TCM0282060 - Specialist areas - Bank Liaison: Bacs payments - missing

Background

Bank Liaison / Missing Payment Team receive WAMs, e-mails, correspondence or phone calls from Operations teams or Contact Centres stating that a ‘Bankers Automated Clearing System’ (Bacs) payment of tax credits has not been paid into an account.

Checklist

Before you follow this guidance, make sure

  • you follow the guidance in TCM0138020
  • you have the correct user roles to follow this guidance. Use the B&C Roles and Access Catalogue. You can find this by going to the Benefits & Credits homepage, selecting ‘R’ on the B&C A-Z index, selecting ‘Roles and Access Process’, selecting ‘Roles & Access Catalogue’ from the Related links menu

  • you are in the correct MU. Use TCM0322460 for the correct MU number.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 or Data Security Team for advice.

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    Step 1

    If it is a Compliance Corrections Team case

  • update Household Notes with the message PR52 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • send enquiry to storage or put in confidential waste as appropriate

  • take no further action.If you can continue with your action, go to Step 2.

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    Step 2

    If you are dealing with a new missing payment query, go to Step 3.

    If you are dealing with an ‘Unexpected Payment’ WAM referral

  • e-mail (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) providing the following details

  • account number
  • sort code
  • amount

  • due date

  • BF for two days

  • take no further action.If you are dealing with an expired BF following an ‘Internal Security Team’ (IST) enquiry

  • contact ‘IST’ to chase response to enquiry
  • follow this process from Step 3 as advised by the ‘IST’

  • go to Step 3.If you are dealing with a response from ‘IST’

  • follow this process from Step 3 as advised by ‘IST’

  • go to Step 3.If you are dealing with a reply to a ‘Bacs Trace Request’, go to Step 7.

    If you are dealing with an expired BF to a ‘Bacs Trace Request’

  • contact (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) to chase response

  • take appropriate action as advised or extend BF.If you are dealing with a reply from the account provider to a ‘Bacs Proof’ letter, go to Step 8.

    If you are dealing with a reply to an ‘Unexpected Payment’ WAM referral, go to Step 13.

    If you are dealing with a reply or an expired BF, where payment has gone into a third party account, following request for copies of casepapers or evidence, go to Step 13.

    If you are dealing with a reply or an expired BF to a ‘Bacs Trace Request’ from the account provider, go to Step 15.

    If you are dealing with an expired BF, following issue of TC984 and TC985, go to Step 17.

    If you are dealing with an expired BF, following issue of duplicate TC984 and TC985

  • enter details on ‘No Response’ spreadsheet
  • file all paperwork locally

  • take no further action.If you are dealing with a third party cheque e-mail from Post Room, where the payment has not yet been cancelled or re-issued, go to Step 18.

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    Step 3

    Check the ‘Postings’ or ‘Schedule’ screen for the missing payments details. For how to do this, use TCM1000486.

    Note: If you cannot find the missing payments in (Current Year) ‘CY’, check (Previous Year) ‘PY’ postings or schedule.

    If the payments have been returned, follow the guidance in TCM0240020.

    If the payments have not been returned, go to Step 4.

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    Step 4

    If Bank details have not been changed, or not changed in time to prevent payments being made to the customer’s previous account

  • refuse missing payment query request
  • update Household Notes with the message PR03 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • either send the correspondence to storage. Follow the guidance in TCM0074140 or if appropriate put in ‘Confidential Waste’
  • update stats sheet

  • take no further action.If the payments have been made to former partner and they have entitlement

  • update Household Notes with the message PR53 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.If the payments have been made to a third party account at the request of the customer

  • update Household Notes with the message PR54 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.If the payments are potentially missing, go to Step 5.

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    Step 5

    Check that you have all the details that you need to phone the customer’s account provider from WAM, e-mail, correspondence or phone call received. These details are the

  • customer’s full name
  • customer’s account number and sort code number of the account provider, if appropriate

  • date and amount of the payment that should have been paid into the account provider’s account.If you have all the details, go to Step 6.

    If you do not have all the details

  • access function ‘View Household Account’ to find the missing details. For how to do this, use TCM1000487
  • when you have all the details

  • go to Step 6.Top of page

    Step 6

    Contact the customer’s account provider to find out where the payment or payments have gone.

    If the account provider confirms the payments have gone into an account, go to Step 8.

    If the account provider refuses to or cannot provide the information requested

  • complete a ‘Bacs Trace Request’ form and email it to (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
  • set a clerical BF for two days

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 7

    If the account provider agrees to provide the information requested

  • send ‘Bacs Proof’ to account provider with the appropriate letter
  • update Household Notes with the message PR65 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • take no further action.If the account provider refuse to or cannot provide the information requested

  • access and complete a ‘Bacs Trace Request’ form from your desk top
  • send ‘Bacs Trace Request’ form and appropriate letter to the customer, making sure you adhere to all current data security requirements
  • update Household Notes with the message PR58 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 8

    If the payments have been received into the customer’s correct account

  • update Household Notes with the messages PR55 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • send the correspondence to storage. Follow the guidance in TCM0074140

  • take no further action.If the payments have been received into the customer’s correct account, but the account is frozen or overdrawn

  • update Household Notes with the messages PR55 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • send the correspondence to storage. Follow the guidance in TCM0074140

  • take no further action.If the account provider states the payments have been returned and are showing on the tax credits computer, go back to Step 3.

