Anyone sent a cheque to HMRC to pay class 3 nics?

[DealorNoDeal]

My wife requested her National Insurance record from HMRC which included a form to pay voluntary class 3 nics.

Four weeks ago we filled in the form and sent it with a cheque to the address on the letter (NIC&EO, HMRC, BX9 1AN). I checked the bank yesterday, and the cheque still hasn't even been cashed.

Anyone else done this? How long does it take for them to get their finger out?

Thanks.

[northernladuk]

Anyone sent a cheque to HMRC

Yep. Am sure quite a few people did it in the 1970's 80's and 90's

[DealorNoDeal]

I stumbled on an HMRC forum where one of their admins said the current backlog for processing payments is about 16 weeks.

[northernladuk]

I stumbled on an HMRC forum where one of their admins said the current backlog for processing payments is about 16 weeks.

Perfect reason to not send a cheque.

[DealorNoDeal]

Perfect reason to not send a cheque.

Not really. Even if you do a bank transfer, the backlog is still 16 weeks to process the payment (update your NI record etc).

[Fred Bloggs]

By coincidence........ I had to call HMRC at Newcastle today. I paid a few years voluntary contributions back last July 2021 by bank transfer. Upon checking this morning, my NICs records hadn't been updated. Quite appalling really. Anyway, the lady at HMRC was very helpful and said that the money paid by me was on my NIC account but hadn't been actioned. It was actioned while I was on the phone. I logged out of the government gateway, logged back in five minutes later and the NIC record is now up to date. The lesson here is to check soon after sending the money. Don't just assume it's been actioned properly. Lesson has been learned here.

[NotAllThere]

I've found that calling them early in the day gets you through a lot more quickly than later.

[DealorNoDeal]

I paid a few years voluntary contributions back last July 2021 by bank transfer. Upon checking this morning, my NICs records hadn't been updated.

When you're paying by bank transfer, how do you specify which NI gaps you want filling?

[Fred Bloggs]

When you're paying by bank transfer, how do you specify which NI gaps you want filling?

Excellent question. You call them, they agree with you verbally which years you are paying for. They give you a long string of numbers as the bank transfer reference to quote. Then it just happens. In my case, this time it got stuck. The second time I called, the person could see everything discussed from the first call several months previously. She apologised, saying that the updating of my NIC record had been initiated but for reasons unknown, had not been completed. She was very good, very helpful. The NIC record was updated whilst I was on the call. As good as her word, when I signed out and back in again, the NIC record was correct as originally requested. Hope that helps.

[DealorNoDeal]

Excellent question. You call them, they agree with you verbally which years you are paying for. They give you a long string of numbers as the bank transfer reference to quote. Then it just happens. In my case, this time it got stuck. The second time I called, the person could see everything discussed from the first call several months previously. She apologised, saying that the updating of my NIC record had been initiated but for reasons unknown, had not been completed. She was very good, very helpful. The NIC record was updated whilst I was on the call. As good as her word, when I signed out and back in again, the NIC record was correct as originally requested. Hope that helps.

Thanks, that's really helpful.

What number did you call? The one on our letter is 03000 560629