HM Revenue and Customs

3. Mr N complains that on 6 October 2021 HMRC wrongly advised his accountant it would refund £675 in loss relief to his personal bank account.

4. He says HMRC’s actions means he had to close his business sooner than planned and he cannot recover the £675 owed to him.

5. Mr N would like HMRC to pay him the money he believes he is owed.

6. Mr N was in the process of closing his company but HMRC owed it £675 in loss relief. On 6 October 2021 his accountant called HMRC to chase the progress of the refund. Mr N closed his company on 12 October, before HMRC issued the tax refund.

7. When Mr N’s company closed its assets became ‘bona vacantia’, which meant they transferred to the Crown. This included the £675 HMRC owed. This means the tax relief refund was not paid to Mr N.

10. The Standard is the guidance HMRC uses when dealing with people’s professional representatives (agents), like Mr N’s accountant. It explains that HMRC aims to give a fair and accurate service that makes it as easy as possible for agents to get things right.

11. Our Principles say, ‘Public bodies should give people information and, if appropriate, advice that is clear, accurate, complete, relevant and timely.’

12. Mr N told us he wanted to close his company but was waiting for HMRC to refund it £675 in loss relief. He says on 6 October his accountant called HMRC. They asked if it would pay the money directly to Mr N as the director if his business was dissolved before the money was cleared. He says the call handler agreed to do this.

13. HMRC sent two letters to Mr N on 23 August and 15 November 2022 in response to his complaint. It apologised for the advice it gave on the phone. But, it was unwilling to pay him the £675 because that property now belonged to the Crown.

14. HMRC told us its complaint responses should not have apologised as it had not made a mistake. It explained although the adviser agreed to update the details so Mr N was paid directly, there was no guarantee the payment would go to him. Instead, Mr N’s accountant and the adviser hoped HMRC could process the refund before the business dissolved.

15. HMRC also told us that Mr N had already started the process to close his business on 19 July 2021. By the time the accountant called on 6 October the company was only six days from finalising its closure.

16. It said Mr N’s accountant should have known about ‘bona vacantia’ and the principle was protected in the Companies Act 2006. HMRC thinks it was the accountant’s error to close the company before the payment had been made.

17. We have listened to the call from 6 October. The adviser agreed to chase the refund Mr N (and his accountant) wanted. They also updated the payment details so the money would go directly to Mr N and not his business. This was not a guarantee the loss relief refund would be paid directly to Mr N after the closure of his business.

18. We have decided that HMRC gave the right advice in line with its Standards and our Principles.

1. We have carefully considered Mr N’s complaint about HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). We have seen no sign that anything went seriously wrong with the information HMRC gave by phone on 6 October 2021.

2. We know Mr N feels HMRC is responsible for his financial loss. We understand how frustrating this must be and hope our work reassures him that HMRC handled his case properly.