HMRC delay/error in processing tax refund

DBdoobydoo

DBdoobydoo said:

DBdoobydoo said:

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.

I called up on 15th August & was told that a letter had been sent to me on 13th August but they couldn't tell me the contents of the letter. I'm resident in France so it will be three weeks or more before a letter reaches me not because the French postal service is poor but because HMRC's inscrutable processes involve the letter being posted in the Netherlands some weeks after they claim it is sent.

I finally got the letter dated 14th Augus which says
"Thank you for sending us your repayment claim.

Before we can make a repayment, we need to look at your Self Assessment return. We'll contact you by 14th October 2024 with an update to let you know what is happening"

I submitted my my tax retrun online on 24th April. Why have they not even looked at it yet? Last year I got a £2K refund within a couple of weeks of submitting my tax return.

Hoenir

DBdoobydoo said:

DBdoobydoo said:

DBdoobydoo said:

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.

I called up on 15th August & was told that a letter had been sent to me on 13th August but they couldn't tell me the contents of the letter. I'm resident in France so it will be three weeks or more before a letter reaches me not because the French postal service is poor but because HMRC's inscrutable processes involve the letter being posted in the Netherlands some weeks after they claim it is sent.

I submitted my my tax retrun online on 24th April. Why have they not even looked at it yet? 

Possibly because you are just one of millions of people who submitted one.  Some are randomly selected for indepth review. 

SallyNCosmic

artyboy said:

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?

I have had this issue for several years. I have made the request four time this year. Previously they have dealt with it when I called up. This year however they have had a policy change and I need to write to them and request it.

They can't tell me what I am doing wrong.

So, I have had to craft a letter and will have to buy a stamp - posting letters is pre-covid for me. So, I suppose it keeps Royal Mail busy.

This is quite an inconvenience for me as I'm not expecting the money now for about three months. There is also the additional admin. All to get my own money back. I can't even being to imagine what this is doing for them and the additional toll it will take on what I understand is a creaking system.

MetaPhysical

I also had exactly the same last year with a tax overpayment of £3000.   FOUR times I completed the refund request on the refund system, took screenshots of the transaction reference number and..... nothing ever happened.  I was working overseas and was very busy so left it for a few months intending to call HMRC when I got home.  Then all of a sudden it was refunded without needing to call them.  They DID pay interest.  I suspect this is because even though the system allows you to submit the claim the refund, the back end system have not cross checked your return and this delays the refund.  

icecoldveins

SallyNCosmic said:

I have made the request four time this year. Previously they have dealt with it when I called up. This year however they have had a policy change and I need to write to them and request it.

They can't tell me what I am doing wrong.

HMRC won't issue repayments cos of frauds but if you have requested it and nothing has moved then its likely HMRC has set a signal to "no repayment" for some prior reason on ur account.

Nomunnofun1

icecoldveins said:

SallyNCosmic said:

I have made the request four time this year. Previously they have dealt with it when I called up. This year however they have had a policy change and I need to write to them and request it.

They can't tell me what I am doing wrong.

HMRC won't issue repayments cos of frauds but if you have requested it and nothing has moved then it’s likely HMRC has set a signal to "no repayment" for some prior reason on ur account.

From where on earth have you come up with that reasoning?

artyboy

I'm just glad I'm not paying tax right now and don't have to deal with any of this nonsense...

...oh wait, I actually did have to deal with it, because HMRC in their wisdom decided to make me fill in a self assessment this year. After telling me 2 years ago not to bother any more.

Shortest one I've ever done, and it took half an hour of digging around to get my savings interest and capital gain figures (which I never expected to need), but the net result was a big fat zero.

What a ridiculous waste of time.