Some time ago my partner and myself received a letter from HMRC stating that we were no longer entitled to claim working tax credit due to information from Concentrix, we had never heard of Concentrix at this point. Apparently the information that was disallowing us from claiming was that on the forms submitted it states I worked just 5 hours per week last year 2015. The forms we submitted did not state 5 hours / week but rather 30 plus hours per week, concerned by this I got in touch with HMRC through the HMRC website online chat system and an employee at HMRC informed us that Concentrix in Belfast had made the alteration to the form The action taken by Concentrix is clearly fraudulent, so that information has been passed on to the serious fraud office in London. I spoke to a solicitor who said yes I did have a case and yes he would pursue that case when I could get the £200/hour fee he would charge for handleing the case, sadly I do have that kind of money at this time mostly due to being off work with a serious gastric disorder, and as I am no longer entitled to work tax credit due to Concentrix fraudulent action I am also no longer allowed free prescriptions which meant last week I had to go without medication as we could not afford to get the precription filled at that time. The solicitor suggested I get a group of people together who have also been mis-treated by Concentrix in order to begin a class action lawsuit against them but I have no idea how to go about that currently so am looking around for advise on how I can either get enough people together to get that underway or alternatively find a kind wealthy person to support a private case. If you think that Concentrix have mis-used information to make a case against you or outright changed information you sent them the number for the serious fraud office is... 02072397272. The more people who kick up a fuss about this company and the methods they use then the sooner these issues can be dealt with properly and this company brought to rights.

2yrs ago my x partner had a problem with them say that she owed £3k as an overpayment,what i will say is watch what you get on appeal with evidence !! it ended up costing us a small amount which i think they should repay for getting replacement Divorce papers i mean who keeps them after 25yrs! anyway there basis was house i was there and i owned a house which i had a £65k mortgage on that basic but not implying i was living in and renting to her, basic the do a credit check and low and behold who ever owns that property you may be renting shows the purchase price,it took getting a copy from the land registry and print off of the credit check to prove i didnt own it,in the end on Appeal 3 days before due to attend the dropped it,letters saying you owe £0 to my ex yay...so read carefully there so called evidence...now the good bit 2 weeks later she suddenly owes £690!!!! so off to Appeal this goes to this is now being now chased by Rossendales! oh goody i had fun with them[ as Marstons now own them].........would seriously love to have this lot in Court,espeically as using me and supposedly having a £65k mortgage as evidence,but alas as i suspect its in House and not on a judgement in a Court

i received a letter today from the hmrc/concentrix about hours ive worked from april-december 2014 as they think my tax credits are wrong it says they want my wage slips for the full 8 months which i will have to get copies of. However my problem is that i work in a hotel so my hours are never the same. During summer i do my 16 hours a week sometimes 20 but then during winter im lucky if i get 8 hours a week .Until now this has averaged out with the extra hours in summer but now they are wanting to see the earnings for each week now im worried as i havent done a full 16 hours for the last 3 month as at this time of year all hotels are quiet. Has anyone else had the same letter and could anyojne give me some advice on how i can deal with this as i cant afford to lose my tax credits.

Hello there. I may have got myself in a muddle. I claim £41/week for my child's care costs but in reality, the charges have gone up significantly. I haven't increased the claim as I have had help from my family and have managed, and most importantly, trying to get through my BA studies, single-parenting and a self-employed job, didn't leave me time to even think about a phone call or filling in new forms. So I left it. Now, I have a check, wanting me to provide 'any invoices/receipts/bank statements showing actual childcare providers from 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2016'. I have receipts for the amount of £1231.5 for the year. (£23.7/week - instead of £41/week, which I claimed) And, to mess things up further, my family paid £5862.18 for the year (£112.7/wk - which I didn't tell them about as I got help from my family for it). So I have actually paid heaps more for childcare than what I claimed for... I don't really know how to proceed. I think I've messed it right up... Any clues on how to resolve this would be hugely appreciated...

