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