HMRC VAT Rant !!!!!!!!!!!!

[gillyfleur]

Please excuse me whilst I scream very loudly !! has this country gone completely mad ? don't answer that !! Trying to register a client to file his VAT return on line. He's mislaid the VAT registration certificate. I ring the "helpline" to ask for the effective date of registration. They won't give it to me. I've sent a 64-8 at least a month ago - not yet on file at their end. I can give them all the infomation they want, address of business, date of last return, amount on last return, still won't give it to me, it has to be the director - who is even less tolerant than me - and that's not very !! What bloody good is a VAT registration date to anyone ? Just what do they think I'm going to do with this date ? raid his bank account ? The governement want us all to file on line - an imposition and an arrogant assumption that all businesses have a computer as it is, and yet they put every obstacle in your way all in the name of "data protection". It's all complete b******s. This country is totally crackers to put up with it. VIVA LA REVOLUTION !!!! Thank you, calm now

[elainec100@cheapaccounting]

Rant away - some times HMRC lose the ability to apply common sense over bloody security issues because they are afraid of bad publicity.

Are you in an area covered bu the agent contacts:

Cardiff area (including Newport and Llandrindrod Wells): Adrian Jones Tel 02920 326 105
Glasgow area (including Paisley, Greenock, Gourock, Motherwell, Airdrie and Hamilton): Bob Gilchrist Tel 01355 275 897
Manchester area (including Stockport, Bolton, Bury and Blackburn): Christine Hiscox Tel 0161 261 3761
Newcastle area (including Darlington, Carlisle, Sunderland, Durham, postcodes DH1-DH9 and Berwick upon Tweed, postcode TD15): Stewart Wight Tel 0191 566 0368
Liverpool area (including Chester): Dave Stewart Tel 0151 300 1575


I have used them to escalate rubbish answers like you have got and it has been resolved very quickly.

[Robert Wheeler]

Interacting with the HMRC can only get worse, especially since they have a major program of redundancy and downscaling in the works. I would recommend that anyone records all of their conversations with HMRC, because one day you may need it in court.

[MyAccountantOnline]

Please excuse me whilst I scream very loudly !! has this country gone completely mad ? don't answer that !! Trying to register a client to file his VAT return on line. He's mislaid the VAT registration certificate. I ring the "helpline" to ask for the effective date of registration. They won't give it to me. I've sent a 64-8 at least a month ago - not yet on file at their end. I can give them all the infomation they want, address of business, date of last return, amount on last return, still won't give it to me, it has to be the director - who is even less tolerant than me - and that's not very !! What bloody good is a VAT registration date to anyone ? Just what do they think I'm going to do with this date ? raid his bank account ? The governement want us all to file on line - an imposition and an arrogant assumption that all businesses have a computer as it is, and yet they put every obstacle in your way all in the name of "data protection". It's all complete b******s. This country is totally crackers to put up with it. VIVA LA REVOLUTION !!!! Thank you, calm now


The daily joys of being an accountant:rolleyes:

HMRC........

[gillyfleur]

Thank you Elaine, but no, I'm not in any of said areas - typical ! It's complete madness. The other one recently is trying to get a PAYE sceme converted to be able to do CIS - "helpline" can't do it, apparently you ahve to speak to your local office - and it doesn't say anywhere on the website how to go about getting a CIS scheme if you're already an employer with a PAYE scheme - it's all to do with new business as far as I can see. I spent 3 weeks trying to get through to the local Revenue employers section without joy - phone constantly engaged, and I mean constantly (I sat for an hour on more than one day constantly pressing redial) and in the end I sent a snotty fax asking someone to call me - never did call me. I turn up at the client's premises yesterday to find a reminder dated 19 August for unpaid and unfiled CIS returns from May to July ? How does that work then ? we've had no notification we've been accepted, nothing !!!! they are absolutely flippin useless !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Robert Wheeler]

It seems the career that the Government provide the most assistance with these days is being a crackhead. Has anybody seen that window next to the dole queue that says "assistance for enterprising people here"?

No, they wont do that because they are too busy being master flannel merchants.

[Woodcrest Accounting Serv]

Trying to register a client to file his VAT return on line. He's mislaid the VAT registration certificate. I ring the "helpline" to ask for the effective date of registration.
Gilly, ask them to send out a copy of the VAT registration certificate and they will send one out to the address for free, quite promptly in my experience, which will have the effective date you need. Not defending these silly rules, but this sounds like the only way to get it - unless you find one of the missing HMRC data discs.:D

Probably no good if the return is due this week. If it is due this week, still chaps the money to HMRC and they may be a little less concerned if the return is late.

