‘Concentrix leaving families in financial mess’ – McNulty

SDLP Assembly Member for Newry and Armagh Justin McNulty MLA has claimed that many families across Newry and Armagh are facing real financial hardship because of the way in which HMRC and Concentrix have been handling claims.

McNulty made the comments after it was revealed that Concentrix had lost the contract for the service with HMRC.

McNulty explained, “Tax Credits are a vital part of the household income for many families across this constituency and are targeted at low and middle income families. Many rely on them for assistance with childcare costs to enable parents to work.

“In recent months our office have helped countless people who have had their Tax Credits stopped as part of an investigation by Concentrix.

“In many of the instances the benefits have been stopped because of some very outdated information held by HMRC or partner agencies. In many cases they are questioning who is living in a property, they stop payment only to discover that they hold details for the claimant and his/her landlord.

“However what is deeply concerning is that when claimants provide information or evidence, it is simply ignored and Tax Credit payments are stopped,” he continued.

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“I welcome the news that HMRC have listened to the concerns of local representatives about the shambolic way people are being treated and are to move the service in house. However when this happens we must see a complete change in attitude by them.

“I have been helping young families struggling to survive, some on as little as £30 a week whilst waiting on HMRC to get their house in order.

McNulty added, “Families are really struggling, HMRC and Concentrix are putting local families under extreme pressure with their current policy and any service which replaces Concentrix must be realistic and take account of the impact of their decisions on people’s lives.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Sep 29 2016. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry