Tax refund company - how can i stop them!

dibble74

Hi
Year before last the tax refund company were promoted by the union and I went for it. They claimed they got my tax back but it actually took them so long (over a year of faffing about sending them copies of p60s and stuff) that I actually applied for and got it back myself.
Then last year they started proceedings out of the blue claiming i owed them money for the tax refund - i refused and it almost went to court - that's when I bottled it as I didn't want to risk CCJs, and have paid them £200 in instalments. Just paid the last one and they have sent me a letter asking me to promote their services to friends and colleagues !!!!! AND saying they are actively pursuing subsequent years for tax refunds. I just want them to crawl away and die - leave me alone and get out of my life. Is there some specific action I can do that won't leave me open to their fraudulent claims of me owing them yet more money. Total charlatans.
Please advise
Thanks

fengirl_2

This is exactly why I always tell people to avoid these companies like the plague.

Just tell them you no longer want them to act on your behalf and will not pay for any future services. Also make sure you revoke any authority you have given for HMRC to correspond with them on your behalf.

sarflee

Usually these companies get you to sign a deed of assignment that covers a specified amount of years. This is legal and, as far as I am aware, there is nothing you can do to change this, once agreed. They also normally get your permission, which is then sent on to your tax office, allowing them access to detail of all your tax affairs.

I would suggest that you contact your tax office to make sure no rebates are sent to these people, except for the years previously agreed on the deed of assignment, and that you withdraw any authority for them to act on your behalf. Beyond that, I don't think there is much more you can do.

Mikeyorks

You might also get your colleagues to declare war on the union.

They shouldn't be promoting this rubbish. They only do it because there's a payback for them. But it is not in your interest ..... which they falsely claim to be promoting.

fengirl_2

Agree with Mike. If the union truely had your interests at heart, they would ask the customer service manager from the local tax office to come and tell the workers how to make the claims themselves - failing that, someone from CAB or a kindly retired tax inspector.

amf

I couldn't agree more with sarflee, Mikeyorks and fengirl. These companies really are the scum of the earth. The unions they hook up with are blinkered in so far as their dealings with these companies are concerned.

It is the poor people who fall for their flim flam that I feel sorry for. If they are unlucky they might get a tax refund, a percentage of which is kept by the adviser. Of course when their SA Tax Returns are later picked up for inspection and the money has to be repaid (because the refund only arises because of inflated and unallowable expenses which are easily caught out), the individual is left holding the baby. The adviser is long gone and doesn't want to know. For those in the know my comments do not refer to minor FRE claims, but for normal commuting travel of site based workers, which is often the basis of the more major refund scams.