Say It With Flowers

My thanks to a loyal reader who advises me that HMRC sends floral apologies, sometimes, when it makes mistakes.

The Mail reports that between January 2009 and July 2014, HMRC has sent 106 bouquets by way of an apology.

Has any loyal reader ever received such a bouquet?

Tax does have to be taxing.

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Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

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HMRC Issues £25 Apology Payment

The Guardian has printed a letter it received from a reader concerning HMRC hounding the reader for £214 in tax that had already been paid. HMRC went on to threaten to pass the debt on to a debt collection agency.

The reader wrote:

"I did a small amount of private tutoring to top up my income, and duly filed my self-assessment tax return in December for the 2012-13 tax year. I owed £214 and elected to pay via the PAYE system.

In March I received a letter saying I did not earn enough to do this (not true, but my income is split between three employers) and had to pay the full amount by 12 April. I was annoyed about this but made a payment via bank transfer. 

About three weeks later I received the first letter from HM Revenue & Customs saying that, according to its records, I hadn't paid. I ignored this as I just assumed there was a delay in my payment being recorded. A month later, however, when I received a second letter, I checked my online account with HMRC. There was no record of my payment, so I phoned giving my bank details and date of payment.

Now I have received another, more threatening, letter. In that, HMRC states it has repeatedly tried to contact me, but its records still show I owe the tax. It goes on to say it can now arrange for the debt to be passed on to a debt collection agency. 

Please help!  

AB, Sheffield, South Yorkshire"

The Guardian prodded HMRC into investigating the matter and it transpired that the unique tax reference number was incorrect, hence the payment would have been misallocated.

HMRC went on to admit that it should have been able to resolve the matter more quickly, and has agree to send £25 by way of apology.

It is good that the problem has been resolved, it is regrettable that it required a national newspaper to prod HMRC to sort it out.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

Insurance to protect you against the cost of enquiry or dispute with HMRC is available from several sources including Solar Tax Investigation Insurance.

Ken Frost has negotiated a 10% discount on any polices that may suit your needs.

However, neither Ken Frost nor HMRCISSHITE either endorses or recommends their services.

What is Solar Tax Investigation Insurance?

Solar Tax Investigation Insurance is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Solar Tax Investigation Insurance



HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Hartnett Speaks

Dave Hartnett, HMRC's permanent secretary for tax, managed to put his foot in his mouth over the weekend.

He kicked off by refusing to apologise for the oncoming storm of extra demands for tax from HMRC, resulting from their well publicised cock up over tax over/underpayments that affect between 6-10 million people.

Hartnett denied there had been any errors, and said he saw no need to apologise.

The Guardian quoted him from BBC Radio 4's Money Box programme:

"I'm not sure I see a need to apologise.

I've read the papers, listened to the media and heard stories of HMRC blunder and IT failure – neither of those are true.

Every country that I know of that has deduction of tax from wages and salaries has to do a reconciliation at the end of each year and we're doing one.

I don't think we are extraordinary. Once or twice in the past the numbers have been very large – sometimes they're less. It depends on how the system has been operated and what issues there have been. We didn't get it wrong. This needs to be reconciled.

We're going to be as sympathetic as we can to anyone who comes to us and says you're trying to take too much money too fast.

If the results of the exercise we're now engaged in show that there are aspects of our plans which are not going to work well for the work we're trying to do or for our customers, we will consider changing them.

I am addressing the issue and I think the nation needs me to do just that."

Tory MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on taxation, thought that Hartnett was talking bollocks wrt the claim that the repayment demands were not due to any "mistake" by the authorities.

Warnings had been ignored for years that the system was not "up to it", he said – accusing Hartnett of showing the typical "arrogance" of senior civil servants.

"It is a mistake. We have been warning for a long time that structurally this is not up to it. It comes down to a 21st century computer system and a 1940s PAYE system."

(Source Telegraph)

I would point out that in the real world Dave those who have, through no fault of their own, underpaid tax (because they assumed that HMRC had got the figures right) will have spent the money on "luxuries" such as food, rent and heating.

Anyhoo, a few hours is a long time in farces.

Within hours of refusing to apologise Hartnett, having been subjected to a barrage of criticism from taxpayers and MPs (George Osborne, the Chancellor, was said to have been incandescent, Lord Oakeshott said Hartnett's response made the BP chief, Tony Hayward, "look like a model of disaster management" adding that Hartnett was "in a world of his own; I wonder what planet he is on? This is the latest in a series of management failures in the HMRC going back many years. If Mr Hartnett cannot see why he should apologise for this one, then he really should be reconsidering his own position."), issued an apology.

