Outrageous delays in HMRC fine appeals

Outrageous delays in HMRC fine appeals

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I have just had a conversation that has left me flabbergasted with HMRC. We have a foreign client that had missed a filing return, as sadly at the time in 12/13 he relied on "advice from a friend" That informed him he didn't need a tax return completing as he had only earnt 5700.00 and as such was below the taxable limits. We all know this was actually incorrect, and he was fined 1700 approx. I have appealed to HMRC giving the back ground and asking them to at least consider that maybe a 30% of income fine is a little too harsh and to bear in mind the client is now PAYE so wont be a repeat offender.

He received a threatening letter in May 2 months after the appeal sent from debt management saying they would send bailiffs in if he didn't pay in full. I called them today to find out where the appeal was and was told that they had received it, but Edinburgh was so far behind they had literally put all the letters into skips in a large warehouse for eventual processing. Apparently appeals sent in May would not be looked at until the earliest October!!

With this in mind and with full knowledge of appeal in the wings, they refused to call off the bailiffs in case the appeal was declined.

Our poor client is going out of his mind with worry waiting for the bailiffs to turn up, as he is a low earner and cannot afford to pay the 1700.00.

Why on earth can HMRc be allowed to potentially destroy someones credit rating with CCJS or the threat of Bailiffs, when they dont have the man power to consider any kind of defence.

Rant over

Replies (6)

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By pauld
04th Jun 2015 17:17

same here

HMRC issued incorrect 5% surcharges to client in April 2015. Wrote to HMRC to appeal. Whilst waiting for HMRC reply, threatening letter sent by debt management saying bailiffs may call. Client panicked and asked me to sort out.

I telephoned HMRC and they said they were 3 months behind with post so mid July would be the earliest they would look at appeal. They advised they have no control over debt mngt dept. I spoke to debt mngt who said they were acting within HMRC guidelines and would continue to chase the debt. Total of incorrect surcharges is £8,000.

Only option left was to advise client to pay £8,000 of penalties that were not due and wait until HMRC get round to dealing with the appeal letter and then reclaim.

The conversations I had with HMRC also left me flabbergasted. I unfortunately got a bit irate with one HMRC person and was raising my voice. He told me he would no longer speak to me and I should call back later and promptly hung up on me.

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By stratty
04th Jun 2015 17:47

Interesting

I spoke with HMRC and the debt collector agency on a similar note (client being chased for late filing penalties that are on appeal) and they agreed to suspend collection if I could provide a copy of the letter I appealed with.

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By airgeadagam
04th Jun 2015 21:14

Worth Considering

I had an unrelated problem with Sky Media chasing me for a debt I didn't owe. When I informed the debt collectors I had referred it to the ombudsman they had to back off and stopped pursuing me.

 

There is an ombudsman of sorts for HMRC, it might be worth pursuing that route to get the debt collectors to back off.

 

https://www.gov.uk/complain-to-hm-revenue-and-customs

 

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk

 

You mentioned Edinburgh. Scotland may have a different ombudsman.

http://www.spso.org.uk/

 

 

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Replying to March19:
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By cbp99
04th Jun 2015 20:15

Adjudicator

airgeadagam wrote:

There is an ombudsman of sorts for HMRC, it might be worth pursuing that route to get the debt collectors to back off.

https://www.gov.uk/complain-to-hm-revenue-and-customs

http://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

I would just like to mention that before approaching the ombudsman, and after HMRC's own complaints procedure has been exhausted, the Adjudicator should be approached (mentioned in the first link above).

Expect to wait more than a year for the Adjudicator to reach a decision - which is no reason not to make use of this avenue,

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By Paul D Utherone
05th Jun 2015 13:59

... so what 'reasonable excuse'

has he given that might now see it written off in the 'amnesty'

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By the_Poacher
05th Jun 2015 21:47

Complain to your client's MP
MP complaint cases may still get prioritised although with another £80M of staff cuts things will be getting worse very quickly.

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