RESIDENTS in Ayr and Carrick who rely on Tax Credits faced false allegations of fraud by Concentrix who stopped their benefits without warning.

One single parent was accused of being married to one of their children and another woman was allegedly having a relationship with her father. 

A tax credit is an amount of money a taxpayer is able to subtract from taxes owed to the government. Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock MP Corri Wilson was able to address the issue at a debate in parliament on October 26 this year. 

At the debate Corri highlighted a 'prime example' of someone whom the 'system has failed'.

A single mum of two, who suffers from anxiety and panic attacks, despite having a line from her doctor, lost her job for being off ill. 

Her employer did not pay her statutory sick pay, and she was told that she would have to wait at least two weeks for employment support allowance. 

The woman found that both her working tax credits and her child tax credits had been stopped.

Corri said: "When the woman first came to my office, she had no food and no money for gas or electricity. She had called Concentrix 48 times that day and had run out of credit on her phone. 

"Rather than the state providing her and the children with a safety net in their time of need, Concentrix had left them near destitute."

Parliament heard how it's not just people in Ayr and Carrick who have been suffering in this way. But in the meantime the situation seems to have been resolved.

Speaking about the situation, Corri said: "Thankfully, everyone who contacted me after losing their tax credits in this scandal has now had them reinstated, and HMRC have cancelled the contract with Concentrix. 

"But there are so many questions for the UK Government to answer about this disastrous contract, and the terrible impact their mismanagement has had on so many families who have done nothing wrong. 

"We need proper answers now about what exactly happened within Concentrix so that we can ensure that this never happens again."
Corri has vowed to help everyone who has been affected by this 'disgraceful and entirely avoidable' situation.