HMRC tax rebate
keiranc1
Posts: 5 Forumite
in Cutting tax
Hello!
I have just come off the phone with the CAB to get some advice on my issue, and he said it was the first time he had ever heard of my situation, so I thought I might post in here to try and shed some light on the situation and also find out my rights in the process.
I received a tax rebate to the value of £159.60 which they said they have made a, quote, "payable order to ONLINE TAX REBATSE LTD"
Yes there is a typo, it was printed this way on the letter. (should read REBATES).
So i thought nothing of it, and was slightly happier that I was actually getting something back for a change.
The letter was a standard generic HMRC letter, all my NI number details and address are correct.
I received a letter though from Online Tax Rebates Ltd, and they said that they have charged me a processing fee of £12.00 and VaT £2.00
Charges based on 20% of gross tax refund £38.30 with a VAT element of £8.38 as well.
In total I recived back £109.30 which is £50.30p LESS than they said I would receive for my rebate.
NO I did not go online via a third party to claim my rebate
there was no stipulation in the tax letter that there would be any charges.
If there were going to be charges involved shouldn't they have to be at liberty to TELL the client?
I am none to happy about the fact my hand has been forced to use this company, and I am a little annoyed they have used this company as a standard and not declared the charges.
In short, I want my £50.30 back, and I would like the HMRC to actually inform their clients that this company charge for the services that I had no choice over.
I have just come off the phone with the CAB to get some advice on my issue, and he said it was the first time he had ever heard of my situation, so I thought I might post in here to try and shed some light on the situation and also find out my rights in the process.
I received a tax rebate to the value of £159.60 which they said they have made a, quote, "payable order to ONLINE TAX REBATSE LTD"
Yes there is a typo, it was printed this way on the letter. (should read REBATES).
So i thought nothing of it, and was slightly happier that I was actually getting something back for a change.
The letter was a standard generic HMRC letter, all my NI number details and address are correct.
I received a letter though from Online Tax Rebates Ltd, and they said that they have charged me a processing fee of £12.00 and VaT £2.00
Charges based on 20% of gross tax refund £38.30 with a VAT element of £8.38 as well.
In total I recived back £109.30 which is £50.30p LESS than they said I would receive for my rebate.
NO I did not go online via a third party to claim my rebate
there was no stipulation in the tax letter that there would be any charges.
If there were going to be charges involved shouldn't they have to be at liberty to TELL the client?
I am none to happy about the fact my hand has been forced to use this company, and I am a little annoyed they have used this company as a standard and not declared the charges.
In short, I want my £50.30 back, and I would like the HMRC to actually inform their clients that this company charge for the services that I had no choice over.
0
Comments
-
Hello!
I have just come off the phone with the CAB to get some advice on my issue, and he said it was the first time he had ever heard of my situation, so I thought I might post in here to try and shed some light on the situation and also find out my rights in the process.
I received a tax rebate to the value of £159.60 which they said they have made a, quote, "payable order to ONLINE TAX REBATSE LTD"
Yes there is a typo, it was printed this way on the letter. (should read REBATES).
So i thought nothing of it, and was slightly happier that I was actually getting something back for a change.
The letter was a standard generic HMRC letter, all my NI number details and address are correct.
I received a letter though from Online Tax Rebates Ltd, and they said that they have charged me a processing fee of £12.00 and VaT £2.00
Charges based on 20% of gross tax refund £38.30 with a VAT element of £8.38 as well.
In total I recived back £109.30 which is £50.30p LESS than they said I would receive for my rebate.
NO I did not go online via a third party to claim my rebate
there was no stipulation in the tax letter that there would be any charges.
If there were going to be charges involved shouldn't they have to be at liberty to TELL the client?
I am none to happy about the fact my hand has been forced to use this company, and I am a little annoyed they have used this company as a standard and not declared the charges.
In short, I want my £50.30 back, and I would like the HMRC to actually inform their clients that this company charge for the services that I had no choice over.
did you apply or contact HMRC is anyway for a rebate?
what is the rebate for?0 -
You have obviously signed up to this company at some time - trade union maybe ?0
-
Have you ever used a tax rebate service in the past (Online tax rebates ltd use several other names to trade under eg Uniform tax rebate and Healthcare worker tax rebate) ?
If so HMRC could have an instruction to pay your rebate to Online tax rebates which would only be cancelled if you instructed them to do so.
Otherwise you need to contact HMRC to see under what authority they paid it to Online etc.0 -
Thanks for the replies guys
I have not instructed them for a rebate, they did it off their own back for the period of 6th april 2013 til 5 april 2014
I do not claim Uniform credit, Although I could (because of work) but they want my last 3 years totals of tax paid, and I am unable to find this information, and havent given it to them.
All the other times (twice) I have received a rebate I have never phoned or contacted them they have just given it to me via bank transfer with no charges, hence why I am writing this in a forum, as it strikes me as a bit strange and underhanded why they should charge me now with no notice, and also force my hand as to accepting said charges with absolutely no choice of an alternative option
I have never been a part of any trade union0 -
You'll need to find out where they got details of this third party.