Hello, I'm new here and looking for help if possible. I was claiming tax credits as part of a couple with my husband until June 2015 when he left the family home. We had decided to separate with a view to divorcing and had put the house on the market, as soon as he actually moved out I rang tax credits to inform them. I should point out here that my husband DID NOT WORK and had not been working at any point during the claim period (one of the reasons for our separation). I was the sole earner and continued to be when he left. He never paid me any maintenance as he had no income. Our previous mortgage was in joint names but I bought a new home for myself and our children in my name and my husband signed over the equity from the previous property during the sale as I had always paid the mortgage during our marriage anyway. I moved house in August 2015, all bills were in my name etc. In November 2015 I had a nervous breakdown and went on long term sick leave from work. I was struggling to cope with the children alone. My mum moved in to help me but was working full time. Eventually in January 2016 my husband came to stay for a fortnight to help and finally secured a job for himself as I needed to leave work indefinitely due to my health. I therefore agreed that he should move back in to the family home and I asked him to ring tax credits to inform them. Tax credits said we would need to end the single claim and begin a joint claim which we did (the same week he moved back in). The joint claim has been active since. I have now received a letter from concentrix stating they think another adult lives with me and I needed to send a long list of documents, which confused me. I called up to speak to someone who was disinterested, didn't even take my personal details or look at my individual case and told me that it would only concern the period of the single claim (June 2015- January 2016) so I should send documents for this period. We had sold the house when my husband left in June and I had bought a new home on my own, therefore we did not change any of the bills at that time (June-August). The mortgage was joint (and could not be changed), the electricity and gas were in his name. I did call them to ask if I could start a new account in my name and was told that I couldn't as there were big arrears on his account (which I hadn't known about). I just left it as the house move was imminent and I did not want to take on that debt as my own! I cannot provide a bill as they were in his name and he no longer has them (although he could ask for copies). The water bill was in joint names until I moved too. As soon as I moved here in August everything was in my name only but as my husband had no fixed address he had given the electricity/gas company this address to send correspondence about the money still owed. The account was no longer live, it was just arrears, but I wonder if this triggered their 'investigation.' Either that or the fact he earned some money between Feb and April this year when he hadn't been earning previously (but we were on a joint claim then anyway). I can provide bank statements (although i have no idea how these prove anything), as well as utilities bills and council tax bill from this house from August onwards etc and they should clearly be able to see that my husband did not change his bank account or driving license address or regsister on the electoral roll until he moved back in. I suppose what I'm wondering is: Do I send a covering letter explaining all of this and hope for the best? If I leave out any of the evidence but explain why, will they refuse to look at my case? If they decide that they are not happy with the evidence for any period, what happens next? Can they stop the current joint claim based on this investigation as it is a separate claim and we are in financial hardship on a low income? If they decide that in their view, the claim should still have been joint even when we lived apart because we were married and eventually reconciled, would they demand back ALL the money they paid me between june and January or would it be the difference between what they would have paid for a joint or single claim? (which would be nothing anyway!) What is frustrating is that until February 2016, my husband did not have any income so I did not financially benefit in any way from the single claim as the single persons element is the same as the couples element anyway. It would make no sense for me to have fraudulently claimed as a single person because there was no benefit to me. I've read horror stories about this company. If they tried to claim back the entire amount I was paid simply based on their own 'assumption', I wouldn't be able to backdate the joint claim so could they really insist I pay back 8 months of money that they know I would still have been entitled to either way? I am worried sick, I am still being treated for depression and anxiety and receiving counselling and I feel guilty when I've done nothing wrong, and terrified of sending them my bank statements so they can analyse everything I ever spent. Some friends have told me to refuse to send bank statements as they are personal but I'm worried that if I don't, they will punish me. There is nothing on my bank statements relating to my husband, no payments between us or anything else, but I just feel horrible about them rifling through my private financial affairs that way and worried because my mum has put money into my account for me to help me towards the bills, is she allowed to help me that way?

