Tax credits meetings

WTC/FS4

Contents

Introduction

We hope that you will be able to meet us to discuss your tax credits claim.

You do not have to meet us. But meetings give us both an opportunity to discuss your claim in more detail. It will give you the opportunity to ask us questions. You may find it easier to discuss your claim with someone face-to-face rather than over the phone or by letter.

We wll tell you why we want to meet you. But if anything is not clear please ask us to explain.

Arranging the meeting

Meetings normally take place in office hours, please tell us if this is a problem.

We can arrange to meet you at another time. Meetings normally last between one and two hours.

We can hold the meeting at our offices, your adviser’s offices or at your home. We will try to agree the date, place and agenda with you, in advance.

If you cannot come to the meeting, you must let us know straightaway and we will try to arrange another meeting.

Asking for help

If you need help to prepare for the meeting or would like someone to come to the meeting with you, you can ask a friend, relative, professional adviser or interpreter.

What you need to bring

Please make sure that you, or the person who is helping you, bring any papers or documents that we have asked for.

Taking notes

We will take notes in the meeting and let you have a copy. We will ask you to check them and confirm we have included everything we discussed. If you agree the notes we will ask you to sign them, but you do not have to.

You, or the person helping you, can also take notes in the meeting. This will help you remember what was said in the meeting and you can check our notes more easily.

Couples

If it would be difficult for you both to attend, we will still be able to hold the meeting but we might need to

  • speak to your partner at a later date
  • confirm the details that you gave us.

We will always let you both know the outcome of any meeting.

Answering our questions

If you do not want to answer our questions during the meeting, or there is anything you do not understand or cannot answer, tell us. We will try to arrange another meeting or agree how best you can answer the questions.
If you do not give us the information we need we may make a decision on your claim based on the information that we have already.

Home visits

We may need to visit you at your home without your agreement. We will only do this if we have repeatedly tried, and failed, to contact you in writing and by phone. If we do call on you unannounced you can refuse to let us in or answer our questions. If this happens we will try to rearrange another time to see you.

If we visit you at home, we will always show you official identification.

We will never visit you at work without agreeing the time and date with you in advance.

Contact us

If you have any other questions about meetings, please phone the person who has contacted you about your tax credits claim.

HM Revenue & Customs commitment

We aim to provide a high quality service with guidance that is simple, clear and accurate.

We will

  • be professional and helpful
  • act with integrity and fairness, and
  • treat your affairs in strict confidence within the law.

We aim to handle your affairs promptly and accurately so that you receive or pay only the right amount due.

Putting things right

If you are not satisfied with our service, please let the person dealing with your affairs know what is wrong. We will work as quickly as possible to put things right and settle your complaint.

If you are still unhappy, ask for your complaint to be referred to the Complaints Manager.

Help

If you have any questions or you would like more details please contact the office in the covering letter.

Getting advice

You can get advice from a professional adviser or organisation. You can also askp Citizens Advice. You can find them in The Phone Book.

Customers with particular needs

We offer a range of facilities for customers with particular needs, including

  • wheelchair access to nearly all HMRC Enquiry Centres
  • help with filling in forms for people with hearing difficulties:
  • BT Typetalk
  • Induction loops.

We can also arrange additional support, such as

  • services of an interpreter
  • sign language interpretation
  • leaflets in large print, Braille and audio
  • home visits, if you have limited mobility or caring responsibilities and cannot get to one of our Enquiry Centres.

For complete details please

or

  • ask the office in the covering letter.

Open Government

The new Tax Credit Claimant Compliance Manual contains more details about our work in this area. You can also get it from any HM Revenue & Customs Enquiry Centre. The address is in The Phone Book under HM Revenue & Customs or Inland Revenue.

These notes describe in general terms what is likely to happen. If you would like more details, please contact the HM Revenue & Customs office shown on the covering letter.