Question – “I received a bill from the HMRC who said I had been overpaid around £18,000 in tax credits. When I spoke to someone on their debt management team, I was told that this had to be paid over the next 12 months or I would be taken to court. This is really worrying me as I am already struggling financially as it is! Because I am considered a higher-earner (at £46,000 per year), this is the reason why I am being given such a short period of time to make the repayments. I know it’s my fault for…
Social Media Sites Spouse can get a Court Order served on Facebook Twitter or LinkedIn, Google+ and Flickr to obtain information that the user would normally hope to keep secret. The user is not informed, and a huge amount of personal information can lead to discovery and recovery of hidden assets. Disclosure and Search Orders show where money has been moved and Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn messages uncovering. Orders can be obtained against banks without the account holder knowing and digital currencies like Bitcoin are no longer safe from scrutiny. Expert advice is essential. Consult Hylton-Potts, the experts who offer…
Question – “Between 2002 and 2007 I have received various statements totalling more than £4,500 from the tax office which they say I need to repay as soon as possible. Their reasons range from me making late self-assessment payments to not putting a decimal point in the figure in the correct place – though I feel that it is hopeless trying to find out exactly what the problems are. Unfortunately I am a bit computer illiterate and therefore have found it really difficult to complete the online forms. They are complicated to understand for someone like me and I don’t…
Charging interest on late payments can be a useful way of getting your customers to pay you promptly, and also means that if they pay you late you do not lose out. There are two ways in which you can charge interest on a late payment: statutory interest – the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (No 2) Regulations 2013) (the Act) gives a supplier the right to claim interest from a customer who fails to pay their bills on…
Question – “I, perhaps somewhat foolishly, continued to claim tax credits a few years ago whilst running a self-employed business from home when I was struggling a bit financially. At the time it was the only way I could keep the business afloat. Now I have the tax credits department on my back trying to reclaim the money from me – around £5,000 which is 3 years’ worth of claims. However, as I had a delayed self-assessment form dating back through this time, I thought that this figure could be wiped away – if not money even could be owed…
I just sacked someone. We had a conversation before that, in a pub where it seemed his departure was a mutual agreement. He took a few weeks off to consider the offer. However, he is now taking my company to an employment tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal. Can he use this conversation as evidence? The conversation may well be confidential and excluded from use in the employment tribunal. There is a law designed to prevent such “settlement conversations” being referred to as evidence. The law provides that offers made after that date, by an employer, to end the employment relationship on…
I own the 50 per cent of a company with my sister. She has been barred from being a director. This has impacted badly on the company. Can I force her to hand over her shares to me? Disqualifications are made where the conduct of a director has fallen below the standard expected of a competent director. Unless there is a provision in the company’s articles requiring a shareholder to be a director, there is no impediment to the shares being transferred. Owning shares gives the shareholder the right to vote at meetings, but this would not constitute management of…
A more aggressive stance by HMRC is leading to more tax credit debt being pursued in the courts. The courts sometimes may not realise that tax credit debt should be treated differently to ordinary tax debt. The production by HMRC of a certificate of debt is not conclusive that a tax credit debt is due and unpaid, and the tax credit claimant may be able to use that to their advantage. In recent years HMRC have been taking increasing numbers of tax credit claimants with overpayments to court to collect the alleged debt. Evidently in some cases claimants have not…
Question – “I’m a bit concerned about a tax credits issue I am having currently. The tax office overpaid the amount of tax credits that myself and my ex-partner were due to receive and are now trying to reclaim this back with legal proceedings brought against us. The thing is, as my partner and I are no longer together, it’s been difficult trying to sort out who is responsible for paying this back. I have stated to the tax office on more than one occasion that, whilst I am absolutely willing to pay back my fair share, I cannot afford,…
I set up a company business a few years ago and have recently lost members of staff who took clients with them. As the business evolves, I am aware there will be a higher staff turnover. Can I issue restrictive covenants to staff to control what they do after leaving and stop them taking clients with them? It is tempting to draft restrictions broadly to capture every possible detrimental situation, but covenants must only go as far as necessary to protect legitimate business interests. If you go into heavy they are not enforceable You need to consider the geographical…
