Help Tax return mistake, do i have any rights?!

prezzacc

Hi All,

Please could you help, i have made a bit of a mess up. We have just submitted a tax return online to a website called taxreturn gateway.

Being its my first one, i have just learned this is NOT the HMRC, hence why it was quite simple! Its a third party that check my details and then submit for me to the HMRC and charge a fee for the service!! Estiamte at £150 but up to £1000....!!!

Ive looked at the rights on thier site and it states i cannot cancel once submitted, as i guess its thier way of making money from people who make this mistake! I believe they are a legit comapny but i dont really want this charge..do i have any rights to cancel? IE 14 days to cancel a pruchase? Could someone please help.

I have called my bank business account and they say they cannot cancel as its already been processed. The site says once the payment is taken they have started my contract....is this something im just going to have to suck up?

Any help greatly appreciated, very new to this.

Many thanks in advance for any help

wealdroam

This thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4851519

is about driving licenses, but the principle is the same.

Probably be worth reading that to get an idea of what you might be up against.

Put simply, if you have agreed to them starting to provide the service immediately, then you have no statutory cancellation rights.

What is the name of the website you used?

mije1983

You could always get in contact with them and try to see if they will refund you, but it's doubtful. You may just have to accept it and hope it's nearer £150 than £1000!

Was it this site:

http://www.taxreturngateway.com/index.html


If it is, with the big comparison box on the home page of the differences between them and HMRC, and the fact under the submit button it says they are not affiliated with HMRC, they are not as underhand as some I've seen.

prezzacc

Hi both,

mije1983 - yes thats the site, when we clicked on it, it went straight to the login page so didnt see any reference about the comparisons etc.

What worries me is that it estiamtes £150 - £1000 - hopefully if we cant cancel we can at least get the lower price for thier service.

Looking at thier conditions it seems a lot of people try to cancel, based on the size of the cancelations Terms!

Guess we will try and call first thing in the morning and act dumb!?!

wealdroam

Yes, reading their cancellation terms, it seems quite clear that they have no intention of providing a refund.

They even go to the trouble of quoting that part of the Distance Selling Regulations that states they do not have to provide a refund because you have agreed to the provision of the service starting immediately.

Sorry to say that they are within the law by taking that stance.

arcon5

The principle is not the same as the driving license scenario - many people use accountants and professionals to submit their year ends.

wealdroam

arcon5 wrote: »

The principle is not the same as the driving license scenario - many people use accountants and professionals to submit their year ends.

I understand what you are saying, but the principle "that the OP thought they were dealing with a government department or agency and found out too late that they weren't" is exactly the same.

maninthestreet

How many times do people have to be told that UK goverment agency websites will have gov.uk as a suffix??

Valli

I'm a little surprised that this one is catching people out, given that there is usually no cost involved when submitting a tax return - not like buying a Driving Licence or a Passport.

zaax

Money box did an item about copy cat websites - people got money back from their banks


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/money_box/transcripts/money_box_09_nov_13.pdf

George_Michael

zaax wrote: »

Money box did an item about copy cat websites - people got money back from their banks
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/programmes/money_box/transcripts/money_box_09_nov_13.pdf

I wouldn't call the one in question here a "copycat website"
They don't attempt to make people believe that they are connected to HMRC, and on the main page alone they have the following statements:

As a private company, we are registered with HMRC as tax agents but we are not affiliated with HMRC or the UK Government. If you would rather deal with HMRC directly and submit your tax return at no additional cost, click here to access their official website.

Their use of bold, not added by me.

We are not connected to or affiliated with HMRC, DWP or any other official government body. We offer a bespoke, value for money, tax return assistance service for which we levy a charge. You may submit your tax return directly to
HMRC at no charge, without the benefits of our services, by visiting the official website.

and they provide a further link that will take you to the HMRC website.