Susan MacInnes

I discovered that you now allow direct payment online without having to go through the hassle of phoning for a reference number. (This is useful - well done for arranging this option. ) So I made a payment from my bank account on 2 May. I have evidence that the payment went through but it is now 3 weeks later and again there is an issue in that my online HMRC account doesn’t show that it has been credited correctly to my NI record. When will this be updated? If it’s possible to make instant online payments why does it take so long to update the records?

Thanks but you are still not addressing my point! I’m not asking HMRC to advise on whether I should pay or not. I’m asking you how I can have confidence a cheque will be credited to the right place when no receipt is issued ( as is indeed the case with an online payment) and it takes so long to update my online NI record?

Thanks for the reply - I understood the process for paying by cheque. However paying this way rather than online still doesn't allay my concerns about whether the payment has been received and correctly credited as there is no receipt issued and it takes (literally) months for the online record to be updated. How can I be confident that my money has gone to the right place? The whole system of having to contact DWP then HMRC via telephone seems very antiquated - as does the cheque option!

There is a note on the NI record page saying that it will soon be possible to make payments via the Government Gateway site. Any idea when this will be launched? This is the obvious way forward to avoid all the difficulties encountered in making these payments - saving time for HMRC and frustration for taxpayers.

I have paid missing years before but it is an extreme hassle to have to call both DWP and HMRC just to get the 18 digit code for an online payment. And when you do pay online there is no receipt provided...and then it takes months for the records to be updated so I always wonder if my money has been credited correctly which is worrying. I see that there is an option to send the payment by cheque (how last century!) and a covering letter giving your NI Number by post to HMRC. Has anyone had experience of doing this? At least my bank statement would show if the cheque had been cashed but again there is the issue of not knowing if it has been correctly credited.