He said that he was "deeply sorry that people are facing an unexpected bill.

Everyone in HMRC is working hard to make this as painless as possible.

I apologise if my remarks came across as insensitive. I am working flat out with my colleagues to ensure everyone's tax is correct and the new computer system will help us do this.

It was this new system that revealed the extent and size of reconciliations required – and will help us be more accurate in future – but we do not underestimate the distress caused to taxpayers and, once again, I apologise. ".

(Source The Independent)

As to whether Hartnett really meant it, or was merely acting under orders is another matter.

As to why Hartnett (when he was head of the IR inquiry branch he was personally responsible for leading the HMRC investigation into Ken Dodd's tax affairs in the 1980's - you will recall HMRC lost that one when it went to court), Clasper (who works 2 days a week for HMRC) and "Dame" Strathie (and other senior executives of HMRC) are still in their jobs is something that our "beloved" political masters can answer (but probably won't).

Were these people to be removed/step down, their replacements would doubtless be highly skilled in political spin but lacking the necessary management skills/experience to turn HMRC around.

Frankly speaking it is my belief that, in its current form, HMRC is beyond redemption.

My advice is to undo the merger of IR and Customs, take away responsibility for administering tax credits (or simply replace them with a higher rate personal allowance) then work from there to massively simplify the tax system.

(Factoid: the donkey in the picture is called Dilbert - my thanks to the loyal reader who sent me Dilbert's photo and gave me permission to use it - Dilbert wishes to make it clear than any physical resemblance to Hartnett is an unfortunate coincidence).

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

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TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

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The Price of Saying Sorry

It seems that the apology for last year's datagate fiasco has come at some considerable cost to HMRC.

They have admitted that it cost £2.25M to send letters of apology to people affected by the loss of 25 million child-benefit records.

It is a pity that so many of these went to the wrong people, or were lost, and were in fact a security risk in their own right.

The Treasury and HMRC claim that it was right to approach those affected individually.

Maybe so, but not in this manner.

The good news is that the £2.25M will not be borne by HMRC.

It will be borne by us, the taxpayers.

So that's alright then!
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Cock Ups Continue

Oh dear, another day, another cock up.

Poor old HMRC, it just can't seem to get its act together these days.

It seems that Her Majesty's Customs and Revenue (HMRC) has had to apologise (again!) to taxpayers. This time the tens of thousands of self-assessment taxpayers were on the receiving end of the apology, seemingly HMRC did not send them their final payment reminders in December.

Why was that then I wonder?

Down the pub maybe?

Too busy looking for lost data discs?

To add to HMRC's humiliation, it also had to apologise for sending blank payment slips to thousands of people who filed online and have a tax liability.

A computer glitch maybe?

Notwithstanding the above cock ups, HMRC are sticking to the line that taxpayers still have a legal responsibility to pay their bill by the January 31 deadline.

Don't forget that there is also the possibility of a strike on that day.

HMRC issued the following statement:

"Some self-assessment statements due to be sent to customers in December 2007 were not issued. We are also aware that some of those customers have subsequently received one of our general payment reminders (SA309C) with a blank payment slip. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused."

All very well, but do they actually know why they screwed up again?

Have they taken measures to ensure that it won't happen again?

Will they be telling the people who pay their salaries (ie us) why they screwed up?

Will Her Majesty, who has the embarrassment of having her name attached to this ramshackle organisation, be removing her "patronage"?
HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com) is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Saying Sorry

You know how that saying sorry can be a very painful and troubling process for some people?

Well, that's not the case for the good old boys from the HMRC.

As soon as it was reported that they lost the data records for 25 million people, and put those people's personal security at risk for the next 20 years, HMRC were on the case immediately with an apology letter.

Over 7 million were sent.

Great!

Apart from the fact that their apology letter was a breach of security, and some of those letters have got lost.

However, let us not dwell on uncomfortable realities such as those.

The important point was that a letter was sent, and everybody knows that HMRC is really sorry.

Oh, one small point...

How much did it cost to send over 7 million letters?

From the perspective of HMRC, absolutely nothing at all.

How is that?

Well, HMRC of course use our money (taxes to be precise) to pay for their costs; it's a win win situation, if you are HMRC.

The cost to the tax payers of them paying for this letter?

Oh, a mere £3M.

