HMRC goes the ‘extra mile’

The House of Commons’ Work and Pensions Committee has published a response from HMRC on the action it has taken since MPs highlighted Concentrix’s management of tax credit claims in December 2016. HMRC had appointed the US company to administer tax credit claims but ended the contract early as a result of customer service problems.

HMRC said it had been reviewing Concentrix decisions that were not subject to a mandatory reconsideration. Of the 31 175 reviewed it found 5 000 of sufficient concern to contact the claimant for more information.

The committee said of HMRC’s response: ‘Many claimants understandably find the demands of a mandatory reconsideration prohibitively daunting. We already know that the vast majority of those initial appeals were upheld: that the review of the first 30 000 cases which were not appealed in that way has uncovered 5 000 where further information is being requested vindicates that...