Have you been seeking advice on child benefit?

For many people the subject of child benefit can be quite complicated, and as parents we don’t want to miss out on valuable benefit for our children, especially in the current financial climate. Whilst there is plenty of advice and information available relating to child benefit some consumers may have decided to use a helpline that was set up to answer queries about this benefit. The helpline is called Child Benefit Information, and is run by a twenty four year old businessman.

However, MPs and watchdog officials have warned that consumers that use this helpline could be paying a fortune for the service, as the calls are charged at premium rates, which means that consumers could be facing charges of £1.50 per minute in order to get the advice and information that they need. Officials have said that the information that is provided on the site is actually available free of charge from the government, which means that consumers could be paying a fortune for information that is actually available for nothing.

The helpline is charging some consumers up to £28 for the information from the premium rate line, and MPs have expressed outrage at the service, demanding that it be shut down immediately. The service has been branded a complete rip off by officials. Consumer that call the helpline will actually receive information via a recorded message, and the worst thing is that the information has simply been taken off government websites and is then regurgitated via the telephone message, which lasts for around nineteen minutes.

The young man who has set up the site is said to have recorded the information from his home, and then paid thousands of pounds to ensure that the company details appear at the top of Google searched for child benefit information. Although the site links people to government websites in order to increase its credibility officials from the government and watchdog groups have stated that it is nothing more than a scam.

One Labour MP said: ‘The people running these so-called helpline charges £1.50 a minute for child benefit advice the Government provides free are preying on the unwary and it’s pretty unpleasant. If they offer nothing more than what you can get from official sources, the regulator should close them down. They are nothing more than a rip-off.’

A Liberal Democrat MP added: ‘People searching for information about benefits need help, not exorbitant phone charges. Despite the disclaimers, anyone glancing at the website would assume it was official.’

An official from the consumer campaign group, Which?, said: ‘All the information on this line is available elsewhere, either much more cheaply or for free. It would be in the interests of consumers to have it closed down.’

Consumer looking for advice on child benefit are urged to look at government websites in order to get advice and to avoid the website, as they could otherwise find that they are faced with huge bills for advice that is actually available for nothing.