Debt Product Testing Stage 3

Assignment under the Market Research Framework MR130001

Tax credits is being replaced by Universal Credit (UC) so that eventually all tax credits customers will either have moved to Universal Credit or left the tax credits regime entirely. A large proportion of tax credits customers will have outstanding tax credits debts - When a customer moves to UC, HMRC will transfer any outstanding tax credits debt to UC for recovery. The transfer of tax credits debts to Universal Credit is new and new IT and products are being developed to support the process. • To test the draft web based guidance with a range of tax credits customers, to determine whether they might prove effective in driving the desired behaviour. • To explore customers responses to the resurrection of older (historic) debt for recovery and whether the guidance satisfies their need for further information. • To explore whether customers understand how HMRC is treating their debts as individuals (as opposed to joint) debts and how HMRC have treated these debts where the household has subsequently split up.