Siess and a late tax return

Jeremy535897

Wendyb69 said:

Thanks, the thought of court makes me nervous, I don’t think I could go through it, and also wouldn’t have the funds to even begin pursuing it. The accountant is now (after apologising and admitting his mistake) saying that we gave him the accounts too late and that’s why he made the mistake. This is untrue, it was all completed by the middle of January and I paid his fee then. His last communication was that he can’t be held responsible for our company’s reliance on government handouts. This line absolutely crushed me. Been in business for over 30 years, never had any handouts till now, done the morally correct thing by all our customers during covid. And now this. It’s just the last straw for me. 

I can understand your nervousness. First, the excuse that he forgot to press "send" because you provided the information too late is ridiculous. Any competent accountant would know how to file a tax return. If you are in financial difficulties, you need to pursue this.

The first thing to do is to read the letter of engagement you were issued with when you became a client. Focus on whether it has a limitation of liability, and if so, does it deal with your situation? Also, does it require you to provide the information to do your tax return by a certain date, and what does it say if you don't? It should also say who to complain to and what the procedure is.

Secondly, is your accountant a member of a professional body, like the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales? If so, they will be required to have professional indemnity insurance. The letter of engagement should state the insurer, although if it is more than a year or so old, that information may be out of date. Ask them to confirm who their insurer is, and ask whether they have informed their insurer of your potential claim. They will certainly take you seriously then.

TBagpuss

Wendyb69 said:

Thanks, the thought of court makes me nervous, I don’t think I could go through it, and also wouldn’t have the funds to even begin pursuing it. The accountant is now (after apologising and admitting his mistake) saying that we gave him the accounts too late and that’s why he made the mistake. This is untrue, it was all completed by the middle of January and I paid his fee then. His last communication was that he can’t be held responsible for our company’s reliance on government handouts. This line absolutely crushed me. Been in business for over 30 years, never had any handouts till now, done the morally correct thing by all our customers during covid. And now this. It’s just the last straw for me. 

Start with a formal complaint - in particular note:

-  that all of the paperwork was with them in good time,
- that they did not at any time inform you that they would be unable to file on time (I'd would expect them to have told you when it became obvious to them, so they could return your stuff and you could do it yourself or use a different accountant) or that they had not done so
- that the losses you have suffered and will suffer were reasonably foreseeable and are directly attributable to their negligence in failing to file within the deadline or to inform you that they would be unable to do so. 

The fact that he has apologised and admitted the mistake is useful (was this in writing, or verbal?) 

as between you and HMRC it's your responsibility to file on time, but if you were paying your accountant to do it then it's his responsibility to get it right.

Is your accountant a one man band or part of a bigger organisation? If the latter, then check out their complaints process and go over his head to the complaints partner / manager or the senior partner / manager

sheramber

If he already had a large amount of accounts already handed in to be dealt with then two weeks before the filing date may have  put you to the bottom of the pile.

But, in that case, he should have told you he would not be able to do it.

It also doesn't tie in with 'forgetting to press submit button'.

macman

Send an LBA, it won't got to court: there is simply no defence for his incompetence.
Even if it did, the 'court' is just a judge in civvies with you and the defendant across a table: nothing to be nervous about at all.
If your total claim is no more than £10K, it will go through Small Claims and the maximum cost is £410: i'm sure your business can afford that.

Wendyb69

Thanks everyone for the good advice, went through the appeal today with HMRC, but no joy, you can’t appeal if you don’t meet the criteria as it’s written into law apparently. 

I have taken some of the advice from here and contacted the accountant again, and I’m getting a better response this time. Thank you all. I feel a little hopeful now. 

Wendyb69

Unfortunately our accountant will not claim any insurance for us. Nowhere really to go with it. He won’t even refund the  fee we paid to submit the tax returns. 

Perfect end to a perfect year. 

mattyprice4004

Wendyb69 said:

Unfortunately our accountant will not claim any insurance for us. Nowhere really to go with it. He won’t even refund the  fee we paid to submit the tax returns. 

Perfect end to a perfect year. 

Then it's time to issue a letter before action and then pursue them through Small Claims if they don't comply - their incompetence cost you money that you'd otherwise be entitled to. 
It's not your fault, and you shouldn't be out of pocket. 

Thrugelmir

Wendyb69 said:

Unfortunately our accountant will not claim any insurance for us. Nowhere really to go with it. He won’t even refund the  fee we paid to submit the tax returns. 

Perfect end to a perfect year. 

What was the full explanation for the delay in processing. 

Wendyb69

I wouldn’t go down the small claims route, doubt you could claim for money from another body. 

The full explanation was ‘he forgot’ !
now saying I submitted late, though everything was wrapped up, signed and fee pain by 19.1.21. I know it is near the bone, but it still isn’t late. 

soolin

Wendyb69 said:

I wouldn’t go down the small claims route, doubt you could claim for money from another body. 

The full explanation was ‘he forgot’ !
now saying I submitted late, though everything was wrapped up, signed and fee pain by 19.1.21. I know it is near the bone, but it still isn’t late. 

Why are you reluctant to go down the legal route?, is there something else that prevents you from doing so? 

Accountant was paid to do x , he failed to do x therefore you have a monetary loss which can be claimed for. It’s the just the same as if you paid a plumber to fix a leak and he took your money and don’t bother , just because the accountant is an office based professional doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the same liability to complete a task that he has been paid for. 

As an ex accountant myself he should have insurances in place to cover himself, get that LBA in straight away.