Missing BACS Payment Enquiry (AG)

To deal with a missing BACS payment enquiry, consider steps 1 to 14 below. The guide is presented as follows

Initial action	Step 1
Contact the account provider	Steps 2 – 6
BACS trace	Step 7
TC951 to third party account provider	Step 8
Letter to third party account holder	Step 9 - 10
Reply received or the BF cycle has expired	Step 11
Contact the source	Step 12
Update Household Notes	Step 13
Send to storage	Step 14

Initial action

Check for Compliance activity. Follow the guidance in Identifying Compliance Activity. If there is no Compliance activity or Compliance do not require the claim

Check that you have all the details that you need to telephone the claimant’s account provider, from either form TC687 or a telephone call received. These details are the

Claimant’s full name

Claimant’s NINO

Claimant’s account number and sort code number of the account provider, if appropriate

And

Date and amount of the payment that should have been paid into the account provider’s account

If you do not have all the details, use Function VIEW APPLICATION to find the missing details

Then, when you have all the details

Go to step 2

Contact the account provider

2	Contact the claimant’s account provider to find out where the payment has gone If the account provider confirms the payment has gone into an account, go to step 3 If the account provider will not discuss the information requested over the telephone and requires it in writing Complete the letter template with the details of the claimant’s account and payment and ask the claimant’s account provider for the whereabouts of the payment Fax, post or e-mail the completed template to the claimant’s account provider Set a clerical BF for 1 month and enter the details onto the appropriate database If a reply is received, go to step 3 If no reply is received after 1 month Contact the account provider by telephone or fax to request a reply. Issue a copy of the completed letter template if appropriate Set a further clerical BF for 1 month If a reply is received, go to step 3 If a reply is not received contact the Missing Payments Team and ask them to either arrange for the account provider to contact us or to prove non receipt of the payment, go to step 13
3	Did the payment go into the correct account No, the payment has been returned, go to step 4 No, the payment has gone into a third party’s account, go to step 5 No, the account provider cannot find the payment, go to step 7 Yes, the payment has been transferred to the claimant’s account, go to step 12 Yes, the payment has gone into the claimant’s account, go to step 12
4	The payment can be returned by BACS, cheque or giro credit. The account provider will return the payment to TCO or transfer the payment into the claimant’s account Note: Details of the appropriate tax credits account that the payment can be returned and paid into are held on the Bank Liaison Team Contact the account provider, if they are not already on the telephone and ask them How the payment has been returned What date the payment was returned And What account it was returned to Note: The account provider may provide error numbers to ensure the claimant will receive their money immediately, these numbers must be noted in Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES Then Go to step 12
5	Where the payment has gone into a third party’s account, decide whether there was an error or if the account has been completely changed by checking the details on the computer If the account details have changed by only one digit, for example a sort code is 40-05-00 but it should be 41-05-00, there has been an error If the original account details have changed from the correct details to incorrect details, for example, the account provider and the account number has been changed to a completely different account, then the details have been changed back to the correct account details, this is a change not an error To do this Use Function VIEW HOUSEHOLD ACCOUNT Enter the claimant’s NINO in the Key Entry Data screen Select the All checkbox Select the Payment Schedule checkbox Click on the [OK] button. You will be taken to the View Direct Payment Schedule screen Note: If you are taken to the Select Award screen, click on the appropriate claim to highlight it and then click on the [OK] button. You will then be taken to the View Direct Payment Schedule screen Make a note of the dates in the Due Dates column and the amounts of all the cancelled missing payments on to the Phone Query template Note: If the missing payments are in two different award periods you must go into both awards to find all the missing payments Click on the latest cancelled missing payment to highlight it Click on the [OK] button. You will be taken to the View BACS Details screen Make a note of the account details on to the Phone Query template Click on the [Cancel] button. You will be taken back to the View Direct Payment Schedule screen Click on the next paid payment to highlight it Click on the [OK] button. You will be taken to the View BACS Details screen Make a note of the correct account details on to the Phone Query template Click on the [Cancel] button. You will be taken back to the View Direct Payment Schedule screen Click on the paid payment immediately before the first cancelled missing payment to highlight it Click on the [OK] button. You will be taken to the View BACS Details screen Make a note of the correct account details on the Phone Query template Note: You can also check the payment details in the Postings screen. This will show if there has been an amendment on the claim. For example, ‘Amended CTC Award’ Then Go to step 6
6	Determine if there has been an error or a change to the account details If the account details have been completely changed Complete form TC648 and email it (This text has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) Then Go to step 12 If there has been an error, go to step 8

