What is the thing about the 70th birthday and Assurance Vie? And ISTR that @JaneJones said fees can be high for AV’s and some don’t perform.
Sorry Karen - no idea - but then I never had enough money to open one so I wouldn’t know 
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I think it’s to do with inheritance tax on AVs being more if you take one out after age 70.
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A lower IT also applies to any capital added into the AV after age 70.
I hope I’m not tempting fate.
We received a letter from HMRC last week acknowledging the right to refund and saying it would be issued “shortly”. I wasn’t expecting an acknowledgement letter at all, and even then would have expected ‘in due course’ so I’m (probably foolishly) getting kinda hopeful. It’s only been around a month since we sent the FFI. Luck of the draw?
HMRC unfortunately don’t publish current response times for tax treaty based refund claims. I think you would be very fortunate if you receive a refund within 2-4 months. As you’ll no doubt see from the tear-stained posts above and on similar FFI related threads, you can typically wait for 6 months +, and in some cases up to 12 months. Do let us know if and when the tax refund gods decide to smile on you!
Yes the fact they dont publish them doesnt inspire confidence. The fact the form seems to have been designed excluding direct bank transfers and assuming the post services in both countries actually work also not good. Why HMRC cannot provide some digital inbox still astounds me…they must spend an absolute fortune opening and scanning post.
Just reporting my experience so far. A big thank you to George1 which enabled me to complete the form with confidence. I went in person to my local tax office (Tulle) who were very helpful and called me the next day to indicate that I could pick up the signed form. I then gave the form to a friend returning to England and he posted it on 24 Feb under Royal Mail’s 48 hour tracked service. Since 26 Feb it has not advanced from the NW Midland MC. I tried twice yesterday calling HMRC to see if they had received it but was not prepared to spend more than 30 minutes in the queue costing me at least eur10 per call! Apparently from tomorrow I can contact the Royal Mail as sufficient days will have passed but it does not look to be a straight forward process.
Has anyone any suggestions from their experience? Should I submit a second version to HMRC ? This time it will have to be from France. In the past, la Poste could only track as far as the UK but my paper self assessments were processed within 2 months.
Has anyone ever put say a £5 cheque with the form so that if it gets cashed at least you know they received the form too?!
No. I wouldn’t have thought it would be paid in by HMRC if it wasn’t accompanied by a bill
First, check in with royal mail when they let you. Might well turn up.
Did you send it to the hmrc bx7/bx9 address or the physical address in Newcastle (available if you look online where to courier stuff to hmrc)? If royal mail confirm its lost in transit maybe try a resend lrar to Newcastle…
Second point keep it simple. Guidance hmrc gave to icaew was one envelope one item…if you put a cheque in who knows what happens to the paperwork with the cheque…
Thanks for your kind words.
Have you tried using this route ie contacting HMRC via this web chat? You kick off with the useless HMRC chat bot, then you can insist on speaking to an adviser. They are not always available . Although the service is for self assessment etc, they will usually be able to tell you if they have received your form. I have regularly used it/earlier incarnations. It is of course free. Worth a try.
If you have a landline number in your fibre or ADSL internet deal then most will include free calls to UK landline numbers (as well as a host of other countries). Without this feature I would have got even more annoyed with the length of calls I’ve had to make to HMRC & UK pension providers in the past couple of years.
If you only have a portable then I apologise for bringing this up.
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Thanks Paul. I sent it to BX9 1AS but note that if I send again to use the full address in Newcastle. Thank for the tip!!!
Thanks George for this tip about the online chat. Will try on Monday when there is more likely to be advisors working!
Thanks Badger! I had a fixed line via my computer in Paris but in retirement in my rural community with a lot of trees the fibres are installed at branch level rather than being buried so we get a lot of disruptions when there are storms or a tree just falls down. I am about 2kms from a visible Bouygues mast however and have a HUAWEI tower which let’s me in theory run over 50 devices off it. That has been very reliable until Storm Nils which took out the mast! Your suggestion prompted me to check the cost of a fixed line with France Telecom. They offer at under eur20 per month a SIM based fixed line but only for unlimited calls within France! Gordon1 ‘s suggestion of using HMRC’s chat line sounds a good alternative if I can get through to a real agent that way!
Use 12voip or Viber - apps for calls that use data rather than minutes. Cheap and easy to install on your mobile, mostly they work well
Many thanks Karen for these suggestions showing newer technology than I am familiar with. I had not heard of Viber (Japanese) and also I found myself going down rabbit holes tonight and discovering My Tello (US) plus 2 UK companies called Swytch and Vyke who charge 1.5pence per minute to ring land lines in the UK. It seems I could port my current UK mobile number to these sorts of apps if I use my primary French mobile and thus eliminate my much higher O2 bill! O2 impose usage surcharges as I am no longer in the UK. I note that the likes of Companies House (and perhaps HMRC ?) require you to have a UK phone number.
All the members replying to my HMRC question have given me food for thought tonight so thank you all so much!
Envoyé de mon iPhone
Don’t port your UK number to any app - too risky. When you have time look up Giffgaff on here and cruise the threads where it comes up as it’s not the only option.
Thank you Karen for the giffgaff suggestion. One advantage perhaps of O2 is that the BBC Sounds app carries on working for me for about a month or more after I have returned to France from a UK trip and for that I am very grateful and would be loath to lose the service! On my French mobile BBC Sounds I barely get 2 to 3 after leaving the UK.
Dear George and All!
Thanks to using George’s chat suggestion I got the good news that my form had indeed arrived ! Phew!
However it took some patience over nearly two hours and I have two tips:
- It seems if you request « adviser please » 40 times, yes forty times, you manage to get into the adviser queue despite repeated replies that no advisors are available. (Another forum in 2024 indicated 20 times was sufficient.)
- Do start earlier in the day than I did. I started at about 11.05 UK time to get from 27th place to first place by 11.53. Charlotte verified my identity and confirmed that she was checking my file and at 12.01 disconnected me. I assume her lunch hour had started! I asked her to kindly reconnect and was placed in a new queue at 16th place starting at 12.03. At 12.34 Sarah answered, verified me and again went to check my file. At 12. 42 she reverted with the positive reply that my form has been received!
At the end of the process the site asked for feedback but my negative responses were so long I seemed to get kicked off!!!
So I have diarised for 5 May to start earlier in the day to check when they expect to give me a refund. Or George how do you suggest wording the request when i get through to an adviser?
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