Payments made in error

My wife finally got through to DWP today to check why her additional voluntary Class 3 NIC had not been processed. The payments made for 2008/9, 2009/10 and 2010/11 are showing as being paid to HMRC on her NI record. She was told by the advisor that these would not add to her pension as she had 30 qualifying years by 2016, therefore only years from 2016 onwards would qualify. We contacted DWP earlier and did not receive written advice but decided to made the payment in February 2023 before the deadline. In the circumstances can HMRC reallocate the payment or make a refund?

Hi bobisared,
Unfortunately we cannot comment on specific cases via this Forum.
If you wish to claim a refund of Class3 NICs, you will have to write to HMRC at NIC&EO, PT Operations North East England.  BX9 1AN.
Please provide your full personal details and the payment details ie tax year and amount for each year and confirm the reason you are applying for a refund.
Please note that once you apply for a refund, you cannot withdraw it and if you receive a refund you will not be able to pay for that year again in future.
Thank you. 

I followed your advice to write to HMRC NIC&EO, PT OPs NE England on behalf of my wife. I sent a letter on 26th July 2023 to request a refund or re-allocation of NIC payments. As yet I have not received an acknowledgement or any kind of reply. As it is nearly six months since sending our letter we are concerned that it has not been received. Can you confirm the post turn round time (expected delay) for this HMRC department? In the continued absence of a response my wife is considering writing to our local MP for assistance.

Hi,

For paper correspondence we are working at 36 weeks old, currently 9th May 2023, for voluntary class 3 contributions queries, but the allocation of contributions once they have been paid is 6 to 8 weeks.

If you have requested a refund in your letter, we are working to 3 weeks at present. You can check the reply time for specific types of post here:

Check when you can expect a reply from HMRC

As you have already paid funds and wish to move them to another year, as you have now confirmed the later years are beneficial with DWP, please contact our National Insurance team and they can assist you in moving the funds to another year. They will also advise you if there is any under or overpayment for the later years to ensure they are full qualifying years. Alternatively, if you have requested a refund and not to move the funds, please state this when you call so they can raise this with our refunds area as it would be past the timescales based on the date you have stated the letter was sent into HMRC.

National Insurance: general enquiries

Thank you.