hmrc useless and unhelpful dwp better.

[chang50]

Another thread about the ongoing scandal of UK pensioners paying income tax on pension increases we have not received..Phoned them today to explain my situation only to be met with the abrupt response 'we can only go off the figures provided by DWP you need to contact them'.Not really interested in helping at all.

 So I did and they were much more helpful.They said they would contact HMRC through 'searchlight' which seems to be a way to access customer info. and phone me back with an update..he also said he would post me my complete pension record.

Whether any good will come of this remains to be seen..

It's bad enough not getting the pension increases but then to be taxed as if you were is incompetence on a grand scale.

Rant over any input or insight into what is going on would be much appreciated..

 

 

[steve187]

as long as you keep up with and check your latest tax coding i don't see the problem, can be done on the gov app, or online.

[chang50]

2 minutes ago, steve187 said:

as long as you keep up with and check your latest tax coding i don't see the problem, can be done on the gov app, or online.

I sent a submission online telling them how much pension I was getting took them 4 months April to Aug. to 'complete' looking into it but my tax deducted remains unchanged in Sept.

[CharlieKo]

1 hour ago, chang50 said:

Another thread about the ongoing scandal of UK pensioners paying income tax on pension increases we have not received..Phoned them today to explain my situation only to be met with the abrupt response 'we can only go off the figures provided by DWP you need to contact them'.Not really interested in helping at all.

 So I did and they were much more helpful.They said they would contact HMRC through 'searchlight' which seems to be a way to access customer info. and phone me back with an update..he also said he would post me my complete pension record.

Whether any good will come of this remains to be seen..

It's bad enough not getting the pension increases but then to be taxed as if you were is incompetence on a grand scale.

Rant over any input or insight into what is going on would be much appreciated..

 

 

Question. Do you get any other income other than the state pension which takes you over the 12,500 tax free allowance? 

[chang50]

32 minutes ago, CharlieKo said:

Question. Do you get any other income other than the state pension which takes you over the 12,500 tax free allowance? 

The only other income i have is a tiny amount of interest last year it was 40 pence.The tax free allowance is 12570 btw.I also have a company pension see details below .

 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by chang50

[chang50]

To quote figures I get 182.81 per week state pension or 9506.12 annually and a private pension which takes me over the personal allowance but my latest tax code  letter from hmrc and confirmed on my personal tax account says I have 10458 state pension annually the amount I would get if I had the annual increase.I am paying approx. 15 pounds a month too much income tax deduction on my company pension.

Edited September 5, 2023 by chang50
More info

[chang50]

2 hours ago, steve187 said:

as long as you keep up with and check your latest tax coding i don't see the problem, can be done on the gov app, or online.

The problem isn't keeping up with the latest tax coding it's getting it changed when it is obviously wrong.

[CharlieKo]

1 hour ago, chang50 said:

The problem isn't keeping up with the latest tax coding it's getting it changed when it is obviously wrong.

Does HMRC know you are living in Thailand? If not that might be the reason you are over taxed. Because HMRC assume you live in the UK!

Edited September 5, 2023 by CharlieKo

[chang50]

3 hours ago, CharlieKo said:

Does HMRC know you are living in Thailand? If not that might be the reason you are over taxed. Because HMRC assume you live in the UK!

Well they have had my thai address for 16 years.

[chang50]

I believe there are many others in the same situation as me has anyone managed to successfully get a tax code corrected and if so how?

[chickenslegs]

17 minutes ago, chang50 said:

I believe there are many others in the same situation as me has anyone managed to successfully get a tax code corrected and if so how?

I am certain that some UK pensioners have been able to do so - and have posted here that they received refunds from HMRC. Unfortunately, the aseannow search facility is no help, but I'm pretty sure that @mikebellis one. IIRC he got a cheque for a few thousand quid. Maybe he will respond with a link to his thread.

 

Edit: Found the thread ...

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by chickenslegs

[chang50]

16 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I am certain that some UK pensioners have been able to do so - and have posted here that they received refunds from HMRC. Unfortunately, the aseannow search facility is no help, but I'm pretty sure that @mikebellis one. IIRC he got a cheque for a few thousand quid. Maybe he will respond with a link to his thread.

 

Edit: Found the thread ...

 

Thanks.I know Mike Bell well.Amazingly just when I had nearly given up I checked my personal tax account just now and they have adjusted my tax code today!

