HMRC expired cheque question

isayhello

Hi, yep it was simply a case of the letter being placed into a folder in a drawer somewhere and wasn't opened, only one cheque was sent, it wasn't cashed but the answers here sound similar to what the hmrc said, something about 6 years and that they wouldn't reissue a new one now.

I was hoping they might and it's worth a try but it seems like I've missed the chance to make it happen.

isayhello

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042646#Comment_82042646

Agree but the letter wasn't opened, just put aside for opening later and then just forgotten about without knowing there is a cheque inside.

luci

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042648#Comment_82042648

I do that on occasion, but I always open letters from HMRC/ brown envelopes, as it's unusual for me to get one.

wmb194

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042648#Comment_82042648

Does HMRC automatically reissue cheques/payable order if they haven't been deposited? Or request electronic payment details instead?Do you have bank statements from around the time, perhaps up to a year later, you can check for a cheque or electronic deposit for this amount? Or, when a letter isn't returned as undelivered, is HMRC just one and done and it's your problem?

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/repayment-claims-manual/rm5004p

isayhello

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042696#Comment_82042696

They said they would have reissued a new one if I sent them the original, I sent the original but after inspecting it they said it's past some cut off time when they won't reissue now. I wondered if I could take it further or that's it. The person I spoke to on the phone said I could make a complaint but it's unlikely to change anything due to the time passed.

boingy

For £1000 it's worth making a complaint. You will at least get a more considered answer rather than the rushed answers you often get on the phone.

Kim_13

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82042741#Comment_82042741

I would do it on the basis that they did not honour what they said they would do when you sent it in - they surely asked the issue date when you originally phoned them about the matter, so should have said sorry it’s over 6 years if that’s the line they’re taking. Not waste your time and theirs and a stamp having it sent in to then take that stance, and they’ve deprived you of the evidence in the process. If you were going to raise the issue with your MP you now either have a photocopy, the cover letter that came with the original cheque which doesn’t really prove anything since a cheque would he detached from it when cashed or nothing as evidence.

Feels like the kind of handling of a situation that would lead a taxpayer to deliberately reduce their income (for example, not chase interest, use ISAs when they haven’t bothered before, decline extra work when they otherwise would have taken it) to avoid paying money to an agency that owes them money but is refusing to pay it or to make any attempt to prove that they don’t owe it.

It’s far more likely that a cheque found dated 2015 is owed (losses would be in the post only, since if opened a cheque like that will be kept safe and banked quickly) rather than one dated more recently (which would likely have been paid in digitally.) I can see how this could happen; if someone close to you is seriously ill or has died, then I’d suggest you’re not particularly bothered about keeping on top of the mail, even moreso if you’re not expecting anything important.

isayhello

Thanks, I think I will make a complaint. The person I spoke with on the phone initially might not have given the right info or was mistaken but when they looked into it, they couldn't find it on their systems, it's in some sort of archive system I guess as it's quite an old cheque and then they said that now it's too late to reissue.

I'll complain to hmrc and see what they say, thanks.

dcs34

If you want it then you need to make it worth HMRC's while to avoid the "hassle" and pay you the £1000. Raising it with your MP or via a formal complaints process both seem like good options in this respect.

isayhello

Thanks, I'll raise a formal one. Not sure why I would need the mp to be involved, I'm not familiar with that.