National Insurance debt

Kulhwch

A few months ago I received a class 2 national insurance bill which covered a period of private tuition I gave from November 2012 to June 2013. The letter states that the total amount (approx £70) is due no later than January 2014, so I put it in a draw and forgot about it for a while.

However, recently I discovered that NI falls into six month brackets, and that due from the period November 2012 - April 2013 would normally be payable by 31 July.

On closer inspection, hidden in the information on the back on the payment request letter is the following sentence:

'If arrears for earlier periods are shown you must pay them immediately'

I am now quite confused. The main letter identifies that I owe NI from two periods (£50 up to April 2013, £20 for afterwards), but lumps it into a single £70 amount and states that this number is due in January 2014.

My question is: am I unintentionally in debt from misunderstanding a very badly written letter, and if so, what are the consequences of being two months late with payment?

It mentions that this debt may be passed to a debt collection agency, which worries me as I don't want my credit rating affected over a matter of £50 NI contributions!

Thanks for your help

redpete

Phone HMRC and ask them.