[chickenslegs]

2 minutes ago, chang50 said:

Thanks.I know Mike Bell well.Amazingly just when I had nearly given up I checked my personal tax account just now and they have adjusted my tax code today!

I have the opposite problem. I have been receiving my UK state pension for more than 1 year (my total income is quite a bit higher than the tax allowance) but my income tax has not increased.

 

I informed HMRC online, who confirmed that I was not paying sufficient income tax, but they could not adjust my tax code without confirmation from DWP. I was told by HMRC that I need to request DWP to inform HMRC of my state pension income. I then contacted DWP but was told that HMRC already have access to my state pension information, and that I should contact HMRC myself. I then logged into my Government Gateway account and informed HMRC of my additional income.

 

This was 6 weeks ago and I have not received a response. Meantime, I am expecting a tax bill of 2K GPB or more when they eventually get around to sorting things out. 

 

Lucky for me that I noticed the underpayment and set aside some money to pay the shortfall.

 

But, what an absolute shambles!

[chang50]

23 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I have the opposite problem. I have been receiving my UK state pension for more than 1 year (my total income is quite a bit higher than the tax allowance) but my income tax has not increased.

 

I informed HMRC online, who confirmed that I was not paying sufficient income tax, but they could not adjust my tax code without confirmation from DWP. I was told by HMRC that I need to request DWP to inform HMRC of my state pension income. I then contacted DWP but was told that HMRC already have access to my state pension information, and that I should contact HMRC myself. I then logged into my Government Gateway account and informed HMRC of my additional income.

 

This was 6 weeks ago and I have not received a response. Meantime, I am expecting a tax bill of 2K GPB or more when they eventually get around to sorting things out. 

 

Lucky for me that I noticed the underpayment and set aside some money to pay the shortfall.

 

But, what an absolute shambles!

Indeed now I know what the common catchphrase 'broken Britain' means.

I have read that if you owe under 3K hmrc collect by adjusting your tax code.Good luck.

[mikebell]

8 hours ago, chang50 said:

I know Mike Bell well.

But do I know you?

[mikebell]

8 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I am certain that some UK pensioners have been able to do so - and have posted here that they received refunds from HMRC. Unfortunately, the aseannow search facility is no help, but I'm pretty sure that @mikebellis one. IIRC he got a cheque for a few thousand quid. Maybe he will respond with a link to his thread.

 

Edit: Found the thread ...

 

Footnote to the above; I received 3K UKP almost immediately with a promise of TWO more lesser sums.  One was posted a day later to my Thai address despite me appointing my daughter as my agent with a Yorkshire address.  I had explained by phone that no Thai bank would accept a cheque of this nature AND Thai post is usually unreliable. One month on - no cheque; my complaint is still 'pending' (despite an assurance of a 15 day turn-round) and HMRC still has my money.

[chang50]

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

But do I know you?

I will see you Friday ????

[lungbing]

I've had a letter today from HMRC telling me my Voluntary Class 3  contributions of 67.50 quid are due. It would be a good trick, I'm nearly 76 and have been retired over ten years.

 

Meanwhile they are taxing me on the pension  increase I don't receive.

[chickenslegs]

26 minutes ago, lungbing said:

I've had a letter today from HMRC telling me my Voluntary Class 3  contributions of 67.50 quid are due. It would be a good trick, I'm nearly 76 and have been retired over ten years.

 

Meanwhile they are taxing me on the pension  increase I don't receive.

I gave that a laugh, but it's not really funny.

 

Maybe someone who has been through the process of reclaiming overpayments can tell us the procedure, which forms to complete, and where to find the forms.

[chang50]

15 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I gave that a laugh, but it's not really funny.

 

Maybe someone who has been through the process of reclaiming overpayments can tell us the procedure, which forms to complete, and where to find the forms.

Bearing in mind the process took over 4 months this is what I did.When you get your tax code notice and it is wrong you need to go to your gov.uk/personal-tax-account and complete a submission stating what is incorrect in my case my state pension amount.Then wait and wait and wait maybe phone hmrc and have them blame dwp who you then phone and who knows you might get lucky.

There is a video on hmrc's youtube channel ex

plaining things as well

Edited September 6, 2023 by chang50
add link

[Moonlover]

22 hours ago, chang50 said:

I believe there are many others in the same situation as me has anyone managed to successfully get a tax code corrected and if so how?

If you have an on-line account it is a very simple matter to have this problem corrected. So are you registered for an on-line account?

