Latest news with #MrP
Daily Mirror
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mirror
Met Office pinpoints when 'third heatwave' will make Brits 'uncomfortable'
Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna said temperatures rising at the end of next week could lead to a third heatwave - and warm overnight conditions will make sleeping difficult The Met Office has said the third heatwave of 2025 is set to hit the UK by the end of next week, causing uncomfortable sleeping conditions. Senior meteorologist Marco Petagna said after a number of cool days, the weather is becoming warm again and temperatures rising could lead to a third heatwave - a period of three or more consecutive days of temperatures higher than a location-based threshold. However, the Met Office forecaster said that while it is clear the hot weather will return by the end of the week, it is difficult to predict its duration. He said: "It looks like we will meet heatwave criteria again by the end of the week. The main uncertainty is how warm it does become and how long the increase in temperature lasts for. READ MORE: Met Office warns Brits in nine places need 'emergency' kit for 12 hours "The trend to warmer weather, particularly across England and Wales, certainly looks pretty good going into the week ahead. It will start to feel a bit more humid in the week ahead and also night-time temperatures are going to start to pick up, so it's going to become more uncomfortable for sleeping." The warning comes as weather maps from WXCharts show that large swathes of the country will experience warmer-than-usual conditions starting from Friday, July 11. According to the latest maps, these warm conditions are set to last for around a week, up until July 18. The Met Office's long-range forecast from July 10 to July 19 says: "A broad northwest/southeast split in the weather looks most likely through much of this period. Towards the northwest, Atlantic frontal systems will bring occasional rain and cloudier skies at times, along with breezier conditions, though there should be some drier, brighter interludes too. "Further south and east, high pressure will likely dominate with a fair amount of dry and sunny weather to be had. With this, there is a signal for increasing heat and humidity and the potential for another period of hot weather to develop by the second weekend of July, probably lasting into the start of the following week. Given the anticipated high temperatures, the chance of thunderstorms also increases, though widespread rainfall across southern areas looks unlikely." The Met Office also warned of the risk of thunderstorms on Sunday. The weather service said there is a mixed forecast for Sunday and Monday, before temperatures are expected to climb back into the low 30Cs by the end of next week. Parts of East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the East of England are set for heavy rain, lightning and hail on Sunday, which could cause disruption to transport links. The rest of the country is also forecast to experience cooler air, cloud and showery spells for the rest of the weekend and early next week, before temperatures begin to rise again. Mr Petagna said: "The headline is a changeable theme to the next couple of days and then the weather will become more settled as we go into next week. It could well reach heatwave criteria again across England and Wales towards the end of next week. "In the short term, it's quite a mixed picture. There's a lot of cloud around, and bits and pieces of showery rain around. Across the East of England, the weather could turn heavy and thundery and there's a warning out for thunderstorms between 7am to 7pm, because of the unsettled atmosphere. "We could see an inch or two of rain and several thunderstorms there on Sunday, and that showery scene continues into Monday as well, especially in the north and east of the UK."
Telegraph
04-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘My mum died three years ago. I'm still waiting for a £20k inheritance tax refund'
Do you have a money problem? Write to: money@ Dear Telegraph Money, I have just read a recent article you wrote. It came up in a desperate Google search for solutions to my issue with inheritance tax and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). My mother died in September 2022, leaving me as her executor and sole beneficiary. Inheritance tax was due on her estate, and was paid. Probate was granted, and by November 2023, my solicitors were ready to ask HMRC for a refund. But we didn't hear anything back until January 2025, by which point the solicitors' firm was no longer acting for me. Finally, on January 6, I was sent a letter through my old solicitors, asking for an updated repayment authorisation, so that my refund could be paid. This was returned within the month. But now it's June, and I've still not received my money. Monthly calls to HMRC have proved fruitless, with the delay blamed on staff shortages and a huge backlog of cases. I understand to a point, but given when probate ended, this delay seems extraordinary. They say they are going to pay the money with applicable interest, but it's not yet in my account. Can you help push things along? – Mr P Dear Mr P, What an incredibly long delay. It's been nearly three years since your mother's death, and the administration has still not been completed. When someone dies, there can be an awful lot of admin to do, even when the estate is relatively simple, as in your case. When things go wrong, this can cause delays and confusion – and financial loss. But it wasn't just HMRC which had got something wrong in this case. The taxman didn't have records of any refund requested in November 2023 – despite what your solicitors had told you. This meant that it wasn't until January this year, when your case was processed, that HMRC realised that you were owed a refund. But it still took until June, after I had chased for the refund, for the money to actually land in your account. HMRC has admitted to me previously that it is prioritising 'IHT 400' forms, which confirm whether inheritance tax is due at all, over refunds, in order to clear a probate backlog and reduce pressure on the courts. This helps to explain the delay, but it is still not acceptable that you waited an extra six months to be paid. Inheritance tax can be overpaid for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common is that a property is valued at more than it is eventually sold for. More than 18,000 families have claimed refunds for this reason in the last three years, according to HMRC data shared with NFU Mutual. Two days after I got in touch with HMRC, £19,348 landed in your bank account. This is your refund of £18,170.45, plus interest of £1,178.03. At this point, you weren't certain how much refund you were due, but you were delighted that you'd received what HMRC thought you were owed. A HMRC spokesman said: 'We apologise to Mr P and have issued him the refund he's owed. 'The vast majority of inheritance tax accounts are cleared within 15 working days and we're investing £52m to digitalise our inheritance tax service to make the process even simpler and quicker.' It sounds like there was a significant error on the part of your solicitors. I advised you that you may well be able to make a complaint to them and be owed some compensation. You are very busy at work currently, but when things calm down, you plan to dig out all the paper documents again, and ask them what went wrong.
