HMRC delay/error in processing tax refund

artyboy

I completed my 23/24 SA online on 6th April, as I knew I was due a big refund. As part of that, I provided my bank details (as usual...) for the refund to be made. I got the calculation that I had overpaid, and so I sat back and waited for a refund to get to my bank, as it had in prior years.

4 weeks later - nothing. I go into my tax account and see that the overpayment is still sitting as a credit on my account. Annoyed... but I see there's an option to request a repayment, so I do that just to make sure. I take a screen print of their confirmation of the request, along with a transaction reference.

4 weeks later, still nothing. Now VERY annoyed. I call and wait the customary hour for an agent, who tells me there is no record of any request for a payment, and he would process it now.

So my question - despite my SA requesting a refund, and another seperate request a month later, HMRC have failed to act. It's a big repayment, and 2 months lost interest on that isn't exactly peanuts. So can I complain and demand they compensate me for the period between putting in my SA and the call where they have actually put the repayment request in? And if so, would the usual statutory 8% be appropriate for a calculation?

Or do I just have to suck it up because penalties only apply in one direction with HMRC?

[Deleted User]

Check out this thread-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6519001/hmrc-return-23-24#latest

Slinky

Last year my OH requested his refund twice on his computer, nothing turned up, it was only when he requested via the app on his mobile that he finally got repaid. Think this may have also happened in a previous year.

Hoenir

HMRC do undertake checks. Not just a tick box exercise. 

artyboy

Hoenir said:

HMRC do undertake checks. Not just a tick box exercise. 

Perhaps read my post again. I'm specifically counting the period between when I originally requested the money to the point at which they have confirmed that the money has been requested. 

I know I'm now at the mercy of whatever other checks they want to carry out, but those checks should have started 2 months ago. So this extra delay where nothing was happening is entirely HMRC's error/incompetence, and I'm not sure why I should just roll over and accept the loss of interest that it has caused if there is a realistic mechanism to complain and get it back.

MDMD

Statutory interest only applies if a business is late paying a debt - HMRC are not a business so you can’t claim that.

https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt

If interest is due per legislation it be will he paid per this table, if not happy you will need to raise a formal complaint and quantify the loss to them

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-hmrc-interest-rates-for-late-and-early-payments/rates-and-allowances-hmrc-interest-rates#income-tax-national-insurance-contributions-capital-gains-tax-stamp-duty-land-tax-stamp-duty-stamp-duty-reserve-tax-from-1-october-1999-and-vat-for-periods-starting-on-or-after-1-january-2023

artyboy

[Deleted User] said:

Check out this thread-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6519001/hmrc-return-23-24#latest

Yikes! I need a coffee before I get into that one 

artyboy

Slinky said:

Last year my OH requested his refund twice on his computer, nothing turned up, it was only when he requested via the app on his mobile that he finally got repaid. Think this may have also happened in a previous year.

Clearly something isn't working - in previous years I always got refunded a couple of weeks after submitting my SA - I've probably been lucky there in that I know a sample get selected for auditing, and can take (officially at least) up to 6 weeks to pay out.

So for not only the SA request to have failed, but also a further specific repayment request to also have failed, is simply not acceptable. What just compounds it for me is that it's one of the biggest refunds I've ever been due, plus this is all tax that was collected last April/May/June so they've had it for a long while already. Unfortunately I needed to wait till the end of the tax year to calculate it properly...

Anyway, I've got the evidence of the requests having previously been made, if it was any other business owing me a refund I'd be raising merry hell. But as this is HMRC.... but I will be going the complaint route, once the money is back in the bank.

DBdoobydoo

I submitted my Self Assessment on 24th April. I am due a refund of just over £4,000 because HMRC messed up my PAYE coding for the last few months of the tax year. I have been looking at 'Repayment pending' ever since submission. My situation couldn't be simpler. I earned around £48K. I should have paid around £7K in tax but had a total of over £11K deducted all because they messed up the PAYE tax code.

I tried calling up last week but they could offer me no explanation or timescale for the refund. They said they would put a note on my file for all the good that will do.

sheramber

If your refund meets the requirement to be checked before being repaid then it gets added to the queue of those who require to be checked and takes it turn in that queue.

It  depends on how where you are in that queue that will determine when your case is looked at. 

DBdoobydoo

I had an online chat with 'Sharon' who informed me that

"The timescale for your repayment is 15/08/2024 Your repayment should be dealt with by this date Contact us if you have still not received the repayment after this date"

It's a bit rich that I am owed over £4K due entirely to HMRC's error in my tax code & that it takes them four months to issue a repayment. I several times pointed out that my tax code was wrong only for them to mess it up a couple more times. As it was nearly the end of the tax year I thought that it was no problem as it would all get sorted when I submitted my Self Assessment. Last year I was owed £2K & received payment withibn a couple of weeks.