"Dead" woman told she can't have tax credit

Date: 29th July 2009

A Glasgow woman has told of her trouble with securing her working tax credit from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Carol Buchanan, 47, was told at her local post office that the tax authority would not pay the credit - because she had been listed as deceased on their computer systems.

The Govan resident, who works part-time as a cleaner, is also unlikely to secure compensation from HMRC for the error, as this could in turn lead to her working tax credits being overpaid.

She commented: "It wasn't a very nice thing to hear ... The HMRC is saying my case is a priority, but have yet to give me a timescale.

"They say it could be four weeks [until it is solved]."

Commenting on the unpaid credit, a spokesman from HMRC said: "Once we have received all the information from Ms Buchanan, we'll look at all the case notes and get in touch with her."

Working tax credits are one of the more common ways used by UK consumers to save tax.

They can be claimed by many people on low wages, provided that they are over 25 years old, work over 30 hours a week and earn £14,000 or less.

In all, tax credits are thought to support around 20 million British people - or one in three of the total population.