BACS trace

If the account provider cannot locate the payment carry out a further BACS payment trace

Complete a BACS template and fax the completed form to (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)the Bank Of England

Then

Set a clerical BF for 1 month to await a reply

If a reply is received confirming that the account provider has received the payment

Complete the letter and attach a copy of the reply from the Bank Of England (BACS proof) and post or fax it to the account provider

Then, when a reply is received

Go back to step 3

If a reply is not received

Send a copy of the original query with the BACS proof to the account provider again

Set a clerical BF for 1 month to await a reply

TC951 to third party account provider

Complete form TC951

Include the reference and the Bank Liaison Officer’s initials. For example, ‘CAE/BL/ surname of the tax credit claimant’
Set a clerical BF for 1 month
Enter the details on the appropriate database and await the reply

If the account provider will not disclose the name and address but they agree to pass on a letter to the third party, go to step 9

If the name and address of the third party account holder are received from the account provider, go to step 10

If no reply is received from the account provider after 1 month

Contact the account provider by telephone or fax to request a reply. Issue a copy of the form TC951, if appropriate

Set a further clerical BF for 1 month

Take no further action

Letter to third party account holder

Complete TC984 and TC985 letter templates tot he third party account provider

Include the reference and the Bank Liaison Officer’s initials. For example, ‘CAE/BL/ surname of the tax credit claimant’
Post the letters to the claimant’s account provider so the account provider can forward one on to the account holder that received the payment in error
Set a clerical BF for 1 month

Then
When a reply is received or the BF date expires, go to step 11

Complete the letter template to the third party account holder

Include the reference and the Bank Liaison Officer’s initials. For example, ‘CAE/BL/ surname of the tax credit claimant’
Send the letter to the third party account holder that received the payment in error
Set a clerical BF for 1 month

Then

When a reply is received or the BF date expires, go to step 11

Reply received or the BF cycle has expired

When a reply is received or the BF date has expired and

A cheque is received from the third party account holder for the full or partial amount
Contact is received from the third party account holder offering to repay the payment(s) of tax credits by instalments

Or

Contact is received from the third party account holder and they refuse to repay the payment(s) of tax credits

Send details of the debt or returned payment of tax credits on form R97(NTC) to

DMB (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)

Then

Go to step 13

No reply is received from the account holder by the expiry of the BF date

Enter the details onto the appropriate database

Stockpile the cases on the Bank Liaison Team until further guidance is issued

Then

Go to step 13

Contact the source

Contact the source of the query

Note: If the claim has been referred to Claimant Compliance you will not contact the source if the source is the claimant. You will only contact the source if they are an internal area, for example, Customer Service and Support Group (CSSG)

Inform them of the action taken
Enter the details onto the appropriate database

Then

Go to step 13

Update Household Notes

Use Function MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLD NOTES to record the following messages or action taken. If appropriate enter any error numbers that have been provided by the account provider

‘ PB01 (Fax /Letter) sent to (insert name of bank) re (number) missing pyts due (DD/MM/YY to DD/DD/YY). Requesting whereabouts, awaiting reply’
‘ PB04 Payments due (DD/MM/YY to DD/MM/YY) were returned. Confirmed by (name of bank)’
‘ PB05 Payments due (DD/MM/YY to DD/MM/YY) were sent to the wrong (Post Office card account or bank account). Confirmed by (Citibank or name of other bank). Letter sent by (name of operator) to the third party requesting return of the payments’
‘ PB06 (insert name of bank) have confirmed that BACS pyts due (DD/MM/YY & DD/MM/YY) have been received in the customer’s correct account’
‘PB14 - Payment of £(XX.XX) received from 3^rd party for incorrect payment of tax credits. Details forwarded to DMB’

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

Then

Go to step 14

Send to storage

14	Send the correspondence to storage Follow the guidance in Preparing And Sending Documents For Storage

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