Hi, All I seem to be reading about Concentrix, is horror stories. I have recently moved and am being investigated for living with someone, however I am not, after reading everyone's dealings with this company, I am getting concerned. As I've just moved, I was unable to provide a years worth of bills, and as they very kindly sent me the letter on the 18th Dec asking for the relevant date by the 7th Jan, there was no way I could ask the utility companies to send me a years supply of bills as there was no guarantee I'd receive them by the deadline for mailing. I send April to November bank statements, tenancy agreement, 1 gas/electric/water bill. A council tax evaluation from the previous address, and an updated for the new address. I am really concerned that it's not going to be deemed enough evidence. I receive child maintain for my 3 children, and somethings family help if we're struggling, I'm worried that will affect things. Can someone just put my mind at ease a little bit? I can't afford for things to stop, because of evidence!! We aren't living with anyone, so their shouldn't be a problem. I've just heard so many stories! Also I sent my documents by Royal Mail Special Next Day before 1pm, on the 5th Jan, it is, according to there system "lost in transit"!!!!!! According to Concentrix it arrive on 9th Jan!!! I could have lost my Tax Credits just for that!!! Can I claim my money back for posting?? Thank you!!

I'm the latest it seems to get the dreaded letter. "We have new information that suggests their is someone at your address linked to you" Now, I have a joint tenant who HMRC say isn't part of my household. They share the flat, but we have separate bedrooms and lives. We have never been in a relationship and she is on the housing list to find her own place. We currently live in a housing association rented property. I have asked my landlord to send me a letter confirming our tenancy is a joint tenancy which they are going to do. They want copies of all utility bills - over 3/4 are paperless, so do I just print off endless sheets of bills? Some are in just my name, some are in both. Surely the joint tenant bit is good enough? We share no bank accounts, mortgages or anything - just names on the joint tenancy, and some bills. I did phone Concentrix and the lady on the phone was pleasant but I now fear I am going to be told I am in a relationship I am not in and they'll take my tax credits, fine me and ask me to pay back payments. I shouldn't have anything to worry about, but I am very worried. I have a health condition that increases my anxiety and my condition affects my heart as well. I've also contacted CAB to inform them of my situation but also my local MP. He's hopeless and never responds to anyone, but I had to rant about the potential tax credit changes. I am really angry at the moment. I appreciate they have to investigate sometimes, but the hassle and the anxiety it's causing really is very unfair.

