Secondary Hardship Referral Received By DCT, MP Hotline, TCO Appeals Or CSU (AG)

• Use Function VIEW AWARD to trace the claim

• Enter the claimant's NINO in the Key Entry Data screen

• Click on the [OK] button

• Go to step 2

• If the message ‘You are not authorised to access this case, please refer to the appropriate MU’ displays, go to step 4

• If the message ‘You are not authorised to access this case, please refer to the appropriate Security Liaison Unit’ displays, go to step 4

• If there is no trace of the claim, check that you have entered the correct NINO, go to step 3

• If you trace the claim, go to step 5

• In writing. Follow the guidance in Contacting The Claimant to obtain the correct NINO

• If you obtain the correct NINO, go to step 5

• If you are unable to obtain the correct NINO

• Record your attempts to obtain the information on a form TC648

• Send the papers to storage. Follow the guidance in Preparing And Sending Documents For Storage

• Take no further action

• On the telephone. Confirm the correct NINO with the claimant

• If you cannot trace the claim, follow the guidance in No Trace of Claim

• If you trace the claim, go to step 5

• Follow the guidance in Unauthorised Access To A Claim

When you have completed this action

• If the referral is in writing

• Contact the claimant and advise them to contact the office identified on their award notice

• If the claimant does not have the award notice to hand provide them with the appropriate telephone number (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

• If the claimant is on the telephone

• Inform them of the above

• Take no further action

• If you can see a message that indicates Compliance activity

• Telephone the local Compliance Manager whose details are recorded in Household Notes

Note: If there is no telephone number provided in Household Notes, trace and contact the relevant Claimant Compliance Team (CCT) Manager. To find the relevant CCT Manager, view the Claimant Compliance Centre Contact List

• Explain to the Compliance Manager that you are dealing with a tax credits claimant who has requested a payment adjustment but there is evidence of compliance activity on the case

• Give them the claimant’s details and your contact details (your name, contact telephone number and fax number) and ask them to fax through the appropriate statement

• The Compliance Manager will fax you a signed statement informing you if the reduction was or was not due to deliberate error or fraud. They will attempt to do this within one hour of your referral

Note: This is not authorisation to adjust the tax credits payments

• If the entitlement has been reduced because of deliberate error or fraud, then

• If there is evidence of exceptional circumstances, go to step 10

• If there is no evidence of exceptional circumstances, prepare and issue form TC870 to the claimant and then go to step 11

• If any other type of compliance activity has taken place or entitlement has not been reduced due to deliberate error or fraud, go to step 6

• If there is no message indicating Compliance activity, go to step 6

• 'TCMZ Payment adjustment requested at Enquiry Centre on DD/MM/YYYY'

• 'PM03 - Adjust in year Payment % set to (percentage figure) TC868 issued DD/MM/YYYY'

• ‘TCMZ Adjust in year Payment % changed to (percentage figure) TC868 issued DD/MM/YYYY’

• ‘TCMZ Change to Adjust in year payment % request declined TC869 letter issued DD/MM/YYYY’

• 'PM05 - Adjust in year Payment % request declined Letter TC869 issued DD/MM/YYYY'

• ‘TCMZ Adjust in year Payment % request declined CYR only TC869 letter issued DD/MM/YYYY’

• If one of the above messages has been entered and / or the claimant tells you they have received the forms TC868 or TC869, go to step 7

• If none of the above messages has been entered, check if the following message has been entered

‘TCMZ Final Hardship top up payment authorised on DD/MM/YYYY, R92TC No. XXXXXXX. There are no further payments due this financial year’

• If the message has been entered, the claimant was receiving manual hardship top up payments due to cross year recovery only for the previous tax year, go to step 9

• If none of the above messages has been entered and the claimant tells you they have not received the forms TC868 or TC869, go to step 10

• If in year adjustment only, the recovery rates will have been applied at a rate so as not to cause hardship

• If a combination of both

• The recovery rates will have been applied at a rate so as not to cause hardship

And

• The cross year recovery will have been halted

• If cross year recovery only, TCO will have explained the rates of recovery to the claimant and that these rates are not designed to cause hardship

Contact the claimant by telephone. Follow the guidance in Contacting The Claimant

Note: If you cannot contact the claimant by telephone, send form TC870

Use the information in the guidance Overview Of Hardship Claims And Overpayment Recovery to help you explain the rates of recovery to the claimant

• If the claimant is happy with the explanation, go to step 11

• If the claimant is not happy with the explanation and still claims hardship, go to step 8

• If the claimant cannot provide evidence of exceptional circumstances

• Explain that without additional evidence of exceptional circumstances there is no further assistance that we can offer

• Prepare and send form TC873 to the claimant

Then

• Go to step 11

• If the claimant can provide evidence of exceptional circumstances

• Make a note of any exceptional circumstances the claimant indicates are causing the hardship

• Present the exceptional circumstances to your HO manager. Your manager will consider and decide whether or not to refer the case to Debt Management and Banking (DMB)

• Tell the claimant that you will ask your manager to consider the exceptional circumstances and that they will be contacted within 10 working days

• If your manager authorises the referral of the exceptional circumstances, go to step 10

• If your manager does not authorise the referral of the exceptional circumstances, prepare and send form TC873 to the claimant and then go to step 11

• Complete form TC871. Ensure you tick the box on the form TC871 to indicate that relevant papers are attached

• Securely attach any correspondence and / or additional evidence that supports the claimant’s hardship to the form TC871

• Clearly write in red ink at the top of the form TC871 ‘Existing Case – for review’

• Send the form TC871 to the MAPTH team (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)(This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
  • Go to step 11

• Complete form TC871. Ensure you tick the box on the form TC871 to indicate that relevant papers are attached

• Securely attach any correspondence and / or additional evidence that supports the claimant’s hardship to the form TC871

• Send the form TC871 to the MAPTH team (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

• Go to step 11

Notes:

You must follow the guidance in How To Correctly Complete Application And Household Notes when you record the note

And also

Follow the guidance in Maintain Household Notes

• If the case has been referred to the MAPTH team, enter

'TCMZ Secondary Hardship referral sent to MAPTH team - CYR only'

Or

'TCMZ Secondary Hardship referral sent to MAPTH team - CYR & IYA'

• If the case has not been referred to the MAPTH team and

• Your HO manager did not authorise the referral of the exceptional circumstances, enter

'TCMZ Secondary Hardship referral to DMB declined not exceptional circumstances'

Or

• The claimant is happy with the explanation of the recovery rates, enter

'TCMZ Secondary Hardship declined - claimant happy with recovery rates'

Then

• Send any case papers to storage. Follow the guidance in Preparing And Sending Documents For Storage