[Jenni384]

- unless you find one of the missing HMRC data discs.:D


Oh, I wondered what that disc they sent us last week was all about......! :eek::cool:

[An Oasis]

Interacting with the HMRC can only get worse, especially since they have a major program of redundancy and downscaling in the works. I would recommend that anyone records all of their conversations with HMRC, because one day you may need it in court.

Yah poor buggers are probably inundated with carp as we speak, perhaps the one eyed goblin will see they need help and offer himself to do some community service?

[KM-Tiger]

Better get in before the USA starts extradition proceedings.

[3pic]

HMRC are hugely annoying.

They no longer accept scanned documents, they insist on 'live' signatures. Talk about a backwards step.

If I need to submit a 64-8 or get an option to tax form signed it MUST be signed in proper ink and so this delays everything as it has to go in the post to the client, signed, posted back, etc.

Now I can understand a live signature in terms of preventing fraud, but I can register a client online with just a few bits of information and it requires no signature at all - I do all my registration online now as it cuts out the middleman (ie, the client!).

HMRC hide behind the facade of 'data protection'. The reality is that they just haven't got a clue, cannot be bothered to advise and anything that slows YOU down means less work in their intrays and so they can hit their turnaround targets.

I did an online registration the other week - it doesn't let you submit unless all the questions are answered and yet yesterday I recevied a questionnaire from HMRC saying they cannot progress the application without the Director's NI number....it was input onto the electronic submision and cannot be submitted unles it is there and it was the correct number also, so what the heck was that all about then?....just delaying tactics to ensure they hit their targets.

[Alison Jones]

HI

I had great trouble with HMRC trying to get an agent maintainer log on. I spent hours trying to sort it out and got so fed up being told this department will deal with it, them saying or no you need that department will deal with it I told them a bunch of monkeys would be more better at dealing with my problem then they will and they hang up on me. I gave up in the end and wrote a letter to Inland Revenue with a clients tax return which I could not get signed as this client had gone with the Territorial Army to Afghanistan and was not due back until after the tax return deadline telling the Tax Office as they were refusing to help me with my agent maintainer that they must accept the form without a signature as client was non contactable by myself until after the deadline telling them which regiment client was fighting with, I am assuming that they accepted it or they had ways to get it to the client in Afghanistan.

Alison

[Rhyl Lightworks]

About a year ago HRMC were making great play of the fact that they had achieved one of their targets of answering telephone calls within was it 10 seconds in over 95% of calls. They achieved this by just cutting off calls they couldn't answer promptly before they were answered. Yet another example of finding a way of achieving government targets, without providing the service the targets were supposed to ensure.

Barrie

[gillyfleur]

Woodcrest, it got sorted in the end thank you. The director spoke to them. It was just one of those days - VAT return is due now, I hadn't finished it as I've had 5 months of work to do to get it done and it's a new client for me so got to prove my worth, he hadn't sent in the previous 3 returns until 2 weeks ago (nothing to do with me - I was the one who got the info off his accountant, filled in the returns and posted them !!) but we can't afford to be late again as he'll have huge penalties due to the size of his VAT returns - and I ain't paying them !, the wireless internet connection kept going down as I tried to fill in the on-line registration, director had got to go out and was already late and I needed him to sign a cheque as back up in case the registration didn't happen - and HMRC were not being helpful. You get the picture ? the day from hell really and I wanted a rant ! I'm OK now

[gillyfleur]

About a year ago HRMC were making great play of the fact that they had achieved one of their targets of answering telephone calls within was it 10 seconds in over 95% of calls. They achieved this by just cutting off calls they couldn't answer promptly before they were answered. Yet another example of finding a way of achieving government targets, without providing the service the targets were supposed to ensure.

Barrie


....and that one really bugs me: you ring the "helpline", sit listening to a ranage of options of many tiers - and then they tell you "due to the high volume of calls we are currently unable to assist you, please log on to our website at.......or call back at a less busy time " or words to that effect - and if I'm at a clients it's on my mobile to an 0845 number, costs me money and I still haven't got the answer I need. Oooooh I'm getting mad again, not good for the blood pressure !!

[Williams lester]

....and that one really bugs me: you ring the "helpline", sit listening to a ranage of options of many tiers - and then they tell you "due to the high volume of calls we are currently unable to assist you, please log on to our website at.......or call back at a less busy time " or words to that effect - and if I'm at a clients it's on my mobile to an 0845 number, costs me money and I still haven't got the answer I need. Oooooh I'm getting mad again, not good for the blood pressure !!

Must say, I have never had that message....but we use the agent dedicated line.