8 August 2025

Submitted this years tax return back in early April and because of what has been happening the last few years there was a negative profit figure so I was due a refund on the PAYE tax I had paid in April 2023. The system said that 'if there is a refund due it may take up to 12 weeks to process', so don't chase before then, so 17 weeks should be save to try and find out what is going on. The phone system keeps pushing you back to on-line tools, but since PAYE and Self Assessment are two different departments, NOTHING is displayed showing that a refund is due at all. Starting at 8AM, after 30 minutes I finally managed to get to an agent who informed me that 'a refund was processed yesterday!'. Now had that information been logged in the on-line system I would not have wasted the time. I was told however that it will be some weeks before the on-line statements catch up. The real question perhaps is 'did I know that the money WAS on it's way which is why I decided to check today?'.

The aggro of the storage situation was fixed last year by my being able to rent a garage in Pershore. Not as secure as 'self-storage', but at a quarter the price helpful, is a bit too far away. The arrangement was when one became available in Evesham I would be notified, so I'd asked just where I was on the waiting list for one and magically one was offered which is a few hundred metres away! Ideal even if it is 10% more expensive than the Pershore one. Five runs in an i10 and everything has been moved. A lot of good stuff had been disposed of when the container rental was pulled by that company and a lot more needs to be weeded out, but I can do that easier now just a walk away. Lack of power is a problem but I have James's inverters so a couple of leisure batteries bought with the tax refund will partially fix that problem. So things are coming together. I just need the OK to floor the loft properly and set up a work bench there and we will be in business!