    If the account provider states the payments have been returned but are not showing on the tax credits computer, go to Step 9.

    If the account provider states the payments are to be returned

  • update Household Notes with the message PR59 from TCM0168020. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • take no further action.If the payments have gone into a third party’s account, go to Step 12.

    If the payments cannot be found by the account provider, go to Step 14.

    If the payments have been transferred to the customer’s account, go to Step 15.

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    Step 9

    Note: Payments can be returned by Bacs, cheque or giro credit. The account provider will return the payment to TCO or transfer the payment into the customer’s account.

    Note: Details of the appropriate tax credits account that the payment can be returned to and paid into are held by Bank Liaison Team.

    Contact the account provider, if they are not already on the phone and ask them

  • how the payments have been returned
  • what date the payments were returned
  • what account the payments were returned to

  • go to Step 10.Top of page

    Step 10

    If the payments have been returned by Bacs but are not showing on the tax credits computer

  • update Household Notes with the message PR59 from TCM0168020. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • take no further action.If the payments have been returned by cheque but are not showing on the tax credits computer

  • request details of cheque and address the cheque was sent to
  • trace the cheque

  • go to Step 11.Top of page

    Step 11

    If the cheque is traced

  • cancel and re-issue payments. Follow the guidance in TCM0212080, then return to this guidance
  • update Household Notes with the following message PR07 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.If the cheque cannot be traced

  • refer the customer to their Bank
  • update Household Notes with the message PR60 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 12

    Where the payments have gone into a third party’s account, establish how the claim was captured ‘Rapid data Capture’ (RDC), paper copy or ‘Call Replay’.

    If the claim was initially captured by ‘RDC’

  • email (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000) , using the locally produced template to request a copy of the casepapers
  • copy in your line manager
  • set a clerical BF for one week

  • take no further action.If the claim is showing as source - paper

  • request these by completing a ‘Manually captured claims and correspondence request form’ MANC1 . (using Internet Explorer) For how to do this, use TCM1000034Note: The ‘Manc1’ must be saved to your desktop in order for it to work properly.

  • copy in your line manager
  • set a clerical BF for one week

  • take no further action.If the Bank details have been amended by the contact centre it is possible to listen to the call

  • refer the case to the designated officer who has access to ‘NTC’, ‘CMA’ and ‘Call Replay’
  • set a clerical BF for one day

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 13

    Where the payments have gone into a third party’s account

  • check if a typo error has been made or if the account has been completely changed, by checking the details on the computer. For how to do this, use TCM1000094.Note: If the account details have changed by only one digit - for example, a sort code is 40-05-00 but it should be 41-05-00, there has been an error.

    Note: If the original account details have changed from the correct details to incorrect details - for example, the account provider and the account number has been changed to a completely different account, then the details have been changed back to the correct account details, this is a change, not an error.

    If the account details have been completely changed

  • refer the payment details and TC648 to ‘Organised Attack’ by e-mail (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
  • set a two day BF
  • update Household Notes with the message PR64 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.If there has been an error, go to Step 16.

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    Step 14

    If the account provider cannot locate the payments carry out a further Bacs payment trace

  • complete a ‘Bacs Trace Request’ form from your desk top and email it (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
  • set a clerical BF for two days

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 15

    If a reply is received confirming that the account provider has received the payments

  • update Household Notes with the message PR04 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.If a reply is not received

  • send a copy of the original query with the BACS proof to the account provider again
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 16

    Access ‘SEES’ and complete TC984 (Word 138KB) and TC985 (Word 135KB) recovery letter templates to the third party account provider

  • include the reference and the Bank Liaison Officer’s initials - for example, ‘CAE/BL/ surname of the tax credit customer’
  • post the letters using ‘Registered Post’ to the customer’s account provider so the account provider can forward one on to the account holder that received the payment in error
  • set a clerical BF for one month

  • consider if it is appropriate to cancel and or re-issue the payments.If it is appropriate to cancel and or re-issue the payments. Follow the guidance in TCM0212080.

    If it is not appropriate to cancel and or re-issue the payments

    Note: Payments will not be cancelled or re-issued unless they are returned by third party.

  • update Household Notes with the message PR66from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001

  • take no further action.Top of page

    Step 17

    If a reply is received from the third party customer or the BF date has expired and

  • a cheque is received from the third party account holder for the full or partial amountor

  • contact is received from the third party account holder offering to repay the payments of tax credits by instalmentsor

  • contact is received from the third party account holder and they refuse to repay the payments of tax credits

  • complete appropriate ‘R97’ (Recovery) and send along with any letters to(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

    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 or Data Security Team for advice.

  • update Household Notes with one of the following messages PR62 or PR63 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • ‘Confidential Waste’ all documents

  • take no further action.If a reply is not received from the account holder by the expiry of the BF date

  • send duplicate recovery letters TC984 and TC985
  • set a one month BF date

  • go back to Step 16.Top of page

    Step 18

    If you are dealing with a third party cheque e-mail where payment has not been cancelled and re-issued

  • cancel and re-issue payments to do this follow guidance in TCM0212080
  • update Household Notes with one of the following messages PR56 or PR57 from TCM0168040. For how to do this, use TCM1000001
  • complete ‘R97’ (Cheques) in all cases and E-mail to (This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)
  • ‘Confidential Waste’ all documents
  • take no further action