HMRC COMPENSATION 28 November 2022 at 11:11AM in Consumer rights 9 replies 359 views

OLDZIMMEER

Hi i won a case to receive compensation, for goods that was destroyed.over £30,000 Judge ruled HMRC should compensate me . However the legal costs , stress etc they say not liable for these extra costs . Will only compensate for cost of goods. Is this right as case took over 4 years to sort and cost me a lot of money.

sheramber

Who is 'they'?  HMRC or  did the court not  award costs?

user1977

The time to claim any additional costs was during the court case, surely? If you did and the court disagreed, that's the end of the matter (unless there's scope for an appeal). Didn't you have any legal representation?

OLDZIMMEER

court ordered HMRC to restore goods, but since they destroyed, they cannot restore so only offering the compensation of value of goods.

OLDZIMMEER

judge only stated HMRC should restore goods, the costs i incurred was my legal costs, storage costs due to HMRC holding container for 6 weeks, also loss of profit on the goods not taken into account, or to replace at today's cost is higher.

pinkshoes

OLDZIMMEER said:

judge only stated HMRC should restore goods, the costs i incurred was my legal costs, storage costs due to HMRC holding container for 6 weeks, also loss of profit on the goods not taken into account, or to replace at today's cost is higher.

But why wasn't all this claimed in the court case? 

They destroyed goods that they should not have, so you take them to court for the replacement value of the goods plus all associated costs e.g. storage fees incurred and any reasonable legal fees.

You cannot claim for loss of profit if you have been compensated for the value of the goods, as you can then re-purchase the goods and sell for profit. If you were shipping them somewhere because they were sold then you should have claimed the sold price.

This would have been discussed at the court case surely? I suggest you get in touch with the judge and ask.

OLDZIMMEER

hi , sorry this was a tax tribunal court case, to restore the goods.which they were instructed to do,

So compensation was not mentioned as HMRC had been instructed to relook at case as it was disproportionate as a reason to destroy the goods. As goods were destroyed, they could not restore only offer the value. 
my legal costs were fighting the HMRC original decision. No costs was involved in the court case as i defended this myself.

Aylesbury_Duck

OLDZIMMEER said:

hi , sorry this was a tax tribunal court case, to restore the goods.which they were instructed to do,

So compensation was not mentioned as HMRC had been instructed to relook at case as it was disproportionate as a reason to destroy the goods. As goods were destroyed, they could not restore only offer the value. 
my legal costs were fighting the HMRC original decision. No costs was involved in the court case as i defended this myself.

So you're wanting to claim legal costs you didn't incur?  I can see a problem.

pinkshoes

OLDZIMMEER said:

hi , sorry this was a tax tribunal court case, to restore the goods.which they were instructed to do,

So compensation was not mentioned as HMRC had been instructed to relook at case as it was disproportionate as a reason to destroy the goods. As goods were destroyed, they could not restore only offer the value. 
my legal costs were fighting the HMRC original decision. No costs was involved in the court case as i defended this myself.

So you used a lawyer originally and lost, then took them to court representing yourself and won? You've been compensated for the value of the goods so that is all settled. As above you cannot claim potential profit unless the goods were actually already sold. 

For your initial legal costs, you will need to take a separate case against them. How much are we talking about? And why did you lose the initial legal case?

Have you tried the good old "Letter Before Action" asking for the actual legal fees you incurred originally?

lincroft1710

pinkshoes said:

OLDZIMMEER said:

hi , sorry this was a tax tribunal court case, to restore the goods.which they were instructed to do,

So compensation was not mentioned as HMRC had been instructed to relook at case as it was disproportionate as a reason to destroy the goods. As goods were destroyed, they could not restore only offer the value. 
my legal costs were fighting the HMRC original decision. No costs was involved in the court case as i defended this myself.

So you used a lawyer originally and lost, then took them to court representing yourself and won? You've been compensated for the value of the goods so that is all settled. As above you cannot claim potential profit unless the goods were actually already sold. 

For your initial legal costs, you will need to take a separate case against them. How much are we talking about? And why did you lose the initial legal case?

Have you tried the good old "Letter Before Action" asking for the actual legal fees you incurred originally?

I always thought that if you lose a case, you couldn't claim for your legal costs