Receiving child benefit Review forms every few months..

cormacl

Folks,
we have one child, born September '08 and are in receipt of child benefit. Both of us are working.

Since July 2009, we have received 4 forms from the Child Benefit section asking us to renew our child benefit cover. The form requires us to state that one or both of us are employed and have the form stamped by one of our employers.

We've received these on 30/7/09, 27/10/09, 30/01/10 and most recently 27/04/10. If you do not fill this form in and return it, they will cancel the benefit. I've done my bit each time and had the form filled in, stamped and returned.. but its annoying to have to do this over and over. I feel like we're being treated like criminals.

I've asked them to explain what the policy is for issuing these forms.. one person tried to bull**** me that it was a random allocation and amazingly I've been picked 4 times in the laster year alone.

Their supervisor said that the Eamonn O'Cuiv issues directives to them to issue these letters but dodged the issue at hand on why we are getting these all the time.

My wife is German.. I think thats why we are being targeted.. and I think I have a right to know why we are being checked continuously. They maintain that thousands of people get these forms all the time.. yet I know of no-one that gets these... not in my family or workplace.

Anyone else have this experience?
Also any advice on how I can go about putting this bull**** to an end?

Its been suggested to me to contact the local TD and try to get this answered that route.. but I'm not optimistic to be honest.

snuggles09

I've never heard of this happening before at all and I've 3 the eldest being 8 and never once got a form hope you get it sorted..sounds like a right pain

January

It is because your wife is German... there's been a big hullabaloo about this...

Check out...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055615309&highlight=child+benefit

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=95206&highlight=child+benefit

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=128863&highlight=child+benefit

GerardKeating

cormacl wrote: »

My wife is German.. I think thats why we are being targeted.. and I think I have a right to know why we are being checked continuously. They maintain that thousands of people get these forms all the time.. yet I know of no-one that gets these... not in my family or workplace.

Anyone else have this experience?
Also any advice on how I can go about putting this bull**** to an end?

We also get this every few months. If the mother is a non-national, they send this letter regularly, we get it more frequently, but my wife is non-EU.

Since Child benefit is only payable if our kids are resident in RoI, they feel entitled to check every few months that our wives have not fled "home" with the kids..

Balagan

It must be very annoying to have this happen but they will no doubt argue they are within their rights. Maybe try extracting the Michael from them by enclosing a new up-to-date photo of the entire family with each form preferably ranged around the same easily identifiable Oirish landmark.

cormacl

Thanks for the replies..

It's kind of funny to see that its openly stated on government websites that this policy applies.. yet the folks in Letterkenny would not confirm or deny this to me yesterday... instead saying it was "random" and then the supervisor saying it was not random and then refusing to elaborate any further.

I realise the end goal at hand and acknowledge any part of the civil service actively trying to save money, our money.

Having to fill in forms every three months and get them stamped by my employer is really annoying for both me and my employer.

To think that this procedure will apply until my children are grown up is a little on the insulting side to be honest.

But we survive.

useless

You probably won't have to keep filling in the forms until your kids are grown up... over the next couple of Budgets, Child Benefit will probably be means tested & if you're actually working and earning a wage then the govt will probably deem you 'wealthy' enough to do without it...:)

Dublin Muppet

2 of my friends got these forms to complete as well. They are both Irish and their partners are Irish as well so they aren't just targeting non Irish.

Agent_99

I got one recently as well, I can remember getting one a few years back... both me and OH are Irish, kids are both a school.

Balagan

Dublin Muppet wrote: »

2 of my friends got these forms to complete as well. They are both Irish and their partners are Irish as well so they aren't just targeting non Irish.

Do they receive the forms every three months?

seanin4711

fourth one in as many months!
we are robbing the government all right!:rolleyes:
the only ones doing that are non tax-paying people who manage to have newer cars than me and i also fund their homes by my tax paying,i am a real nice chap after all!
:mad: