Threatened with court action!

ctm_2

Taking you to court is not the first thing HMRC will have done. They will have issued statements to you showing you what you owe. When the payment becomes overdue they will send you further statements and reminders. You wil then receive a notice informing you of the first surcharge they add, then the 2nd. You will continue to receive statements, and other letters demanding the money.

HMRC will have issued these. Why you didn't receive them is something you need to know. Did you keep HMRC informed of your address if you moved? This is your responsibility to do.

You need to contact HMRC, and find out exactly what the money you owed was for. Establish how the liability arose, and if it was in fact due. Also ask if there are any outstanding returns etc, so you know exactly where you stand.

Also ask them where they were sending notices to.

Twopints

ctm wrote:

HMRC will have issued these. Why you didn't receive them is something you need to know. Did you keep HMRC informed of your address if you moved? This is your responsibility to do.

The OP has moved to Australia - that might have something to do with it. You'd have thought that would be a safe enough distance.

bridiej

ctm wrote:

Taking you to court is not the first thing HMRC will have done. They will have issued statements to you showing you what you owe. When the payment becomes overdue they will send you further statements and reminders. You wil then receive a notice informing you of the first surcharge they add, then the 2nd. You will continue to receive statements, and other letters demanding the money.

HMRC will have issued these. Why you didn't receive them is something you need to know. Did you keep HMRC informed of your address if you moved? This is your responsibility to do.

You need to contact HMRC, and find out exactly what the money you owed was for. Establish how the liability arose, and if it was in fact due. Also ask if there are any outstanding returns etc, so you know exactly where you stand.

Also ask them where they were sending notices to.

Yes, I told them (in writing) when I made payment for 04/05 when we left to use my parents address for any correspondence, I can only assume they havent bothered to update their records which is why I've never had anything until now, when I paid (what I thought was) my last lot of UK tax.

I have tried numerous times on the phone but it's impossible to get through. Will just have to patiently wait for them to reply to my letter I suppose..... :rolleyes:

Thanks for taking the time to reply

bridiej

Well, yesterday more news from my parents yet ANOTHER letter threatening court action, this time demanding over £500!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

I phoned and amazingly got through this time and spoke to a woman who still could not explain to me how I owed the original £400, but she did admit they'd made a mistake on this latest demand as it was for tax I couldnt possibly owe as I no longer lived or traded in the UK.

Well, I did tell them this in writing when I left, along with passing on my parent's address for any future correspondence, which I would imagine by the sound of it has been ignored, although funnily enough they didnt ignore the cheque for over £2600 which was with the letter..... :rolleyes:

When I asked her why they had never contacted me before now about all this she had the cheek to blame my parents for not passing on my mail - which was definitely the wrong thing to say to me when I was in that frame of mind.

So I guess what's happened is they ignored my letter, they've probably been sending things to my old address which is no good as the people there dont have a forwarding address: although it still doesnt make 100% sense to me as we had our mail forwarded on for 6 months when we left just in case anything important slipped through the net.

And still I have no idea why I owe this original £400 when all my tax is up to date and paid..... so another letter coming on I feel. No doubt in six months I'll get a cheque refunding this money...! :rolleyes:

Sorry for the rant, just had to share and get it off my chest

Hoddie_2

You need to call and demand that the £400 liability is explained to you. Obviously remain polite (as it's not the advisor's fault if a mistake has been made), but you have every right to know why you're being chased.

Off the top of my head it can only be one of four things:
- you've submitted a Self Assessment tax return
- HMRC have done an informal assessment
(either of the above can show that more tax is due than was deducted at source)
- there was a 'potential underpayment' that was never collected because you left the UK
- you claimed a repayment that later turned out to not be due.

They have to tell you whichever it is and give you a chance to check their figures. They would argue that it's your responsibility to keep them up-to-date with any change of address, and to complete a P85 when you leave the UK. I do think though that all you need is to speak to someone at HMRC who is knowledgable enough to identify where this amount has come from, perhaps call them and ask for a technician. It may mean that they need to send documents to you so you can review them (they won't discuss income over the phone), in which case you'll need to agree with the Recovery office a period of grace during which they will not persue further action (ask for the relevant number when you call).

bridiej

Thanks for that

Yes, I did a P85 before I left as well as sending them the letter.

I might see if I can keep my calm and phone them again later

maypole

The best thing to do is write to them. A phone call can just be ignored by them.

Write, stating all the facts, send it recorded delivery and you can even check via the Royal Mail website whether it has been delivered and signed for and by whom.

If I ever have a complaint, I always write, a letter usually can't be ignored.

Good luck

Hoddie_2

A phone call can just be ignored by them.

While this may be true of private companies, it certainly isn't true of HMRC. How many companies will connect you to a manager if you ask? How many companies will arrange for the regional customer services manager to call you back if you're not satisfied with the manager's response? How many companies fully comply with the Data Protection Act and actually know what you're talking about when you mention it? Not all contact centres are staffed by competent, skilled, trained and reasonable people, but for the most part, all HMRC contact centres are.

This myth that HMRC only want to rip people off is annoying.

HMRC will not offer financial advice, that is they will not offer an opinion of how best to arrange your affairs, but they will help you pay the right amount of tax based on your decisions, and help you claim the right amount of repayment based on your circumstances.

Furthermore, I'm reasonably sure that ill-informed opinions such as this will serve only to offend the very people who frequent this board and who are best-placed to offer the assistance people seek (ie HMRC staff).

Write, stating all the facts, send it recorded delivery and you can even check via the Royal Mail website whether it has been delivered and signed for and by whom.

While this would work, proof of delivery is not proof that you delivered a particular document or provided the necessary facts. You could have sent an empty envelope (some people often use this tactic to bypass the buyer protection scheme on PayPal).

The best first call with any tax problem is your tax advisor if you have one. The next best is a call to HMRC - I would say 95% of the time they will give you the right advice to effect the most efficient resolution (and will often include putting some details in writing).

By the way, post is much easier to ignore than a phone ringing in your ear. HMRC keep audited detailed statistics on the number of calls they receive, and the number of people who encounter an engaged tone. They also have customer service surveys conducted by independent companies to ensure people are happy with the service offered. Post is audited and counted internally only.

[/rant]

maypole

Well I never intended to offend anyone. But I still say letter is more effective than phone.

RayWolfe

I have never had a problem when I ring the tax man and I deal with the tax affairs of myself, Mrs W and Mrs W's mother.

I believe that scepticism is a very healthy trait but the degree of cynicism creeping into our society is truly worrying.