Tony Hetherington is Monetary Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, combating readers corners, revealing the reality that lies behind closed doorways and successful victories for many who have been left out-of-pocket. Learn the way to contact him under.
P.T. writes: HM Income & Customs knowledgeable me that I had paid too little tax in 2022-2023, as a result of I had acquired over £14,000 in untaxed curiosity on financial savings. The financial savings determine was provided to HMRC by Nationwide Financial savings.
Sadly, I’ve no such account or curiosity. It’s fictional.
I contacted the tax workplace, however now I’ve been informed the Pay As You Earn tax code for my work pension is being modified, leaving me worse off by about £500 a month and reducing my pension by a few third.
Tony Hetherington replies: As soon as the tax juggernaut begins rolling, it is extremely laborious to use the brakes. Your first inkling that something was flawed got here if you acquired a requirement for £2,751, which was mentioned to be tax due on curiosity of £14,750. All of the taxman might inform you was that the determine had been provided by Nationwide Financial savings, however officers there have been no assist both, as you could possibly not give them the account variety of the account you didn’t have within the first place.
Money seize: The taxman wrongly left our reader worse off
You wrote to Nationwide Financial savings & Investments (NS&I) and acquired a written reply saying there was no account in your title. However, by then, the tax workplace had modified tack and determined to gather an additional £500 a month out of your pension.
Workers assured you that you wouldn’t lose out in the long term if the tip-off from NS&I turned out to be flawed. However that is little consolation if you find yourself shedding such an enormous slice of your pension for no cause.
I requested HMRC to look into this and so they moved with commendable pace. Three days after I contacted them, you acquired a name from the tax workplace, apologising and providing £75 compensation, in addition to issuing you with a brand new PAYE code. As an alternative of £2,751, you owe £1.80p. NS&I routinely tells the Income about giant curiosity earned by savers, and tax employees then hyperlink the tip-off to the taxpayer’s data. In a nutshell, somebody actually did get £14,750 curiosity – however HMRC linked this to you by mistake
I have been ready over a yr for my pension lump sum
Ms A.S. writes: I used to be attributable to obtain a pension plan lump sum of £19,417 from Phoenix Life on my seventy fifth birthday, which was in January final yr. I used to be additionally attributable to obtain £3,010 in January this yr.
I’ve not acquired a penny.
I now have a thick file of correspondence and emails, along with cellphone calls I’ve endured over the previous yr or so. Each time, I’m assured somebody will cellphone me again, nevertheless it by no means occurs.
I’ve a terminal lung situation. Time shouldn’t be on my aspect. I’m determined.
Pathetic: After weeks of ready and fruitless cellphone calls, it turned out that Phoenix had really despatched its enquiry to its personal handle
Tony Hetherington replies: In so many giant corporations it’s laborious to seek out somebody who will really take duty for checking out an issue as an alternative of handing it over to another person in a by no means ending sport of pass-the-problem.
You informed me that at one stage, Phoenix claimed to be ready for a reply from the trustees of your outdated employer’s pension scheme. After weeks of ready and fruitless cellphone calls, it turned out that Phoenix had really despatched its enquiry to its personal handle and to not your outdated employer.
On one other event, you informed me, Phoenix despatched kinds to you. You accomplished them and returned them, solely to have Phoenix inform you that the kinds ought to have gone to the trustees of the pension scheme. This occurred final August, however in October precisely the identical kinds landed in your doormat once more, and once more they had been meant for the trustees.
The ultimate straw earlier than you contacted me got here if you referred to as Phoenix 3 times, and every time you had been informed that the individual dealing with your declare was on one other name and would get again to you.
He by no means did, and if you referred to as for a fourth time you had been informed he had gone off on a coaching course for 2 months and would contact you on his return.
I contacted Phoenix in your behalf and, 4 days later, £23,391 landed in your checking account. This was each your overdue funds, much less earnings tax deducted at supply. Phoenix initially provided £200 by the use of an apology, and £20 to cowl all of your calls and another prices.
This was pathetic. It didn’t even scratch the floor of what you could possibly moderately count on, and I mentioned so. Phoenix has reconsidered. It has now paid you £1,652 as curiosity on the late funds, with an additional £1,025 as compensation for the upset.
However including a remaining somewhat weird twist to all this, you acquired one final letter from Phoenix, thanking you to your current request to alter your title. You informed me you had held the identical title since you bought married 56 years in the past, and you don’t have any intention of adjusting it now. Phoenix defined to me that it had simply noticed that its data had by no means famous your center title, so the data had been modified, however it’s best to by no means have been contacted or bothered about this.
A spokesperson informed me: ‘It’s clear from the findings of our investigation that the service we’ve offered to Ms S has fallen significantly in need of what she ought to count on, particularly at a time when she wanted our assist, and we’re very sorry for the upset and misery this has precipitated her at a particularly troublesome time.’
For those who imagine you’re the sufferer of economic wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Monetary Mail, 9 Derry Avenue, London W8 5HY or e-mail tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the excessive quantity of enquiries, private replies can’t be given. Please ship solely copies of unique paperwork, which we remorse can’t be returned.
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