How to make a complaint
Sometimes things go wrong with your tax credits or how they are dealing with your overpayment and you will need to make a complaint. You might want to complain if:
- HMRC have not dealt with your tax credits properly.
- You have not received good treatment from HMRC staff.
- You have been given wrong advice.
- You are not happy with a dispute decision, but have no new evidence.
- You have sent a dispute or appeal but have not received a reply for over 3 months.
- You have not been given a proper explanation of your overpayment.
HMRC can accept complaints over the telephone by ringing the tax credit helpline. This might be useful if your complaint is about the helpline. Normally it is best to write a letter. You should set out your reasons for complaining and what it is you would like HMRC to do.
See Further help for where to send your complaint letter.
I have received a response to my complaint letter but I am still not happy
You can take your complaint to a higher level. This is called a ‘Tier 2 Complaint’. To do this you should write a new complaint letter telling them why you are not happy with the first response.
See Further help for where to send your second complaint letter.
If you are still not happy with the response you receive to your 2nd complaint letter then you can ask the Adjudicator to look at your case. See Further help for information about how to contact the Adjudicator.
If you are not happy with the Adjudicator’s response, you will need to ask your MP to ask the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman to look at your complaint.
It is important to remember that if your complaint is about an overpayment, the HMRC will keep asking you for the money during the complaints process. You should make sure you speak to the Debt Management part of HMRC so that they do not take the debt any further.
