I want to understand whether I would be likely to get HMRC to accept any responsibility over the following issue... I don't want to bother taking it further if there is case law that would render any such action a waste of time and money.
The circumstances..
Company changed address and sort code at the bank at the same time. HMRC/VAT was notified. VAT repayment became due and was not paid. It was not a huge sum but was significant enough to warrant my question here.
It was chased up and it came to light that the cheque had been issued to the old address and of course disappeared but was never presented or paid. VAT office agreed to cancel cheque and reissue payment via BACS. Subsequent repayment was posted into the system using the old Sort Code and was rejected by the bank.
At this time, I was trying to close the company and had set closure in motion.
By the time HMRC actually got around to making the second BACS payment using the correct Sort Code, Companies House had finished their work and notified HMRC who now decided not to make the payment and to treat the funds as bona vacantia.
HMRC/VAT had been notified of the change in both address and sort code. Also for several years VAT had been paid using the current sort code, not the old one. VAT had my mobile phone number for contact purposes and had indeed used that number to organise compliance visits and to offer their training courses/seminars.
During this time, VAT did not contact me once to discuss any of the failed payments and (at the front line) refuse to accept any responsibility for the issue. There was something like eight months between the repayment becoming first due and the final failed payment and subsequent transfer of the funds to the Treasury Solicitor.
I understand that I could petition the court to reinstate the company and so forth. That is not really an option because to do so would swallow up any benefit and more of reclaiming the money owed. HMRC know this of course.
What I am looking for is advice from anyone who has actual experience of this issue or from any of our resident accts people who actually may know what the law is.
Yes, I know I should have camped on their doorstep from day 1 and made a nuisance of myself until it was paid but having a life and a business makes that a little difficult. I am not going to die of starvation because of it but as I said earlier it is not an insignificant sum and of course, there is the principle.
This is primarily HMRC's error but as an aside, what is the banks responsibility where sort code errors occur? This must have been on an exception report somewhere and by law, a company name must be unique even if an account number can not necessarily be unique (although it is when used with a valid sort code). Should my bank have notified me of the failure so that I could have acted earlier?
The circumstances..
Company changed address and sort code at the bank at the same time. HMRC/VAT was notified. VAT repayment became due and was not paid. It was not a huge sum but was significant enough to warrant my question here.
It was chased up and it came to light that the cheque had been issued to the old address and of course disappeared but was never presented or paid. VAT office agreed to cancel cheque and reissue payment via BACS. Subsequent repayment was posted into the system using the old Sort Code and was rejected by the bank.
At this time, I was trying to close the company and had set closure in motion.
By the time HMRC actually got around to making the second BACS payment using the correct Sort Code, Companies House had finished their work and notified HMRC who now decided not to make the payment and to treat the funds as bona vacantia.
HMRC/VAT had been notified of the change in both address and sort code. Also for several years VAT had been paid using the current sort code, not the old one. VAT had my mobile phone number for contact purposes and had indeed used that number to organise compliance visits and to offer their training courses/seminars.
During this time, VAT did not contact me once to discuss any of the failed payments and (at the front line) refuse to accept any responsibility for the issue. There was something like eight months between the repayment becoming first due and the final failed payment and subsequent transfer of the funds to the Treasury Solicitor.
I understand that I could petition the court to reinstate the company and so forth. That is not really an option because to do so would swallow up any benefit and more of reclaiming the money owed. HMRC know this of course.
What I am looking for is advice from anyone who has actual experience of this issue or from any of our resident accts people who actually may know what the law is.
Yes, I know I should have camped on their doorstep from day 1 and made a nuisance of myself until it was paid but having a life and a business makes that a little difficult. I am not going to die of starvation because of it but as I said earlier it is not an insignificant sum and of course, there is the principle.
This is primarily HMRC's error but as an aside, what is the banks responsibility where sort code errors occur? This must have been on an exception report somewhere and by law, a company name must be unique even if an account number can not necessarily be unique (although it is when used with a valid sort code). Should my bank have notified me of the failure so that I could have acted earlier?
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