrix.

HMRC have told LITRG that certain times of day are quieter than others. Peak times are 8 am to 10 am, 1 pm to 2 pm and 5 pm to 6 pm.

If you still cannot get through to Concentrix, you should contact the main tax credit helpline on 0345 300 3900 and explain to them that you cannot reach Concentrix and ask for a note to be put on your records saying you attempted to contact them.

If your payments have stopped and you cannot get through, you should follow the advice below.

I have received a letter from Concentrix – what should I do?

If your claim is being checked by Concentrix, you should receive a letter from them explaining that they are checking your claim. The letter will ask you to send in a list of documents. For example, if they are checking your claim because you have claimed as a single person and they think you should have claimed as part of a couple with someone else they might ask you to provide things like bank statements, tenancy agreements, child maintenance agreements, copies of utility bills.

By law, Concentrix must give you a minimum of 30 days to respond (which runs from the date on the letter).

You should start to gather the information requested as soon as possible. You should keep copies of any documents you send and it is best to send them by registered post or get some proof of posting in case they go missing.

It is important you take some action before the date given in the letter otherwise your payments may be suspended.

If you need more time to get the documents or you don’t have the documents requested and want to ask what other documents might be helpful, then you should contact Concentrix using the phone number on the letter and explain to them. They should give you more time to send the documents or tell you what alternatives you can send.

I have received a letter but I don’t know if it’s genuine or a scam, where can I find out?

The letters that Concentrix and HMRC send out often ask for quite detailed personal information but they should all clearly show an official letterhead and telephone number. HMRC have published some information via the GOV.UK website about how to check if the contact you have received is genuine and if you are in any doubt, you should call HMRC’s main tax credits helpline on 0345 300 3900 to check.

Concentrix say that I should have made a joint claim – what does this mean?

A lot of the checks that Concentrix do are called ‘undisclosed partner’ investigations. This is where a single claim has been made but Concentrix have some financial data that suggests the tax credit claimant is connected to a third party. Concentrix may think that you are in a relationship with that person and that you should have made a joint claim.

However, financial data alone rarely shows the full situation.

The letter you receive from Concentrix may name the suspected third party. If it does not, you should contact Concentrix and ask who they think the suspected third party is. LITRG’s understanding is that they should not withhold this information from you.

You should then send the information requested along with a covering letter that explains your situation and your relationship (if any) to the third party. It could be that the third party is someone who you used to be in a relationship with, or it could be the suspected person is a previous tenant of your address or even a family member.

LITRG explains in detail what being part of a couple means for tax credits on its website for advisers. It is different depending on whether you are married/in a civil partnership or if you are living together as if you are married/in a civil partnership.

Often the documents asked for by Concentrix won’t help either way to confirm whether you are single or not which is why a letter outlining your circumstances can be helpful.

My tax credit payments have stopped – what can I do?

If you received a letter from Concentrix but did not respond by the deadline, then you should send the information as soon as possible and contact Concentrix.

If you received a letter from Concentrix and you did respond by the deadline, then you should contact Concentrix for an update. Concentrix should not stop your payments if you have responded by the deadline unless they have decided to amend your claim. If they do make a decision, then you should receive a letter explaining the decision and a new award notice.

If you have not received any letters from Concentrix or HMRC and your payments have been stopped, you should contact the main tax credits helpline on 0345 300 3900.

If you cannot get through to Concentrix and are facing hardship because your payments have stopped, LITRG advises that you contact your local MP who should be able to escalate the case via the MPs’ hotline.

LITRG also gives some advice on foodbanks and other sources of help in a recent article.

I do not agree with a Concentrix decision – how can I appeal?

After you have received your letter and award notice showing the decision, the first step is to ask for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision, which means HMRC /Concentrix will review the decision. You normally only have 30 days from the date on your award notice to ask for a mandatory reconsideration, so it is important you act quickly.

If you still disagree with the decision after the mandatory reconsideration, you will be able to appeal to an independent tribunal and the letter from HMRC or Concentrix will explain how to do this.

If you are unsure, you should contact a local advice agency for some further help.

You can find out how to do that in LITRG’s appeals section.

How do I complain about Concentrix?

Complaints about Concentrix follow the normal HMRC complaints procedure. LITRG explains how you can complain in its complaints section.

The only exception to this is if your complaint is about how you have been treated by a staff member at Concentrix. In that case the complaint should be sent directly to Concentrix:

Concentrix
PO Box 4949
Lancing
BN11 9YS

Useful links

LITRG’s Concentrix Question and Answer Guide