Accountant Computation Error

[davidsonjenny]

I was self employed for a period until about a year and a half ago.
My accountant handled my tax returns and self assessments etc.
I have just received a tax demand for £3.6k which was completely unexpected.
Apparently the advice I was given for what I would owe was incorrect due to a mistake the accountant has made in the computation.
I made an adjustment to payment on account for the following year (on their advice) due to the fact that I would no longer be self employed and would be paying tax at source (staff position).
They looked into it and said that in their calculations they had made a mistake and had not deducted the correct amount due to the reduction in payment on account therefore the figures are out by £3650.
I paid my accountant fees over £1000 per year and their advice has been wrong - I have not budgeted or planned for this tax bill and do not have the money to pay it. Had their figures been correct at the time then I would have paid the required amount as I had a tax fund, however being more than 18 months down the line, I had considered the matter closed and all balances paid.
Do I have any claim against my accounting firm?
I will have to set up a staged payment with HMRC however the interest incurred is not due to my mistake.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

[AvocadoK]

In the first instance, you should write a letter of complaint to the accountants, setting out the facts, and stating that you are not happy with the situation.

You could also set out what you want them to do about it. EG, rebate some of the fees charged to the extent they related to the poor advice, and pay the interest charges. Some would say you should just ask for their proposals, in case they offer more than you would have asked for! Up to you.

You should definitely ask them who their complaints officer is, and ask for a copy of the complaints procedure. If they are a firm of Chartered Accountants or similar professional institutes, you can write to the Institute to complain about the firm. The Institute of Chartered Accountants offers a mediation procedure, which works well. As their aim is to uphold the good name of chartered accountants, they tend to be very sympathetic to the client's point of view. So ask them what, if any, institute they are a member of, and the address of that institute's complaints office. If nothing else, it will make them take the matter seriously.

It is unlikely that you will need to make any 'claim' against them in the legal sense, if they are members of a professional institute.

AK