Distraint Visit from HMRC

Ethereal_Gaz

Whilst I was out today a lovely lady from HMRC visited my house. She asked if I was at home, and if my company was still trading, handed over a letter and asked for me to call her urgently.

The letter says that I owe 22k and if I don't make payment in full she "may make a further call to levy distraint." "Interest will be added" etc. My wife was very shook up about this as I asked her to open the letter - she was shocked at the figure.

The main thing is that I owe less than half of what they've estimated. I owed 8.5k last year as I had a difficult year trading with 4 month on Jobseekers, began paying 1k a month in January but had to stop after 2 months as I'd grossly overestimated what I could pay. Just this week I've had my tax return back from the accountant and that's £5k. I just need to send that in. So the total should be around £11.5k, 5k of which isn't due until next January.

I've had several communications with HMRC since. The last time I spoke to one of their advisers, about 6 weeks ago, I was asked to send profit projections for the next 3 months and proof of 3 months earnings. I did this about 3 weeks ago and have been waiting for them to contact me with how much I need to pay.

This visit is a shock. The 22k figure is an even bigger one.

I have £1.5k saved for them, and should have a similar amount in 3 weeks.

Who should I call tomorrow? I've had dealings lately with debt collectors and know they'll try anything to get you to start payments with them. I'm not saying that HMRC are the same but I've read that they do pass debts on.

Sorry if this post sounds a bit flippant - I am worried, just had lots of dealing with DC's in the last year and know there are processes to follow here. Any advice with what to do next would really be appreciated.

lemon1

HMRC don't mess about, they aren't like other creditors.. you need professional help ASAP. I'm in the same boat as you owing HMRC thousands of pounds for Tax, Vat and Paye, it's frightening recieving a bill for thousands of pounds and expecting payment immediately.
There is help out there for you, business debtline... bdl.org have been brilliant for me, they're free and a trusted agency to contact. Please try not to worry, phone them in the morning and get a plan of action from them, they'll send you loads of information through the post.. knowledge is power! Deal with it one day at a time and whatever you do- keep communicating with HMRC, it will buy you more time whilst you sort out what you need to do.
I'll be thinking of you, good luck

Ethereal_Gaz

Thanks for the support Lemon. I'll give them a call in the morning. I have spoken to them before about personal debt. Just don't want to waste time on this and I know they can be very busy. Still, I'll give them a try if nobody else thinks I should speak to HMRC first??

chevalier

I think the above poster was suggesting your talk to bdl about your business debt which is the tax you owe hmrc. Can your accountant write a letter outlining what you said about 5k not being due until next January, and asking them for a breakdown of the figures?

lemon1

If you contact bdl and get some advice from them they'll tell you what you should do next... if HMRC are aware you're getting debt advice from them they might back off a few days so you can sort out what to do next... you can phone them before or after you've contacted bdl.. I've always got through 1st time to bdl, they're a great service