TCM0022240 - Backdating: backdating (all): earlier claim - establishing evidence

Checklist

Before you follow this guidance make sure

  • you’ve followed the guidance in TCM0042260
  • you have the correct user roles to follow this guidance.

Background

The guidance is to be used to establish whether evidence of a claim made at an earlier date exists. Where this is proven, a manual off-system calculation may be required.
Note: where you have exhausted all options and the customer has advised a claim was sent in earlier consider checking the Tower system to confirm whether there is a stored RDC or scanned claim held.

Guidance

Note: When sending customer, staff or process data to another individual or team, make sure you follow the latest data security guidelines or contact the Data Guardian / Data Security Team for advice.

Note: From 6 April 2017, customers will only get the Family Element of Child Tax Credit where they are responsible for a child or children born before that date.

Note: The individual child element of Child Tax Credit will no longer be awarded for third and subsequent children or qualifying young persons in a household, born on or after 6 April 2017, unless it meets the exception criteria.

Note: If the change relates to a child/young person who is an exception or potential exception contact the Exception Team (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) . (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

Step 1

If dealing with a new request for backdating

  • check NTC for the effective date of the current claim and make a note of this date. For how to do this, use TCM1000218
  • go to Step 2.

If dealing with an expired BF date, go to Step 13.

If dealing with a reply to a previous enquiry, go to Step 5.

If dealing with correspondence retrieved from storage, go to Step 7.

Step 2

Check for any other claims on NTC and make a note of the received date and status of the claim. For how to do this, use TCM1000246 and TCM1000025.

Note: Repeat this for all claims on NTC.

If the earliest claim is the current claim, go to Step 3.

If the earliest claim has a status of Award Issued, Finalised or Ceased, go to Step 8.

If the earliest claim has a status of Withdrawn, Rejected or Terminated, go to Step 10.

Step 3

Check whether the customer has provided any evidence of an earlier claim.

For example

  • entries in household notes referring to an earlier claim
  • an acknowledgement letter
  • a recorded delivery receipt
  • any other written correspondence
  • the customer states they phoned the Tax Credits Helpline.

If the customer has provided you with evidence of an earlier claim, go to Step 5.

If the customer has not provided you with evidence of an earlier claim, go to Step 4.

Step 4

Contact the customer by phone to request evidence of an earlier claim. Follow the guidance in TCM0094080.

If you are able to contact the customer by phone and they need to send evidence in, set a BF date for 30 days.

If you are able to contact the customer by phone and the customer has provided the evidence over the phone, go to Step 5.

If you are not able to contact the customer by phone, go to Step 13.

Step 5

Consider the evidence provided by the customer.

If the evidence provided is the customer stating that they made a phone call to the Tax Credits Helpline, go to Step 9.

If the evidence provided is a copy of an acknowledgement letter that relates to a claim not currently on NTC

  • this confirms the date the Tax Credit Office received an earlier claim and is acceptable evidence
  • go to Step 12.

If the evidence provided is the original acknowledgement letter, any other written correspondence, a recorded delivery receipt in relation to this or a copy of the original claim form they say they sent us, go to Step 6.

Step 6

If the correspondence is shown as sent to storage

  • retrieve the correspondence from storage. Follow the guidance in TCM0074060
  • set a BF date for 7 days.

If the correspondence is shown as a mail item on DMS, check DMS for any related mail items. For how to do this, use TCM1000037, go to Step 7.

Note: This list is not exhaustive.

If the evidence required has not been provided, go back to Step 4.

Step 7

Consider the correspondence retrieved from storage or DMS.

If the correspondence provides evidence of an earlier claim that is not on NTC, go to Step 12.

If the correspondence does not provide evidence of an earlier claim or there is no correspondence retrieved from storage or DMS, go to Step 13.

Step 8

Check whether the earliest claim has been backdated correctly. Consider whether the award is for CTC, WTC or both CTC or WTC. For how to do this, use TCM1000052.

For CTC, check that the claim has been backdated to

  • 31 days prior to the date the claim was recorded as being received
  • the date a new child was born, where there is only one child in the family
  • the date responsibility for a child commenced, where there is only one child in the family.

For how to do this, use TCM1000467.

For WTC, check that the claim has been backdated to the date the customer commenced their employment up to a maximum of 31 days.

For how to do this, use TCM1000468.

If the earliest claim has been backdated to the correct date

  • update Household Notes or Application Notes with the message BZ34 from TCM0156040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • issue TC845 to the customer
  • take no further action.

If the earliest claim has not been backdated or backdated incorrectly, go to Step 12.

Step 9

Check CMA history to establish whether a phone call was made on the date provided by the customer to enquire about an earlier claim.
Note: If you are dealing with a joint claim, you will need to check CMA history using each customer’s details, as CMA record a call history for individual customers.

If CMA history confirms that a phone call was made about an earlier claim, go to Step 12.

If CMA history does not confirm that a phone call was made about an earlier claim, go to Step 13.

Step 10

Consider whether the claim is relevant to the date the customer states they claimed from and whether the claim has been processed correctly.

If the claim is the correct date and has not been processed correctly, go to Step 11.

If the claim is not the correct date the customer states they claimed from, go back to Step 2. Follow the appropriate action for the next earliest claim.

If the claim is the correct date and has been processed correctly, take no further action.

Step 11

Where the ‘Rejected’, ‘Withdrawn’ or ‘Terminated’ claim is relevant to the date the customer says they claimed from and you have reason to believe that it has been incorrectly processed, then it will need to be restored.

If it is a ‘Rejected’ claim

  • consider entitlement and ensure the customer meets the eligibility criteria. Follow the guidance in TCM0114000
    Note: make a note of the child’s date of birth and date of responsibility, and the employment details to consider entitlement.
    Note: If a WTC-only claim has been rejected and the customer would have been eligible due to a disability benefit award, follow the guidance in TCM0022200.
  • follow the guidance in TCM0070140
  • go back to Step 8.

If it is a ‘Withdrawn’ claim

  • a withdrawn claim cannot be restored
  • go back to the earliest issued award and consider entitlement and ensure the customer meets the eligibility criteria. Follow the guidance in TCM0114000.

If it is a ‘Compliance Terminated’ claim

  • follow the relevant Compliance guidance in TCM0134000
    then, if you are advised to continue your actions
  • go back to Step 8.

If it is a ‘System Terminated’ claim

  • consider whether the claim needs to be restored. Follow the guidance in TCM0262260
  • go back to Step 8.

Step 12

Where you are satisfied that evidence of an earlier claim has been established, consider the new effective date.

If the new effective date requires forward dating, follow the guidance in TCM0022060.

If the new effective date requires backdating, follow the guidance in TCM0022040.

If the new effective date needs backdating and this cannot be done on NTC, follow the guidance in TCM0022320.

Step 13

Where there is no evidence or insufficient evidence has been provided of an earlier intention to claim, there are no grounds to backdate.

  • issue TC845A to the customer
  • update Household Notes with BZ25 from TCM0156040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • close the document on DMS. For how to do this, use TCM1000037.