Hi, This is my first post on here. Please help! I received a letter last week from Concentrix on behalf of HMRC last week stating they were checking my claim for tax credits for the current year. I had put in a claim as an individual and they had information which linked someone else to my address and to me, and wanted to check if I should have been putting in a joint claim. My situation is actually quite complicated and I am now panicking that I may have done the wrong thing and really need both reassurance and advice please asap! Basically, my husband and I separated in January 2015 after I discovered he had been having an affair. At the time I thought this was a permanent separation. At this point, my husband and I separated our financial affairs completely other than him making maintenance payments for our children (we closed our joint account etc, I took over all responsibility for bills and payments for the family home) and he moved into a separate property, leaving me in the family home with our kids. One issue is that he didn't change his contact details on many of his 'affairs' including his banking (!) - obviously this wasn't my responsibility or my fault but I was aware of it, as I continued to receive post for him at my house. As our separation was civil (I wouldn't say amicable...) I was ok to keep passing his post to him as it arrived. I obviously didn't fully realise the implications of him not changing his address i.e. that it would link him to this address and to me, which could cause problems for my tax credits claim.... The main problem however, is that over time we did reconcile although very gradually and are still in this process (we completed our couples counselling just last week). He does continue to rent the other property and we have not resumed any joint financial affairs at all. I still pay for all elements relating to the home I live in with our children including all bills, and he pays for everything relating to his home. My main concern is that he has actually been staying in the family home on occasions since May (I also stayed in his house too...) but more and more regularly as time went on until he is now basically here full-time and has moved many of his belongings back into this house. I should say I was concerned about my tax credits claim as he began to stay back in the family home on occasion back in May and I actually contacted the HMRC customer service line at this point to ask how this situation would affect my claim. I was told by the person I spoke to as far as I remember as it was a while ago (and I recorded the time and date of this conversation) that there was no limit to how often my husband stayed in the home as long as he had another property which was his home i.e. he was paying for another property, paying bills, keeping his belongings there etc. I was surprised by this answer to be honest ie that there was no limit to how much he stayed, but I was reassured that I was ok to continue to claim tax credits as a single claimant. (I had said me and my husband were gradually reconciling etc and the advisor NEVER said I had to put in a 'change of circumstance') This may have been naive of me and maybe I should have looked into this further but I obviously went on what the HMRC advisor told me and didn't look into it further myself... To complicate matters further, I am now pregnant with our third child - this was a complete unplanned accident but it clearly confirms we are having a proper relationship, so to speak. Just to reiterate, there are still no financial links between us other than the historical ones - I am paying for 'my' home and he is paying for his and all the documents prove this. Of course, we do buy things for each other ie if we go out for a meal or a trip out with the kids etc... The plan is that he will be moving officially back into the family home as of December ie in the next few weeks, so we can have a fresh start with Christmas and the New Year and we will once again link our financial affairs fully and he has given notice on his house so that would no longer be in his ownership - I would of course then have informed HMRC of this, and reverted to a joint claim. I am now concerned that we have been overpaid as I should have been making a joint claim, (although when from I am not entirely sure - from when we agreed to make a go of it? the first time he stayed back in the family home? when he started staying much more regularly?) although I was only following the advice given in the phone call in May as to how our situation affected my tax credits claim. I have all the evidence which proves we have still two houses which we pay for independently as my husband is happy to co-operate in providing this (rental agreements, bank statements, utility bills, council tax statements) although the letter from Concentrix only asks for my documents. However, if you actually investigated fully (asking neighbours and so on) it would look like he moved back into my home a few months ago and obviously his address is still listed as being here on a lot of things and I am carrying his child ... I am now really concerned about the letter I have received as I genuinely believed I had done everything according to the 'rules'. I am feeling sick with worry that I have done something wrong (even if it was unintentional) and I am going to have to not only repay a large sum but may have to face a penalty and even criminal prosecution my husband and parents tell me I am worrying unnecessarily and if I send in the relevant documents, together with an explanation that I didn't realise the implications of him not changing his address, it will be enough to complete the check. Is this right though?? Am I better calling HMRC direct and explaining the situation??? What I don't want to do is to send off the documents as requested and a statement which then creates further questions but equally, I don't want to 'hide' anything and then have it come and bite me later on... Please help - as I say I am sick with worry. I am the sort of person who hates to do anything wrong and it is making me feel ill that I may have, and may have to face consequences for this. I just want to get it cleared up asap Thanks.

I am absolutely livid. Yesterday out of the blue I received a letter from Concentrix on behalf of HMRC regarding my tax credits. Prior to that letter I had never heard of Concentrix. The letter "requests" that I send in my wage slips and also bank statements from 6 April 2014 - 5 April 2015. I found this alarming as we are constantly being advised not to disclose this kind of information and yet here I am being asked by a company I have never heard of to do just that. My first thought was to contact them and ask what the hell this was about. The tone of the letter borders on accusatory and I found this deeply offensive. Would it not have been an idea for HMRC to have sent out a letter prior to the Concentrix letter advising folk that as Tax Credits are incompetent they have now had to draft in the outside help of Concentrix. Only recently I experienced a further problem with Tax Credits. I advised them of my work start date and because some idiot input the wrong date (a month before I had actually started work), I was faced with an overpayment which I have just finished paying. I have only just realised the scale of the problem by visiting other forums. They are awash with single parents having received letters accusing them of having a partner living with them that they didn't declare so I suppose in that respect I'm lucky as I haven't been accused of that. Talk about heavy handed, it's ridiculous that this is allowed to happen. They claim they are only trying to ensure we are receiving the right amount of tax credits to avoid overpayments, but the way they have handled the situation is more like a witch-hunt.