Money well spent!

The funny thing is that HMRC have been very reluctant to tell the taxpayers how much they were charged for sending a letter of apology.

Why would that be then?

Are HMRC ashamed of themselves?

Or is it that they don't believe that the taxpayer has the right to know what HMRC is doing with taxpayers' money?

By the way, one other small point, at a "hotseat" briefing just after Chancellor Darling admitted to the loss of data, acting chairman David Hartnett answered questions from staff through the HMRC intranet.

He was asked how much the costs of the apology letters were going to be.

He answered £2M.

Yet the reality is £3M.

How embarrassing for him, a member of HMRC who can't do their sums.

However, as I said at the outset, the cost to HMRC of saying sorry is nothing; they don't give a stuff, so why should they be bothered to get their sums right?

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What a Shambles!

Poor old HMRC, they really can't quite get the hang of addressing an envelope properly.

I guess what with the strain of losing data discs on a regular basis, they can't quite focus their minds on more mundane activities such as envelope addressing.

The Oxford mail reports that the good old boys in HMRC sent Ron Leaver and Tracey Giles a number of letters over a period of months.

So far so good.

Unfortunately, the letters contained child benefit and national insurance numbers meant for other people.

Mr Leaver, from Merton near Bicester, received over a dozen letters that were in fact meant to go to Buckinghamshire County Council.

The letters contained a veritable smorgasbord of names and NI numbers of former council employees, one even contained a cheque for £2,000.

HMRC had managed to delude themselves that the local authority, whose headquarters are in Aylesbury, was in fact based 18 miles away at a private house in a small Oxfordshire village.

Mr Leaver needless to say did point out the mistake to the ever alert HMRC, yet HMRC continued to send him the letters.

He is quoted in the Oxford Mail:

"I'm disgusted with the situation. No one has been able to tell me why they did this.

If it's happening to me is it happening to other people?

It's an absolute shambles."

Needless to say if it happens to one person, as sure as eggs are eggs, it will happen to another. Tracey Giles, from Hempton, found this out for herself. She was sent a letter meant for a Tracey Mason.

The letter was an apology for losing the data discs, and of course contained the NI and child benefit numbers of the intended recipient.

Ms Giles is now worried, not unreasonably, that someone else has her details thanks to the mind numbing incompetence of HMRC.

An HMRC spokesman said:

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are currently writing to over seven million child benefit claimants. Letters are still being sent, so people shouldn't worry if they haven't yet received an apology."

Here is a free piece of advice to HMRC, the sending of the apology letters (as pointed out earlier on this site) is a major security blunder. Given that all of the letters have not yet been sent, HMRC should stop sending any more now.

Now that they have been publicly told that the apology letters represent a major security risk, not to stop sending them is criminally negligent.

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Fuckwits

Congratulations to the HMRC for proving that despite things being farking awful last week, it is more than capable of making things worse.

In a rush to cover backsides, and to look contrite, HMRC sent millions of apology letters to those who had their personal details placed at risk as a result of the HMRC disc blunder.

Unfortunately this act of contrition exposed the hapless victims of HMRC incompetence to even greater risk of fraud and id theft:

• The postal system is notoriously open to abuse and theft (over a million letters are lost everyday)



• The apology letters contained the details on the missing discs. Thereby giving the criminals another bite of the apple



• The letters which contain names, National Insurance and child benefit numbers are being delivered to the last known addresses of the recipients.
  
  It doesn't take a genius to realise that some of the millions of people sent these letters may have moved (1 in 10 people move each year). Therefore many of the letters containing these private details are being delivered to the wrong people.
  
  Oh, but that's alright, HMRC are blaming the taxpayers who have moved for not keeping HMRC up to date with their moves

Hardly a stellar performance from the HMRC.

Have the people in HMRC never been trained in the basics of security, fraud and id theft prevention?

Needless to say this latest screw up has brought more problems down on the heads of those claiming to run the HMRC. The Information Commissioner will now investigate this latest security lapse.

The Information Commissioner is now pursuing three inquiries into breaches of confidentiality by HMRC.

It would seem that the people running HMRC, and indeed the government itself, has little clue about the concept of security and id theft; this is the same government that wants to impose a national id card scheme on an unwilling population.

Those who don't receive a letter of apology are being asked to ring an HMRC helpline.

Congratulations to the HMRC for making matters worse and exposing 25 million people to the threat of fraud and id theft twice in two weeks, a double whammy.

Fuckwits!

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