Tax return due by January 2010 or £100 fine

cepheus

The long running saga continues. I found out a few days ago that there is a way on the HMRC site of re-requesting your activation code . Lo behold I received one in the post yesterday, all fired up carefully placing the code in it fails!

Then I noticed the date on the letter 27th April! This must have been the original code two weeks late, and they must have changed it Aaaaaaagh!


Perhaps I should have used the paper version, but my situation is particularily complicated this year. However, compared to actually getting to use this thing, the tax itself will be a doddle.

babyharry5

Its a total mess - my hubby sent off his written tax return ( recorded delivery) and only found out in january ( when they issued a request for online ) that they hadn't rcvd it - even though royal mail tracking confirms receipt .
They advised that rather than wait for them to find it, he just do it online, which he did ( after waiting for pin codes etc)

not long ago we receive a £100 penalty notice for not completing tax return?? date on notice was two weeks prior to us rcvg it - we phoned them up and were told that they were having problems with the computers transferring data and to ring back a few days later - which we did.
They then said that my husband ( dozy s*d) had completed the return online and received a submission number, but failed to press the submit button on the last page.
We then filed an appeal to explain that we had sent return ( via recorded) which they had lost, then had to refile online & when he received the submission number, he thought it was complete . Therefore, not avoiding the return but due initially to their error ( recorded tracking information was given , but they were not interested).
We received a letter to day that the appeal had been declined as they did not receive the letter within 28 days of theirs!!!!
They didnt sent the notice letter for a fortnight after they printed it!! and then asked that we call back as probs were with their computers, and then we wrote the same day but they said they rcvd 2 weeks later???
GGGRRRRRRR!!!
My husband is PAYE by the way and owed £15.17 after the return was finally rcvd!

Have totally given up given trying to communicate with them

cepheus

My understanding is that it is 3 months and not 28 days from receiving the notice to complete the return? I hope since I will need every day at this rate! and it seems paper based systems are no better!

kickwhamstunner

It's 3 months to complete the return, but 28 days to appeal any penalties.

John_Pierpoint

Beware of being sent an email (two pages of it) that in effect says "you cannot do it on-line"
and then invites you to guess which of the two pages of reasons applies to you.
You spam filter may be hard at work trying to throw it away.

cepheus

Yip they changed the activation code, because I received the new one yesterday. So the first one took nearly 3 weeks to arrive the second one 2 days. So they both nearly arrived together! The HMRC should be in the public transport business!

Now got in at long last!

dori2o

cepheus wrote: »

Yip they changed the activation code, because I received the new one yesterday. So the first one took nearly 3 weeks to arrive the second one 2 days. So they both nearly arrived together! The HMRC should be in the public transport business!

Now got in at long last!

Just remind me who it is exactly that delivers the post in this country?

Any delays with post delivery are down to Royal Mail.

John_Pierpoint

In that case HMRC must be in the back dating the correspondence business - I received a letter dated April a week into May. It was an attempt to explain a refund of tax BUT I had already received the computer generated calculation and the money and written back querying some points. Now what happens?
Is it their turn to write to me or my turn to write to them: "Thanks for the late arrival of your letter but as you already know from my letter; we still have not managed to get it right!" This could run & run.
If a letter "costs" say ten quid to write it is worth putting a first class stamp on it.

The problem seems to be endemic, and this is why I don't like using the 'phone:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/22114803#Comment_22114803

Physics does tell us that when a "black hole" opens up it swallows every thing in the galaxy around it eventually.

custardy

dori2o wrote: »

Just remind me who it is exactly that delivers the post in this country?

Any delays with post delivery are down to Royal Mail.

well it depends
does the HMRC send its mail directly via RM or via a downstream operator?

anyway having dealt with a lot of HMRC mail in delivery its not uncommon to have them call RM to ask if HMRC received a letter when it tracks as delivered
so they are far from infalliable

just as in this post

babyharry5 wrote: »

Its a total mess - my hubby sent off his written tax return ( recorded delivery) and only found out in january ( when they issued a request for online ) that they hadn't rcvd it - even though royal mail tracking confirms receipt .