Around half a million people are without their child benefit due to a technical problem with HMRC. The batch processing problem caused about 30% of Monday's scheduled payments to not go through.
The Internal Revenue Service, which administers child benefit payments, has confirmed that the missed payments will be made but has not yet provided a specific timetable. HMRC has urged customers not to contact them directly, guaranteeing updates will be provided via social media as more information becomes available.
Affected parents took to social media to express their frustration and concerns. Danielle, a mum from London, tweeted: “In fourteen years I've never had a problem getting my CB on time. I was very surprised by this issue. Hopefully it will be resolved soon. “I sympathize with everyone who relied on this money this morning.” Similarly, single mother Esther tweeted: “Be nice if we could all get a payment term. The way you handled this is crazy.”
The slowdown has left many parents struggling to cover essential expenses such as food and transportation for their children. Child benefit is usually claimed by those responsible for raising a child under 16 years of age, or under 20 years of age if he/she is undergoing approved education or training. Only one parent receives the benefit per child, but there is no limit to the number of children for whom one can claim. Payments are typically made every four weeks and arrive on Monday or Tuesday.
