If you believe your invoice amount is incorrect, you can:

• Contact D&B to check that they have correctly matched your employer(s) to records in their system and appeal your failure score or probability of insolvency. In 2009/10 we will be using the same failure scores and associated probabilities of insolvency as were used in the 2008/09 levy. If you did not successfully appeal your failure score within 28 days of receiving your 2008/09 invoice, you will not be allowed to appeal your score when you receive your 2009/10 invoice.
• Contact the PPF to query your scheme-based levy or the underfunding risk factor of your risk-based levy, or with any other query.

All queries or appeals must be made within 28 days of the date of issue of the invoice. Your 28 day deadline is also stated on the invoice. In either case, you will then have a maximum of 28 days to escalate your appeal to each subsequent stage.

Appeals with D&B and queries with the PPF need to be conducted simultaneously, if you have both.

If exceptional circumstances prevent you from making an appeal on time, you should contact the PPF or D&B, as appropriate, and be prepared to provide evidence as to why. We would not usually consider any of the following to amount to exceptional circumstances:

• Poor scheme management
• Administrative failure
• The planned absence of trustees or their advisers.