Spent the afternoon trying to find out why I’ve only just been told of a £100 late self assessment fine that I’ve not paid almost 4 years ago , no emails , no phone calls, no letters ... now amounts to nearly £1400 After nearly two hours on the phone didn’t get an explanation but was told to contest it which I have... watch this space
They are dimwits.... Earlier in the year had a tax rebate of a couple Of grand - didn’t think it was due so queried it- they confirmed by their calculations it is due. 8 months later they write saying they are owed money and interest is accruing - no Marmite, really? Who’d have thought the tax rebate that I told them wasn’t due and now they want it back. They are either stupid, incompetent or a combination of the above.
HMRC are incompetent and big business run rings round them and get out of paying tax or very little. So HMRC targets the general population as easy pickings. Unfortunately for us HMRC has the power to force us to pay up, providing their claim is genuine and supported by evidence. In this case, either the HMRC has made an error or their claim is genuine. 4 years is a long time but they can still claim money owed with penalties and interest accrued. I would simply reply to their latest letter stating you were not aware of the fine from 4 years ago as no correspondence from HMRC on the matter had been received during this time. Then wait for their response.
Having had the horror of them I would keep hounding them all and keep a record. They are the new DVLA
