Companies House - Penalties charged in error

Companies House - Penalties charged in error

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Last month I had two sets of accounts to deliver for a 31st March deadline, so to be on the safe side I decided to take the train to London on Good Friday (the 29th) and deliver them by hand.  As the office was closed, all that you can do is post them through the door (which is in line with the instructions they give).  "Incensed" is possibly the right word to describe my reaction when my two clients then received late filing penalties, which said that I had delivered the accounts on 2nd April.  Fortunately I was able to appeal to Companies House, showing my train ticket and Oyster card travel information to show my trip on the Friday, and I was surprised today that Companies House not only accept my version of events, but that having checked with their London office they can actually confirm that my accounts did arrive on the 29th.  

I report this here, partly in case anyone else had the same problems over the Easter weekend, but also to get your views on whether it is worth the faff of invoicing my clients for my time in dealing with this and having them invoice Companies House for their cost (ie my invoice).  Will Companies House pay up?

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AS
By AS
30th Apr 2013 09:29

My client got 8 penalty invoices!

The same thing has happened to me. I got a taxi to deliver an envelope with 8 sets on accounts on Saturday 30 March. The client got 8 penalty invoices by return stating that the accounts were delivered on 2 April. My appeal is still pending. I wish there was a way to charge Companies House for the negative goodwill that is created with my clients by such mistakes.

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Replying to SteveHa:
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By Martin Telfer
30th Apr 2013 09:45

Trumped! Any advance on 8 penalties?

AS, if your appeals are unsuccessful, let me know and I can send you a copy of their admission of error.  

If you are successful will your clients try to invoice Companies House for their costs?

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By Whinger
30th Apr 2013 09:34

.

We got a fine once for a client, and we had sent in the accounts by special delivery well in advance of the due date.

Appealed with the special delivery slip and signed copy of slip, and the reply I got was along the line of "you can't prove what was in the envelope. on this one occassion we will let you off but not again"..

I do them all electronically now.

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AS
By AS
30th Apr 2013 10:20

Costs

My client is too laid back to claim the costs. The reason we got into this mess is because the client did not return the signed accounts quickly despite several reminders and warnings in the 2 weeks before the filing deadline.

Thanks for your offer of the copy of their admission of error. I will let you know if I need it.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
30th Apr 2013 12:34

Yes, I've had a bit of trouble regarding proof of receipt.

I've started filing mine electronically now.  Hate the presentation though.  It looks so unprofessional.

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AS
By AS
09th May 2013 09:23

All 8 penalties cancelled

Companies House have cancelled all 8 penalties and confirmed it was their error.

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By Martin Telfer
10th May 2013 08:43

Still a win for Companies House?

AS, I wonder if the people whose accounts were part of the the trolley full of documents that were underneath ours have all had the same result.  It would be interesting to see if Companies House's income from the people who have blindly accepted the penalty covers the admin cost of sorting out the mess.

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