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About half a million people have been left without their Child Benefit payments due to a technical issue at HMRC. The batch processing problem resulted in around 30% of Monday’s scheduled payments failing to go through.
The UK’s tax authority, which manages Child Benefit payments, has confirmed that the missed payments will be made but has not yet provided a specific timeline. HMRC has urged customers not to contact them directly, assuring that updates will be provided via social media as soon as more information becomes available.
Affected parents took to social media to express their frustration and concern. Danielle, a mother from London, tweeted: “In 14 years, I’ve never had a problem getting my CB on time. I was very surprised by this issue. Hopefully, it’ll be rectified quickly. I feel for anyone who was relying on this money this morning.” Similarly, single mother Esther tweeted: “Be nice if we could all be given a time frame for payment. The way you have handled this is crazy.”
The delay has left many parents struggling to cover essential expenses such as food and transportation for their children. Child Benefit is typically claimed by those responsible for bringing up a child under 16, or under 20 if they are in approved education or training. Only one parent receives the payment per child, but there is no limit to the number of children one can claim for. Payments are usually made every four weeks, arriving on a Monday or Tuesday.
