- Original Poster
- #1
Hello - I run a limited company and utilise an accountant to provide full secretarial service on my behalf. I recently incurred two late filing charges which I believe are a result of negligence on the part of my accountants.
Despite the promise to refund me the amounts concerned, my accountants still have yet to pay the full amount owed.
Indeed, after a lengthy process of communication with them regarding this issue producing little in the way of a conclusion, I feel I need to look into the possibility of legal action against them.
There are two late filing charges that this matter concerns:
HMRC corporation tax return (for the period ending 30/11/2008)
A letter from my accountants detailing the corporation tax amount payable to HMRC for this period arrived with me on 19/01/2010. I promptly paid this the following day, and assumed all was well.
I then received a letter from my accountants dated 16/03/2010 requesting a payment to HMRC of £107 for a small amount of tax outstanding and advising me the payment would bring everything up to date.
I thought it odd that the original amount was incorrect, so contacted HMRC directly and was surprised to learn that this fee was a late filing charge. My accountants made no reference to any late filing charge in their communication with me.
After raising this issue with my accountants, they refunded me the sum of £107 on 23/04/2010.
Accounts return to Companies House (for the period ending 30/11/2008)
Whilst speaking to them regarding the above issue, I also brought to their attention a letter detailing a late filing charge of £750 payable to Companies House which had arrived with me that same day.
My accountant admitted he had missed a lot of time from work due to family issues during that period of time, and that he would pay the fee for me - as his staff had not acted accordingly in his absence.
As the payment deadline was only a few days away, I contacted them twice again over the following days to see if they had made the payment. They had not, so on the final deadline day (26/04/2010) I paid the amount myself to prevent the matter escalating.
I have subsequently checked my records, and can confirm I received reminder notices, all of which I forwarded to my accountant immediately on the following dates: 29/07/2009, 16/10/2009 (this threatened company removal, which I delivered to my accountants office in person), and finally 13/01/2010.
The accounts documents themselves were completed by my accountants and delivered to me on 25/01/2010. Note that the deadline for submission to Companies House was 08/09/2009.
I have since contacted my accountants numerous times to resolve the issue, and despite them promising to refund me the £750, I have still to receive this payment.
Conclusion
I have since parted company with the accountancy firm I have had difficulties with, and am happy with my current service provider.
However I am keen to know whether I indeed have a case against the accountancy firm in question, and whether it is worth pursuing before I commit myself to doing so.
Comments welcome from anyone with experience of these matters.
Thanks
T Denton
Despite the promise to refund me the amounts concerned, my accountants still have yet to pay the full amount owed.
Indeed, after a lengthy process of communication with them regarding this issue producing little in the way of a conclusion, I feel I need to look into the possibility of legal action against them.
There are two late filing charges that this matter concerns:
HMRC corporation tax return (for the period ending 30/11/2008)
A letter from my accountants detailing the corporation tax amount payable to HMRC for this period arrived with me on 19/01/2010. I promptly paid this the following day, and assumed all was well.
I then received a letter from my accountants dated 16/03/2010 requesting a payment to HMRC of £107 for a small amount of tax outstanding and advising me the payment would bring everything up to date.
I thought it odd that the original amount was incorrect, so contacted HMRC directly and was surprised to learn that this fee was a late filing charge. My accountants made no reference to any late filing charge in their communication with me.
After raising this issue with my accountants, they refunded me the sum of £107 on 23/04/2010.
Accounts return to Companies House (for the period ending 30/11/2008)
Whilst speaking to them regarding the above issue, I also brought to their attention a letter detailing a late filing charge of £750 payable to Companies House which had arrived with me that same day.
My accountant admitted he had missed a lot of time from work due to family issues during that period of time, and that he would pay the fee for me - as his staff had not acted accordingly in his absence.
As the payment deadline was only a few days away, I contacted them twice again over the following days to see if they had made the payment. They had not, so on the final deadline day (26/04/2010) I paid the amount myself to prevent the matter escalating.
I have subsequently checked my records, and can confirm I received reminder notices, all of which I forwarded to my accountant immediately on the following dates: 29/07/2009, 16/10/2009 (this threatened company removal, which I delivered to my accountants office in person), and finally 13/01/2010.
The accounts documents themselves were completed by my accountants and delivered to me on 25/01/2010. Note that the deadline for submission to Companies House was 08/09/2009.
I have since contacted my accountants numerous times to resolve the issue, and despite them promising to refund me the £750, I have still to receive this payment.
Conclusion
I have since parted company with the accountancy firm I have had difficulties with, and am happy with my current service provider.
However I am keen to know whether I indeed have a case against the accountancy firm in question, and whether it is worth pursuing before I commit myself to doing so.
Comments welcome from anyone with experience of these matters.
Thanks
T Denton
