Negligence v official error
Does anyone out there feel its time that the balance got redressed a little when government departments make a mistake? We heard last week that HMRC had ‘inadvertently’ sent out tax credit notices with other claimants’ personal details attached as the pages had been collated in the wrong order. This follows hot on the heels of the debacle at the start of the tax year when thousands of tax codes were issued incorrectly, causing significant hardship to employees where they found themselves on BR codes and often needing a salary advance from their employer to tide them over.
When a government department makes mistakes, and we all do because we are human, it is simply an error and we have to cope with the fallout, however significant to our privacy or finances. When we make a mistake it is negligence and we face an automated fine that we have to appeal – of course these too are often sent out incorrectly. Should government departments make it easier for us to get financial redress for official error – isn’t that part of the reason for an HMRC taxpayer charter?
