It has now come to light that HMRC<\/a> sent out letters questioning the residency of almost 35,000 of the 6.9m in receipt of child benefit across the UK.<\/p>\n Also among those whose benefits were frozen are a woman who went to France for five days after her husband died there; a Lithuanian man, living and paying taxes in England for 24 years, who was \u201ccaught\u201d after he went on a five-day holiday with his son to Italy via Stansted airport; a family from Hove who flew in and out of Gatwick on a trip to Australia; and a woman who flew to Bristol from Belfast for her grandmother\u2019s funeral but returned via Dublin airport.<\/p>\n HMRC apologised to the families and admitted it had sent letters to 0.5% of the 6.9m claimants with \u201cpayments suspended\u201d while inquiries continued. It said it expected \u201cthe majority had been suspended correctly\u201d.<\/p>\n It also said it was \u201curgently reviewing the current process and actively considering options.\u201d<\/p>\n But the parents who have had their child benefits stopped are furious.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does feel like you are being punished for going away,\u201d said Cerys, a music teacher. She took her three children on a one-day trip to Amsterdam from John Lennon airport in Liverpool, with the sole purpose of familiarising two of them, who have been diagnosed with autism, with flying. They left at 6am and returned that night to make sure they would make bedtime at home, to minimise anxiety.<\/p>\n \u201cChild benefit are now saying that there is no evidence of me returning with my family so I need to produce a ridiculous amount of evidence to prove that I have not been living in Amsterdam since February. We flew out of and back into Liverpool airport the same day,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the one time in God knows how many years we have gone abroad. My son is eight now and this was the first time he was abroad, but we lost child benefit because of it,\u201d said Cerys.<\/p>\n She said she initially thought the HMRC letter was a scam and now faces demands to provide original bank statements, letters from old and new schools and GP records to prove she is not a fraudster.<\/p>\n What frustrates her further is that the government has universal credit records that show she is in the UK and has recently moved from Liverpool to Newcastle. But this was not cross-checked.<\/p>\n The \u00a360 a week she receives for the three children may not seem a lot, she says, but as she is freelance it is a vital part of her household budget.<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact us about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/strong><\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Select \u2018Secure Messaging\u2019. <\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/strong><\/p>\n If you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761634874_63_4000.jpg\")
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