A UK woman who booked a flight from London to Oslo but never checked in or travelled has had her child benefit payments stopped after tax officials recorded her as having emigrated. Lisa Morris‑Almond was due to fly to Norway in April 2024 for a friend’s wedding, but the event was cancelled days before and she did not travel.
Three weeks ago she noticed her child benefit had not arrived and rang the child benefit helpline. After being asked to check her bank, she called back to say there was no problem with her account. HMRC then told her its records showed she had taken a flight to Norway and there was “no record of her return”. Morris‑Almond says the adviser would not accept her explanation that she never checked in and merely replied that the records showed she had not come back.
She also queried why HMRC’s checks showed no PAYE tax records for her in the previous 18 months, despite being in work. HMRC told her it would send a letter that she could respond to. Morris‑Almond described the situation as “ludicrous” and said it was unfair that individuals must fix errors caused by government systems.
Her case is one of roughly 23,500 parents whose child benefit was suspended in recent weeks as part of a government crackdown on suspected benefit fraud. The action used travel and passenger data to flag people who might have emigrated and so become ineligible for child benefit.
Some affected people did travel and did not return, but many others, like Morris‑Almond, did not leave the UK. The use of Border Force or passenger data rather than PAYE employment records has prompted questions from the Liberal Democrats, who have asked ministers in parliament to explain why that data source was prioritised and whether the pilot was impact‑assessed before the wider checks began. One other claimant said they were wrongly flagged after flying out and returning by Eurostar.
The Home Office has said operators of international passenger services are legally required to provide passenger information for immigration, customs and law enforcement purposes. That data appears to have been shared with HMRC for the eligibility checks.
HMRC has apologised for errors and said it has paused the practice of suspending child benefit payments before contacting claimants, while it reinstates PAYE checks as part of its process. The department said it had checked 1.5 million of the 6.9 million beneficiaries and that 589 of the 23,500 parents flagged had had payments restored after the mistakes were identified. It is urging people who receive a letter to call the number provided with PAYE details and to use the new, simplified questionnaire on personal circumstances instead of the original longer form.
The controversy has prompted calls for urgent answers about data accuracy, how Border Force information was used, and what steps will be taken to correct incorrect records and prevent eligible families being left without payments.
