Advice on HMRC warning of enforcement action

hesjane

Hi

I wonder if anyone on this forum could provide some much needed advice please?

My son and his wife have separated. My son had a limited company and appears to have just walked away it. I don't know anything about the state of the company but clearly it has not been operating for about 2 years. I don't think he 'wound it up' properly. I am guessing he just walked away. He had a massive breakdown, but that doesn't change where we are today.

My daughter-in-law (DIL) lives with her mother, with the 2 young children from the marriage.

Today a letter was put through the front door where my DIL lives, in a plain white envelope with no return address on. The name/address typed in the window of the envelope was the company name and on the envelope was written "FAO xxxxxxx - by hand" (where xxxxx is my son's Christian and Surname).

Because there was no return address, rather than just bin the letter, my DIL opened it so see who to return it to. It was from HMRC notifying a warning of enforcement action for 'Type of Tax: VAT'. The amount owed is just under £4k.

The letter stated they called today to collect payment of the above amount or to determine your assets for sale at auction. You need to pay in full immediately. If you do not pay the full amount you owe, I will visit you again. If I then take Taking Control of Goods enforcement action to collect your debt I will have to charge you an initial fee of £75 (Fee 1).

There is more, but you get the idea.

My DIL and her mum are distraught. We've sent the letter back special delivery confirming he does not live there and only stayed there on a temp basis for a few months in early 2014. He has never been on the electoral role there. There is nothing there that belongs to him or the business. I can't believe they will cease/desist making contact at my DILs address because of a letter - if it were that easy every debtor with the threat of enforcement action would just do that.

Does anyone have any advice on anything else we should/could do?

I'm helping my DIL sort out her life and have just convinced her to give up struggling with non-business joint debts they had and we are just putting together letters to the creditors to advise she can only afford token payments and preparing an income and expenditure sheet as well. I would help my son, and before anyone says contact him and pass the letter/info to him - we don't know where he is/lives. I know he's alive (very occasionally responds text messages - never answers phone if I try to call though). I don't know he's well (mentally). That's another story and more than two years of tears and emotional upset.

Thanks for reading and any advice will be much appreciated.

sourcrates

Hi,

Looks like court action has been taken, and a CCJ issued in favour of HMRC.

It's not my area of expertise at all, I would advise calling Buisness Debtline who should be able to help you :

https://www.businessdebtline.org

hesjane

sourcrates wrote: »

Hi,

Looks like court action has been taken, and a CCJ issued in favour of HMRC.

It's not my area of expertise at all, I would advise calling Buisness Debtline who should be able to help you :

https://www.businessdebtline.org

Many thanks. I will phone them tomorrow.

What I didn't make clear in my first post is that only my son was listed as a director (or whatever it is) for the limited company. His wife had/has no relationship with the limited company.

We cannot imagine where they have got her address from. The marital home was sold to pay some of the company debts (stupid move but couldn't talk him out of it at the time). Clearly the company had more debts than he let on. He and DIL moved temporarily into her mum's - he stayed a few months and then disappeared. The marriage has broken down. She is still at her mum's with the kids 2 years later.

The worry is fighting off enforcement action to take control of property that is DILs and/or her mum's.

jenny+luke

I'm pretty sure that they can only take goods that belong to the person on the letter, your son. If he's never been on the electoral roll there and hasn't lived there for a couple of years, surely they can't do anything. There must be ways for them to find him, maybe they are clutching at straws and turning up at any address that he's been linked with.

Sorry I can't be of anymore help but wanted to say that I hope your DIL manages to sort this out and I hope your son is mentally well. you sound like a great FIL, wish mine was a bit more like you

good luck

hesjane

jenny+luke wrote: »

Sorry I can't be of anymore help but wanted to say that I hope your DIL manages to sort this out and I hope your son is mentally well. you sound like a great FIL, wish mine was a bit more like you

good luck

Thank you. I am the MIL not the FIL. My husband and I love our son very much, but we also love our DIL. She has been a part of our family for almost 13 years. She has been amazing throughout the last 2 years and we are very lucky she continues to consider herself and her children still a massively important part of our family. Whatever happened between them is exactly that - between them and we would hopefully never let it affect our relationship with her.

Our relationship with our DIL, grandchildren, and indeed her parents, is probably stronger than ever as we have all gone through a difficult couple of years supporting each other.

Hopefully this is just another bump in the journey to them both moving forward with their lives, but some days it's hard; especially when letters like that drop through her door.

tealady

What a lovely MIL you sound. I hope you get this sorted without affecting your relationships with your son DIL and grand children.

pelirocco

If it's debt incurred by a ltd company , then they can only seize assets owned by the company

andyfromotley

+1 Great MIL