# Child benefit stopped



## popstar (18 Sep 2011)

Hi - I've just noticed today that our child benefit was stopped for no reason last november.  We haven't moved and our circumstances remain the same.  I have send an email off to the child benefit department to see why this has happened but my question now is, will I be back-paid the 10 months or so that I'm owed?
Any advice welcomed.

S


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## gipimann (18 Sep 2011)

Did you receive a letter from CB section last year?   Some CB claims require ongoing "verification" by returning a letter on a regular basis, if it's not returned, the claim stops.

Did your child reach 16?   CB automatically stops when a child reaches 16 unless a letter confirming their ongoing attendance at school is received.

Backdating of payments will depend on the reason the claim was stopped, and isn't automatic.


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## popstar (18 Sep 2011)

Thanks for your reply Gipimann. I had a verification the year before and returned it and payments were resumed. I hadn't had a letter before CB was stopped last year. My kids are 6 and 4 so age i isn't the issue. I think my mistake was not noticing that the payments were stopped. My worry is that another letter might have been sent but it didn't arrive.


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## gipimann (18 Sep 2011)

Given that we had some bad weather last November/December, some post might not have been delivered to you, so you may have missed a letter.


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## Mpsox (19 Sep 2011)

Ours were stopped last year but we followed it up the following month and it was sorted with the missing month paid. No reason was given other then "admin difficulties"


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## Ceist Beag (19 Sep 2011)

Ours was stopped this year too, supposedly because we were sent one of these verification letters (we never received it), but we did get back paid for the missing months once the issue was resolved (we had to send in verification details). There was a previous thread on this here http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=124302


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## jonocon (19 Sep 2011)

Ours was stopped and we didn't notice it for about 9 months, we didn't get it back as they didn't believe we were living in the country during the period, to be honest it was very careless of us to not notice.


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## ivannomonet (19 Sep 2011)

Not trying to be funny but those that need and rely on child benefit would notice this the day payment is due. If it takes 10 or more months to notice this then you don't need it.


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## ClubMan (19 Sep 2011)

True - but as long as it's an effectively universal payment then people are perfectly entitled (and justified, in my opinion) to claim what's due to them. My own _CB _claim was stopped when I tried to redirect it to a different account at the start of the year but was eventually reinstated and backdated about 6 months later. Neither I nor my child depend on it but I feel perfectly entitled to claim it on his behalf.


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## Magpie (19 Sep 2011)

From speaking to them, they will backdate a month or two, but not much more than that since you can't prove that you were in the country for the last year. It really is up to you to notice that you are X amount down per month. Plus you can't really need it if you didn't notice for that long!


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## Bronte (20 Sep 2011)

It's completely irrelevant if she needs it or not.  She is entitled to it.  If the letter went missing then she should be entitled to get it backdated.


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## Seagull (20 Sep 2011)

Ours was cut off because they didn't receive the residency form back. We had to fill out forms, and provide proof that we had been resident over the period of the missing payments. Rather than reinstating the benefits when I queried the fact that they were missing, they waited until they'd made the decision on the backpayments, and then paid all of that in one go, and then restarted the normal payments.


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## popstar (4 Oct 2011)

*Update*

Just to update - I provided the info that CB section needed, namely letters from the kids schools. They reinstated and backdated the payment. I will be keeping a close eye on my account in future. Thanks for your imput.


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## elcato (5 Oct 2011)

Well done. For future reference, can you tell what he actual failing in the process was ? Did you fail to get/respond to a letter they sent out ? Is it up to each parent to send this information in when children start school ? Is it required annually ?


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## Magpie (5 Oct 2011)

Bronte said:


> It's completely irrelevant if she needs it or not.  She is entitled to it.  If the letter went missing then she should be entitled to get it backdated.



Actually it is relevant because you actually aren,t entitled to have it backpaid if you fail to return the documentation, for whatevere reason. The whole pount is to check you are in the country all the time, you could go away for 6 months then cone back and demand your cb backdated!

They can backdate it uf you convince them tgat you didnt get the letter, however they dont have to and sometimes dont.


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## mandelbrot (5 Oct 2011)

There seems to be a lot of guff being spoken about "them" not believing you were in the country for a period of time... surely to God that's an absolute cinch to prove...?

e.g. bank statements showing in-store laser transactions etc..., payslips (and if necessary confirmation from employer that you were actually at work everyday during the period), dated receipts for trips to doctor / dentist, confirmation from the children's school to confirm they were present.


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