HMRC Agent tallied up wrong total for me to pay, if I pay the correct total will it all be assigned?

DhwERbf689

So when I called HMRC and spoke to an agent they asked which years I wanted to pay. I told them all years where I had missing gaps that were payable.

She went over which years that was and it matched my list of years.

She then tallied up the total, seemingly manually or using a calculator as it took her some time, and gave me a total.

I didn't realize at the time that total didn't actually match the total for those payable years until afterwards, when I tally up the same years using the amounts on the HMRC website my total is about £600 higher.

If I pay the higher amount will the money be assigned properly to the payable gaps or does the reference number she gave somehow only tie in to a certain amount and the extra money will just be lost?

Anyone know?

molerat

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6592397/have-the-reference-number-for-paying-backdated-pension-contributions-but-how-do-i-make-payment#latest 

Have you tried to speak to HMRC ?

You either pay what you consider the correct amount and wait for it to pan out or speak to HMRC and get a corrected reference, the problem of course being the short timescale to get it sorted and the difficulty of actually being able to speak to someone.

DhwERbf689

I can't get through to anyone and I don't have the time in the next week or two to be on the phone as too much going on.

I need to either just pay the amount the agent told me or pay what I am sure is the correct amount but I'm just concerned that if I pay the amount I believe to be true then NOTHING ends up getting assigned to the contributions as it doesn't match with the amount the agent assigned to the reference number. 

FrugaiMacDugal

You say "my total is about £600 higher", can you identify which year/years that covers?

As you have until 5 April 2025 to pay for gaps in your National Insurance record that were more than 6 years ago, make sure you pay the oldest first, younger ones can be paid next tax year.

Do you really need all years paid up for max pension?

squirrelpie

Write down your calculations with all the detail and write a cheque for the amount you calculate. Write a covering letter explaining why your amount is different, and include any reference numbers and the names and dates/times of anybody you've spoken to. Then send the whole lot to HMRC and wait for however long it takes for them to process it.

DhwERbf689

FrugaiMacDugal said:

You say "my total is about £600 higher", can you identify which year/years that covers?

As you have until 5 April 2025 to pay for gaps in your National Insurance record that were more than 6 years ago, make sure you pay the oldest first, younger ones can be paid next tax year.

Do you really need all years paid up for max pension?

That's the thing, I cannot even get the same total the agent got no matter what calculations I do. It's not like if I take out the most recent year or something obvious it gives me the same total as the agent.

I think they miscalculated and pressed some wrong buttons on their calculator or something, I just wish I'd noticed at the time of the call. 

I guess I can hope if I pay the total they gave me now it's assigned to the oldest gaps and then I still have the option to pay the newer ones in the next few years.

DhwERbf689

squirrelpie said:

Write down your calculations with all the detail and write a cheque for the amount you calculate. Write a covering letter explaining why your amount is different, and include any reference numbers and the names and dates/times of anybody you've spoken to. Then send the whole lot to HMRC and wait for however long it takes for them to process it.

I'm going to be paying by bank transfer so that won't be an option.

I don't know who I spoke to. Could probably find the call date and time on my phone but wouldn't get a name from it.