Accountant mistake, who's responsible?

shays_mum

Hi,
After a difficult 18m following bereavement I'm in the process of having wound down my ltd company.
The accountant's have struck off the business without realising that there was about £20k due to me from HMRC. From tax year 17/18 apparently.:eek:
Now HMRC won't pay the money (even though it's going straight to settle a tax bill) & the accountant's want £600 to apply to court to reestablish the company & get the money back that way.
I am so stuck between everyone & expected to foot a bill i can't afford. Can anyone please advise, i would really appreciate your thoughts. Tia x:o

BoGoF

It's not a case of HMRC won't repay.....they can't. As things stand the Ltd company no longer exists. If it is your accountants mistake then follow their complsints procedure.

Pennywise

How did the accountant strike it off? The strike off form requires the signatures of the director(s). An accountant can't do it without the directors' approval.

Did they know there was such a huge tax refund due? Was it shown in the final accounts prepared & submitted as part of the winding down process?

shays_mum

They seem to think it's my problem, don't know how!!

shays_mum

They believed that HMRC were going to release the funds.HMRC said they were outstanding stuff, that's not true apparently as all the stuff was sent.
Company closed down on the premise that the money would be released after April.
Now I'm being billed £600 to go to court to reopen the business to get the money, to pay a big tax bill anyway. No one wants to take any responsibility & i am exhausted losing everything in the last 18m.
Do i have any rights to redress for this? Or any professional bodies that regulate Chartered Accountants/Auditors?
Any guidance appreciated x

tacpot12

Your accountants should have professional liability insurance that covers them if they make a mistake.

Check if they have a complaints procedure, and follow that first. Ask them to provide their evidence that you agreed to the company being struck off.

Check if they have an arbitration scheme that you could go to. I would suggest you try to use this first, even if there is a small charge - it should be cheaper than suing them.

You could sue them for the cost of reopening the company so you can be paid. If the arbitration process is not binding, them a letter before action giving them a week befor you take them to court.

tacpot12

The Institute of Chartered Accountants does have a complaints scheme. Look on their website.

nmn

This is a complicated story - the re-instatement of companies is relatively simple if the co. is (recently) trading at the point of write off. Court orders should only be required in special circs.


Nevertheless - talk to your accountant. If you believe they are at fault you can probably get them to financially help - what are they saying?



The fact the £20k is going "straight to settle a tax bill" (presume thats presonal tax bill?) suggests to me that either you can afford the +/- £600 or there are other problems/points OP is not disclosing


As for complaints/litigation - that can wait. Get your money first if you are confident HMRC owe it.

Pennywise

shays_mum wrote: »

Or any professional bodies that regulate Chartered Accountants/Auditors?

Depends if your accountants are members of a professional/regulatory body. The bodies don't/can't regulate people/firms who aren't their members.

So, what, if any, professional/regulatory body do your accountants belong to. It's usually easy to tell as most qualified/regulated firms will show it on their letterheads, i.e. Bloggs & Co, chartered accountants, or Bloggs & Co Chartered Certified accountants. That tells you the former is regulated by the Instituted of Chartered accountants and the latter by the Association of chartered certified accountants. If it's just Bloggs & Co accountants - that usually means they don't have a professional/regulatory body so no-one to complain to! The term "accountant" isn't protected in the same way as doctors, architects, solicitors, etc so literally anyone can call themselves an accountant. If they're not regulated by a professional body, your recourse is through the courts.

Pennywise

What tax is this £20k. It sounds an awful lot of money for a company that was being run down. Is it VAT, PAYE or corporation tax and how did you end up over-paying so much in the first place?

Mistral001

The only sanction a professionally body has following a complaint is to discipline the member in question (suspension, expulsion, warning etc.) They will have no powers to get you compensation.

To get compensation or damages from the accountant you will have to go through the courts or hope that the accountant will pay damages to you without you having to go through the courts. The latter will usually only be done if the accountant does not dispute that the problem has been caused solely by a mistake made by them.