 

[chang50]

2 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

If you have an on-line account it is a very simple matter to have this problem corrected. So are you registered for an on-line account?

 

See my later posts mine was corrected yesterday after more than 4 months

waiting and phone calls.I wouldn't say it's very simple having to do hmrc's job for them.

[mikebell]

19 hours ago, chang50 said:

I will see you Friday ????

Penny's dropped.

[OJAS]

10 hours ago, Moonlover said:

So are you registered for an on-line account?

Easier said than done for the OP if he is not, given that, according to @hotandsticky elsewhere on here, new Government Gateway accounts can these days only be created by those with UK addresses.

 

Personally speaking, I think that it would not be unreasonable to conclude from the OP's (and others' similar) experiences that the UK government as a whole could well be pursuing an agenda aimed at making the lives of us Brit retirees living in LOS just as difficult as is humanly possible, with both HMRC and DWP playing their full part by adding insult to injury to those on frozen State Pensions through taxing them as if they were in receipt of the full whack. And this coming on top of the cumbersomely bureaucratic  procedures which have been inflicted on us over the last 10 years or so by DWP and HMPO in the areas of State Pension life certificates and passport renewals respectively.

 

And then we have the Thai government who IMHO have clearly demonstrated, through various actions directed against those of us on annual retirement extensions over the past few years in particular, that they would be more than willing to provide their UK counterparts with whatever assistance they might require in this connection!

 

Rant over!

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by OJAS

[Moonlover]

9 hours ago, chang50 said:

See my later posts mine was corrected yesterday after more than 4 months

waiting and phone calls.I wouldn't say it's very simple having to do hmrc's job for them.

'All's well that ends well', as they say. I understand where you're coming from. To get your tax code changed year on year is easy. To get HMRC to accept that your state pension is a fixed sum is different matter. I think it was 3 years before I finally achieved that.

[Moonlover]

13 hours ago, lungbing said:

 

Meanwhile they are taxing me on the pension  increase I don't receive.

 

So I'm guessing that you have been over taxed for 10 years or more. How come you have left it for so long? You can sort it out quite easily if you have an on-line account with HMRC, but I believe that you can only go back 5 years.

 

Let me know if you are registered and I can walk you through the procedure. Been there and done it.

 

[hotandsticky]

4 hours ago, OJAS said:

Easier said than done for the OP if he is not, given that, according to @hotandsticky elsewhere on here, new Government Gateway accounts can these days only be created by those with UK addresses.

 

Personally speaking, I think that it would not be unreasonable to conclude from the OP's (and others' similar) experiences that the UK government as a whole could well be pursuing an agenda aimed at making the lives of us Brit retirees living in LOS just as difficult as is humanly possible, with both HMRC and DWP playing their full part by adding insult to injury to those on frozen State Pensions through taxing them as if they were in receipt of the full whack. And this coming on top of the cumbersomely bureaucratic  procedures which have been inflicted on us over the last 10 years or so by DWP and HMPO in the areas of State Pension life certificates and passport renewals respectively.

 

And then we have the Thai government who IMHO have clearly demonstrated, through various actions directed against those of us on annual retirement extensions over the past few years in particular, that they would be more than willing to provide their UK counterparts with whatever assistance they might require in this connection!

 

Rant over!

 

Confirmed re UK address.

 

 

When setting up Government Gateway for a friend recently I resorted to trying his last known UK address.

[BritManToo]

15 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I gave that a laugh, but it's not really funny.

 

Maybe someone who has been through the process of reclaiming overpayments can tell us the procedure, which forms to complete, and where to find the forms.

Open your government gateway account.

Find the 'tax rebate' button, and answer the online questions.

Money back in your UK account within 14 days.

 

Done it about 3x in the past 5 years.

(Pension lump sums, and drawdowns)

Edited September 7, 2023 by BritManToo

[chickenslegs]

36 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Open your government gateway account.

Find the 'tax rebate' button, and answer the online questions.

Money back in your UK account within 14 days.

 

Done it about 3x in the past 5 years.

(Pension lump sums, and drawdowns)

Just spent 15 minutes trying to find a 'tax rebate' button on my Gov Gateway Personal Tax Account.

 

Can you point me in the right direction?

[chang50]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

Just spent 15 minutes trying to find a 'tax rebate' button on my Gov Gateway Personal Tax Account.

 

Can you point me in the right direction?

Maybe I'm wrong here but it's possible he is referring to self assessment and you to PAYE which is normally repaid via the tax code