Scammed by The Tax Office?????

JossBanx

My Boyfriend overpaid tax whilst working on a temporary 3 month work contract. So having got off his backside, got a job, ended up in debt with his landlords as his housing benefit was so reduced (based on yearly earnings), and then had to claim back tax for the work he had done. We telephoned the tax office, supplied all the relevant documentation they required and they sent out a tax rebate form. He filled it in, sent it off and at the beginning of this month received the news that he was not only entitled to a tax rebate of £645 but that they had also found another £300+ due for over payment in a previous year!!!! Superb!!!! Lots of happy faces. ALL the forms delt with were supplied by the tax office. He then received a cheque from THE ENTITLEMENTS AGENCY which had deducted a massive Administration Fee of £135 plus VAT. His first cheque was reduced to £500... the second has not yet been received. I have read various threads on this site about the Entitlements Agency and the fact that their work is chargeable BUT we have NEVER approached them. We have never referred his case to them. The tax office did this themselves. It is the most disgusting abuse of a system. We have spoken to the tax office and they have said that THEY sent the information to the Entitlements Agency because they have stated that it is marked on his 'file' to refer the payment to the Entitlements Agency. (Do I smell the stink of 'backhanders' here????) They have 'very strongly' suggested that we contact the Entitlements Agency to ask how they obtained his details... we are trying.... but so far have been unable to get through and as the telephone system they use does not allow holding, the phone has been on constant redial... I will happily let you know more when we do. In the meantime, has anyone else out there had this same problem with finding themselves being issued a Tax rebate from the Entitlements Agency when they did in fact deal directly with Her Majesty's Tax Office??????

Pennywise

I think you'll find that your bf has used that firm in the past. Agent details stay on file at HMRC until the taxpayer cancels them. To confirm or deny this, HMRC will be able to tell you the date on which the agent details were entered onto their system. There have been similar tales on these and other fora - unfortunately people tend to forget what they've done years ago. I very seriously doubt that there is any kind of scam going on with HMRC - either your bf signed up with the firm years ago or the firm have fraudulently got his details and/or fraudulently signed the agent authority form - very unlikely.

PlutoinCapricorn

One possibility is that this agency was used a long time in the past: the authority to act on someone's behalf may be good until cancelled.

It is never necessary to claim a tax rebate via an agency, but anyone who has ever used one needs to ensure that HMRC know that they are no longer being used, for exactly this reason.

I hope that you manage to get all the money you are due.

yangptangkipperbang

Whilst admitting you may have a problem here - why all the emotive language ??

"scammed"
"backhanders"
"stink"
"disgusting abuse"

It really doesn't help your cause - especially if that is how you do deal with HMRC.
The two other responses to the OP are the most likely reason for your problem - or it could be a good old fashioned MISTAKE - but other people aren't allowed to make those any more................are they ?

McKneff

So the tax office haven't scammed you then.....

Too many people are too quick to use the word scam these days.

McKneff

yangptangkipperbang wrote: »

Whilst admitting you may have a problem here - why all the emotive language ??

"scammed"
"backhanders"
"stink"
"disgusting abuse"

It really doesn't help your cause - especially if that is how you do deal with HMRC.
The two other responses to the OP are the most likely reason for your problem - or it could be a good old fashioned MISTAKE - but other people aren't allowed to make those any more................are they ?

I just absolutely love your username.:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

dzug1

yangptangkipperbang wrote: »

Whilst admitting you may have a problem here - why all the emotive language ??

"scammed"
"backhanders"
"stink"
"disgusting abuse"

It really doesn't help your cause - especially if that is how you do deal with HMRC.
The two other responses to the OP are the most likely reason for your problem - or it could be a good old fashioned MISTAKE - but other people aren't allowed to make those any more................are they ?

Well the general impression I get from this site (many users anyway) is that PEOPLE should be allowed to make mistakes without any repercussions but that COMPANIES etc have to be infallible and that when they are not they are doing it deliberately

JasonLVC

JossBanx wrote: »

My Boyfriend overpaid tax whilst working on a temporary 3 month work contract. So having got off his backside, got a job, ended up in debt with his landlords as his housing benefit was so reduced (based on yearly earnings), and then had to claim back tax for the work he had done. We telephoned the tax office, supplied all the relevant documentation they required and they sent out a tax rebate form. He filled it in, sent it off and at the beginning of this month received the news that he was not only entitled to a tax rebate of £645 but that they had also found another £300+ due for over payment in a previous year!!!! Superb!!!! Lots of happy faces. ALL the forms delt with were supplied by the tax office. He then received a cheque from THE ENTITLEMENTS AGENCY which had deducted a massive Administration Fee of £135 plus VAT. His first cheque was reduced to £500... the second has not yet been received. I have read various threads on this site about the Entitlements Agency and the fact that their work is chargeable BUT we have NEVER approached them. We have never referred his case to them. The tax office did this themselves. It is the most disgusting abuse of a system. We have spoken to the tax office and they have said that THEY sent the information to the Entitlements Agency because they have stated that it is marked on his 'file' to refer the payment to the Entitlements Agency. (Do I smell the stink of 'backhanders' here????) They have 'very strongly' suggested that we contact the Entitlements Agency to ask how they obtained his details... we are trying.... but so far have been unable to get through and as the telephone system they use does not allow holding, the phone has been on constant redial... I will happily let you know more when we do. In the meantime, has anyone else out there had this same problem with finding themselves being issued a Tax rebate from the Entitlements Agency when they did in fact deal directly with Her Majesty's Tax Office??????

Ask HMRC for a copy of their (HMRC's) records that show the auhtority being given by bf to the Entitlement Agency. HMRC should hold a copy of the 64-8 or some other form of document that is signed by bf giving permission for HMRC to pass details onto the entitlement Agency.

HMRC are usually pretty anal when it comes to this kind of thing and are very pedantic to ensure they hold correct authorities, so it'd be unusual for HMRC to have a filenote but no written authority from bf. However, things do go wrong, so ask HMRC for copy authority. If HMRC do not have one, then HMRC may have made an error in passing details onto the Entitlement Agency, but then that would be a data protection issue which isn't going to see the admin fees refunded to you.

Iit does need getting to the bottom of, but I doubt HMRC are acting with deliberate intenent to defraud bf.

TM1976

McKneff wrote: »

So the tax office haven't scammed you then.....

Too many people are too quick to use the word scam these days.

I agree.

However it's been discussed on this forum before "The Entitlements Agency" actually trade through the web address https://www.thetaxoffice.org.uk as well as https://www.inland-revenue.org.uk so the OP may well think they have dealt with the tax office.