I received a letter last Thursday (4/6) in regards to my OH stating they though he was being overpayed WTC and to send in wage slips from April 14 to April 15 so out came the printer and we printed them off and sent them signed for on the Thursday ( as they give you a month deadline in their horribly worded letter of threat). On the Friday i checked and the half a ream of pages had been signed for at 7.22am so off i poped and called them, after a 45 min lovely singalong to their dreadful muzak o was answered and told that they didnt have them (wrongo, i can see you do) So promptly told him who had singed them and when and provided the tracking number which he then declared they did have them but due to a huge backlog (Your own fault for demanding huge amounts of records off people you have no evidence on). Said callcenter lacky then said they would not stop my payments as i had sent the proof in (so kind.....). I was then informed i would be looking at around a 4-8 weeks wait (so we are told a strict timescale but they can pick and choose them). Yesterday i called again and was shocked by the immediate answer (because their systems were down) and i have called again this morning and was told once again they have a backlog (yes we know, your eyes seem bigger than your belly) and my documents have not even been scanned yet but not to worry as they will send me a letter on completion (oh they dont know me, ill be calling everyday). In short im being accused (Rather my OH is) of claiming erroneously when they have no proof as it has not happened, i inform them on any change so i thought i would share my journey here as im always reading your posts and any suggestions are greatly received. Thanks

Hi everyone, I have received a letter from a company could concentrix , they are working for HMRC, this is regarding tax credits, anyone every hard of them or had dealings with them. In the letter it states if I don't replay with the information they require they may reduce or stop my payments. The letter isn't signed it just finishes off with Yours sincerely Concentrix.

I am not working due to disability, I get ESA and DLA plus a small pension. My wife works but only gets a low wage. For the last few years we've claimed Working Tax Credits (WTC) and sent HMRC all the required info, we've not held anything back or tried to hide anything. They do the maths and send us an award letter. As far as we're aware we've done all that's asked of us yet they have sent us overpayment letters every year. Anyway, we recently got a letter from Concentrix, on behalf of HMRC, asking us for pay slips, evidence of my self-employment (?) and so on. We sent them off, with a cover letter to complain about being told to send originals by post - we used special delivery and will never see that extra cost back! HMRC have told us they are stopping our WTC as they cannot determine that my wife works 30 hours. She is a home carer and changed company towards the end of last year. The sad nature of this line of work is that people go into hospital, or even die without any notice, which means the carer then loses out as the company they work for will not pay them for visits they don't do any more. It can take a while for them to gain a new client, or shuffle calls about, to give that carer more work. We had not realised what the backlash of this would be. It is not my wife's fault that her hours were sometimes cut back. You can't really blame the people she was caring for either. It is possible that some weeks she worked less than 30 hours without realising, but it was not deliberate. Obviously she's lost money through doing less hours, which made the WTC even more vital towards being able to pay the bills. Concentrix said they would send a fuller explanation and we would be able to ask for mandatory reconsideration, that was 3rd February, 4 weeks ago. We've heard nothing more from them. HMRC sent a letter to inform us the credits had stopped and they were claiming an overpayment. Concentrix also say they may be giving us a penalty charge. Can it get any worse ! Obviously we will appeal the decision as we feel it's not our fault. My wife may have to get a letter from her employer to explain any weeks she worked less than 30 hours. It is confusing anyway as she is paid in 4 week periods, not monthly. We are unsure if Concentrix have mis-calculated her pay and hours anyway. For example: a recent payslip shows she worked so many hours but also had a day off for which she was only given half a day holiday pay as she didn't have enough days available. Because of this her assumed hours averaged 29.75 over the 4 weeks. Has anyone else had this sort of action taken ? Is there anything we can do ?