Tax payment demand

[1nvest]

Received a letter today, 20th December, demanding repayment of a over-payment, within 30 days of the letter date ... which was dated the 5th December. Or else .... threats to pass over to debt collectors.

Paid it straight away, but we could have been away until the New Year, past the deadline before their escalation to a debt collection agency - that I suspect might have added to the bill. When I phoned to make the payment it said that rudeness/abuse wouldn't be tolerated as part of the recorded message. Yeah, how about a bit of courtesy in return!

Strikes me as being unreasonable and aggressive. No politeness of a simple request for payment and then a later threat if remaining unpaid, but from the offset ... aggressive/rude/inconsiderate. A bit over £1300 that fortunately I still had left in my debt card account after Xmas spending and recent bill payments, as they don't accept other forms of payments!

I imagine in some cases their approach might incite individuals to become rude in return, from the offset. Rudeness to HMRC staff in effect being incited by HMRC's own actions/processes.

I find such matters ... annoying. For instance my mother spent a week in hospital a few months back and a gas bill demanding payment lay in her post box for a few days, and by the time I paid it it had passed its "pay within" time period so they added another £13 to the next bill as a late payment charge. Best I can tell the letter date and actual letter delivery date left very little time left within which to pay the bill without a penalty. Maybe a nice little earner for British Gas, but £13 to some pensions may be a lot.

Maybe the Post Office failing to deliver in a timely manner, maybe firms/organisations own induced delays between printing and dispatch. Annoying either way, and IMO unreasonable. I have seen just brief/few Call the Bailiffs TV shows, where some end up having to pay thousands in incurred debt collection costs relative to small actual original amounts. A function of the increasingly discourteous country that the UK has become. If you're a white, polite, family man ... you're abnormal.

So to anyone who works in HMRC, if people are rude, it may very well be a reflection of HMRC being inconsiderate and rude from the offset when initiating a communication.

[XFool]

...I can remember when companies etc. used to send out 'Reminders'. But then, I'm getting old.

That reminds me. First time I came across this sort of thing was with the 'Poll Tax', remember that? Plenty of people ended up in the courts because they had been on holiday. It has become normalised now.

[scrumpyjack]

...I can remember when companies etc. used to send out 'Reminders'. But then, I'm getting old.

That reminds me. First time I came across this sort of thing was with the 'Poll Tax', remember that? It has become normalised now.

I thought all the utilities nowadays insisted on direct debits so reminders are otiose

[XFool]

I thought all the utilities nowadays insisted on direct debits so reminders are otiose

They can "insist" away!