From what it sounds like though, you have been in touch with this third party re: the uniform issue even if you didn't complete the process. If you gave them authority at some stage to deal with your tax affairs then they will remain on the system until you remove them.
HMRC don't charge you for issuing a tax rebate, the third party does. It's not for HMRC to advice you of any charges as they wouldn't be aware of what the charges are.0 -
In order to authorise an Agent to act on your behalf you generally fill in a 64-8 form (or at least that's what it used to be called, it may have changed), which would have your signature on it, allowing them to tell HMRC that they are your Agent.
If you did this (and from what you say it sounds unlikely), then of course this Company can charge a fee a bit like an accountant would, but whilst it's not necessarily a scam, they may have gotten you to sign up under false pretences.
It's interesting that you don't even know exactly what the rebate is for, and it seems a lot for 1 year so it can't just be uniform cleaning.
You need to bite the bullet and spend some time on the phone with HMRC top look into your record and clear up why they have this Company on your record and what changes have been made to your tax situation to create the rebate (and then get the Company removed immediately).
Once you find out, I'd report back here as it might warn others of some slightly dodgy practices.I didn't do it, nobody saw me do it, you can't prove a thing!
Quidco and Topcashback, £4,569
Shopandscan, £2,840
Tesco Double The Difference, £2,700
Thomson EU261/04 Claim, £1,700
British Airways EU261/04 Claim, EUR12000 -
My Wife has the same letter and we feel a little mislead. The application came through the post and we where totally convinced it was from HRMC due to the format. My wife is a nurse and was informed by the letter she could claim previous years UNIFORM BENEFITS. My wife filled a form similar to this years ago and we received a refund from HMRC. A few concerns come to mind...
1. How did this company know my wife was a NHS worker and post the claim form to our home address?.
2. Why was there no option for an electronic transfer payment and a Charged £12 plus £2 VAT element.
3. We where then informed a charge of £18.39 with a £5.06 VAT element was also taken from theGross Tax refund?? last years refund?.
4. They also state under normal circumstances the rebate is paid by OTR Ltd in one cheque and we should not expect further cheques from them. Worrying this is because what are normal circumstances and also will we be charged for each previous year for the cheques? Will the other rebates for the remaining monies be paid through the Taxcode system??
Very misleading this situation and someone is making millions out of Nurses and people who have Uniforms and other items to pay for to carry out their work.
If we had been convinced it was not from the HMRC then we known we would have gone to HMRC direct.
Anyone else on the forum been subjected then please post so we can see the scale of this??
The company is ONLINE Tax rebates Ltd. based in Birmingham.0 -
You are correct. There are several unqualified people working in tax. In future only select an agent with professional qualifications.0
-
My Wife has the same letter and we feel a little mislead. The application came through the post and we where totally convinced it was from HRMC due to the format. My wife is a nurse and was informed by the letter she could claim previous years UNIFORM BENEFITS. My wife filled a form similar to this years ago and we received a refund from HMRC. A few concerns come to mind...
1. How did this company know my wife was a NHS worker and post the claim form to our home address?.
2. Why was there no option for an electronic transfer payment and a Charged £12 plus £2 VAT element.
3. We where then informed a charge of £18.39 with a £5.06 VAT element was also taken from theGross Tax refund?? last years refund?.
4. They also state under normal circumstances the rebate is paid by OTR Ltd in one cheque and we should not expect further cheques from them. Worrying this is because what are normal circumstances and also will we be charged for each previous year for the cheques? Will the other rebates for the remaining monies be paid through the Taxcode system??
Very misleading this situation and someone is making millions out of Nurses and people who have Uniforms and other items to pay for to carry out their work.
If we had been convinced it was not from the HMRC then we known we would have gone to HMRC direct.
Anyone else on the forum been subjected then please post so we can see the scale of this??
The company is ONLINE Tax rebates Ltd. based in Birmingham.
As you have already made a claim yourselves its not clear why you didn't just bin this as junk mail. Once an initial claim is made tax relief is normally given in the tax code each year so notjing more would be due by way of a lump sum. One exception for nurses might be professional subscriptions which can go up over time but the amounts involved are often small and not worth paying someone else to arrange if you can do it yourself. For example professional subscriptions in tje tax code of say 150 but actual amount paid in year was 160 so tax relief due on extra £10. For most this would be tax refund of £2 (10 x 20%) but as the PAYE system often leaves you with a small underpayment at the end of the year there might only be pennies actually due back.
You can always sign up for the new personal tax account to check what is included in your wife's tax code and contact HMRC if this is out of date.0 -
Hello
Just come off the phone with HMRC. They say it is not a scam entirely and not cricket ! Advice to any Tax payer from HMRC is never ever fill in any forms without contacting them first for an explanation on who sent the form and the cosequences.. We have been mugged like many thousands past and many more in the future unless Martin can get this in his show to help everyone....:money::money::(:(:(:(:(:(:(0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.6K Spending & Discounts
- 235.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 607.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173K Life & Family
- 247.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards