HMRC begins issuing compensation for Child Benefit delay, confirms Martin Lewis

Some of the 577,000 parents who were left in financial distress earlier this month when their regular Child Benefit payment from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was delayed due to a technical glitch have begun to receive compensation payments of up to £50 for the inconvenience caused by the tax authority.

On June 3, over half a million parents across the UK discovered an unexpected shortfall in their bank accounts as nearly one-third of all individuals expecting a payment were overlooked by HMRC. Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis has confirmed that a handful of people have started to get letters from the tax office regarding compensation, although it seems not everyone impacted has been notified yet.

Those who experienced additional financial issues because of the delayed payment can request more compensation from HMRC. Following the mishap, with potentially over half a million parents eligible for up to a £50 gesture of goodwill, the public purse could face a significant expense if all affected claim their compensation.

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Martin Lewis chimed in, noting that he had only seen a few similar communications and was keen to gather more information. He commented: "Interesting, not many coming in to me yet either. I'll RT to see if there are others.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

According to the latest figures from August 2023, HMRC reported that there are currently 6.91 million families receiving Child Benefit payments. At the time, HMRC acknowledged the issues stating that they were "urgently" addressing them following a "processing error".

An HMRC spokesperson commented: "We are very sorry that some customers did not receive their scheduled Child Benefit payments as expected and we understand the concern and difficulty this may have caused."

They further added: "We fixed the problem and anyone who incurred a direct financial loss because of the delayed payment can apply for redress by completing our online complaints form."