Red tape and the elderly

[Oldpinkman]

Feeling a bit frustrated. At how intimidating "the system" is for the elderly. I am doing my charity case - my oldest client. He is the most senior in years, and the longest serving (if that's the term). I originally took him on at my ex-wifes request because he was a pig-farmer living on the breadline, and being ripped off (probably fairly charged) by his existing accountant. In over 30 years I haven't increased his (almost invisible) fee. He can't read and write. His wife, a lovely lady is of Romany origin and recently inherited her mums teacup ride which she takes to local fetes. inscribing the takings in a red exercise book.
Today "Fred" was too ill to fit his glass eye. He has packing in one hip where a replacement went wrong, a hearing aid, and has lost all his hair. Mrs Fred is a wiry old bird, but showing her years. My ex-wife (a farm secretary) and I carry on acting for them because they won't stop "farming" - although they lose money "keeping pet pigs" and eek an existence from rent on some farm buildings they converted. The day he stops hobbling out on crutches to care for his pigs (in a big barn on beautiful clean straw) is the day he will curl up and die. Probably not long now. They rely on us to explain any official document (like a Santander notification of a scrip dividend!!!)

One example. Because of the joint rents, they HAVE to complete a tax return. They each had £2.67 dividend from Santander. That goes on the foreign dividend page, and needs a foreign dividend tax (69p) entry and reclaim (54p). HMRC just routinely expect a couple like this to deal with that and file online. Online? They don't have an answerphone, have a bakelite telephone and no mobile phones. They don't have a calculator never mind a computer

Mrs Fred has £9000 in a NatWest reserve account which she will earn about £50 interest on suffering £10 tax (reclaimable). The bank send a statement annually "on christmas eve" showing the interest for the year to April 2015. So not yet. Not in time for the paper filing deadline at HMRC. I expect the information is available online, but...

So I will prepare in draft, and wait for the call between Christmas and New Year. "Allo - Richard (shrieked - she is hard of hearing too)" "That interest - it says 'ere net interest £41.17p" (or whatever)

Bloody crazy system. Apparently France is worse...

[vegman1973]

Your a good man for what you are doing for them.
The tax man and system don't identify young and old just payment and non payment.
My friend who is a farmer mainly sheep and cows spoke to me about a similar problem quite recently
The system was changing from paper to email
So as you can imagine with what I have just read
All the years takings paperwork tax everything all had to be submitted via Internet
He managed to do this just
Only for the system that had been set up for the task to collapse under all the strain.
So what did the government tell the farmers to do?
Write it all down on paper???
Livid is an understatement