After a very stressful experience…
After a very stressful experience dealing with an error made by Biznav, I feel it’s important to share what happened.
My UTR was incorrectly used in another individual’s tax return (they had the same surname and first initial), which resulted in me having to spend over 5 hours on the phone with HMRC to get the situation investigated and corrected. It took multiple staff and significant effort just to untangle the issue and have the incorrect return removed from my record.
As a result of this error, I was left with an apparent £5,000 outstanding tax bill and penalty charges accruing interest on a daily basis, all for a return that had nothing to do with me.
HMRC themselves expressed concern that Biznav had been able to submit a return using my UTR despite not being listed as an authorised agent for me.
What is particularly concerning is that Biznav stated this was not a GDPR issue on the basis that my personal details were not shared. That fundamentally contradicts data protection responsibilities - the misuse of a unique personal identifier like a UTR is itself a serious data breach.
Even more troubling was the “solution” proposed by Biznav. Rather than taking ownership and resolving the issue directly with HMRC, they suggested filing a nil tax return on my behalf despite not having been my tax accountant for several years. This felt rushed and inappropriate, and could have easily led to further complications or even penalties. It gave the impression they were trying to quickly cover up the error rather than properly correct it.
As a result, I had no choice but to deal with HMRC myself, losing an entire afternoon to fix a problem that should never have occurred.
I have no doubt that systemic issues within HMRC may have contributed to this situation by accepting the submission. However, the response I received from Biznav appeared to focus on deflecting responsibility rather than taking accountability for their role in the error.
Following all of this, I was contacted by a partner at Biznav who offered a reluctant apology and assured me they would come back to me within a week with an explanation as to how such a serious error could occur.
No follow-up ever came. No explanation, no accountability, no further communication.
Mistakes can happen, but the lack of ownership, combined with a poor understanding of basic data protection principles, and failure to follow through - particularly in a situation with serious financial consequences speaks volumes. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend this firm.
