Marriage Allowance

handyandy1

sheramber wrote: »

Have you read earlier posts on this thread .

No more to be said, really.

That'll teach me to use the search function!

polymaff

An odd question to ask when most of the recent traffic on this thread has been all about this subject. Read it.


The general analysis is that you have had some contact with Marriage Allowance Limited or its associates at some time and have given them authority to act on your behalf.

zagfles

polymaff wrote: »

An odd question to ask when most of the recent traffic on this thread has been all about this subject. Read it.


The general analysis is that you have had some contact with Marriage Allowance Limited or its associates at some time and have given them authority to act on your behalf.

I'm not convinced people stumbled on the wrong website, I've tried various google searches and like with the passport etc shyster sites, the dodgy sites don't appear in a search, not of the first page anyway. Google have been pretty good at getting rid of the leeches, it's not that easy to find shyster sites! So it would appear they probably got authority to act through some other method.

AnotherJoe

zagfles wrote: »

I'm not convinced people stumbled on the wrong website, I've tried various google searches and like with the passport etc shyster sites, the dodgy sites don't appear in a search, not of the first page anyway. Google have been pretty good at getting rid of the leeches, it's not that easy to find shyster sites! So it would appear they probably got authority to act through some other method.

That hasn't always been the case, until quite recently you'd always see three ads as the first results in a google search. I don't see that any more but I don't know if that's because google changed or because It depends how your browser is set up. The unwary will not have ads excluded or blocked. Plus if you just type marriage in the url bar rather than do a direct google search then autocomplete will start bringing up these shyster sites.

Then there is always the wonder of ads on Facebook. That's how many got suckered into LC&F.

The one thing that's sure is that no one went to the HMRC website started a claim and then got forwarded to a shyster company by HMRC. Even if you accidentally ticked the "I use a third party" box that by itself doesn't say who the third party is.
A recent victim who I suggested went back through their browser history to see how it happened, instead deleted their user on here, through embarrassment I presume.

P.s. perhaps HandyAndy1 will go back through his browser history and see when he went to this company and post back here ?

unholyangel

zagfles wrote: »

I'm not convinced people stumbled on the wrong website, I've tried various google searches and like with the passport etc shyster sites, the dodgy sites don't appear in a search, not of the first page anyway. Google have been pretty good at getting rid of the leeches, it's not that easy to find shyster sites! So it would appear they probably got authority to act through some other method.

I don't know if they also advertise via google, but friends have seen their adverts on facebook. According to those friends, they use the hmrc/gov logo of the crown - which might explain why these people are convinced they went to an official site.

The friends also said some of these companies provide calculators that are an obvious crock - because the calculator only asks how much you earned (not how much tax you paid) before telling you that you're due a refund of £1000.

handyandy1

AnotherJoe wrote: »

perhaps HandyAndy1 will go back through his browser history and see when he went to this company and post back here ?

So looking through the history as suggested, reveals that the link to the.gov website was followed from the following site

https://www.limitedcompanyhelp.com/marriage-allowance/?fbclid=IwAR3Olc6LCf6ykWcseUbRppDwXdmsQZmCcEuuRuyzCS_y_yW6FKp6OKz8gEY

(The link is under the paragraph “How To Apply To Claim The Marriage Allowance”)

This is clearly the official gov site.
I have always been on paye and never had cause to correspond with HMRC in the past.
I shall endeavour to get past the brick wall that is the helpline and get to the bottom of this.....

Dazed_and_confused

Things could have changed but you used to have to have provided a signed authority for HMRC to correspond with third parties such as accountants, tax advisers etc and definitely when it came to them sending tax refunds to anyone other than the individual entitled to the money.

Maybe you could ask for a copy of the signed authority which gave HMRC permission to send the refund to the third party company?

sheramber

handyandy1 wrote: »

So looking through the history as suggested, reveals that the link to the.gov website was followed from the following site

https://www.limitedcompanyhelp.com/marriage-allowance/?fbclid=IwAR3Olc6LCf6ykWcseUbRppDwXdmsQZmCcEuuRuyzCS_y_yW6FKp6OKz8gEY

(The link is under the paragraph “How To Apply To Claim The Marriage Allowance”)

This is clearly the official gov site.
I have always been on paye and never had cause to correspond with HMRC in the past.
I shall endeavour to get past the brick wall that is the helpline and get to the bottom of this.....

It looks like because you gone through a link from the first site- which is not a Gov'UK site- they have is a process which puts the application through them. Is there anywhere on the application form that refers to a third party agreement?

zagfles

handyandy1 wrote: »

So looking through the history as suggested, reveals that the link to the.gov website was followed from the following site

https://www.limitedcompanyhelp.com/marriage-allowance/?fbclid=IwAR3Olc6LCf6ykWcseUbRppDwXdmsQZmCcEuuRuyzCS_y_yW6FKp6OKz8gEY

(The link is under the paragraph “How To Apply To Claim The Marriage Allowance”)

This is clearly the official gov site.
I have always been on paye and never had cause to correspond with HMRC in the past.
I shall endeavour to get past the brick wall that is the helpline and get to the bottom of this.....

I opened that link in a private window with Firefox and it came up with a warning that "extensions won't work in a private window", so is it trying to install an extension?? Don't really understand them but I found this article https://www.howtogeek.com/188346/why-browser-extensions-can-be-dangerous-and-how-to-protect-yourself/
Maybe check what extensions/add-ons you have on your browser?

AnotherJoe

handyandy1 wrote: »

So looking through the history as suggested, reveals that the link to the.gov website was followed from the following site

https://www.limitedcompanyhelp.com/marriage-allowance/?fbclid=IwAR3Olc6LCf6ykWcseUbRppDwXdmsQZmCcEuuRuyzCS_y_yW6FKp6OKz8gEY

(The link is under the paragraph “How To Apply To Claim The Marriage Allowance”)

This is clearly the official gov site.
I have always been on paye and never had cause to correspond with HMRC in the past.
I shall endeavour to get past the brick wall that is the helpline and get to the bottom of this.....

Thanks Andy. I followed that link and it does go (as far as i can see) to the official govt website.

Can you confirm that "marriage allowance limited" or whatever they are called (its actually hard to find their website I wonder if they've gone stealthy) is not in your browser history around that time? Possibly marriageallowancetaxrebate.org.uk I hada check on facebook this seems to be the main one at the moment on facebook.

Did you deal with the process all online or was there any paper, eg did you get anything in post to sign or did you phone someone / were phoned ?
Looking at that website it appears they post you forms for you to sign;

Your claim form will be issued by post within 48 hours. If you intend to apply, you must have the consent of your spouse/civil partner before you proceed. By signing up, you confirm that your spouse/civil partner is happy for you to apply on his/her behalf, and that you have read and agree to the Pricing and Terms and Conditions of Service.


check out similar tales of woe here most seem to be facebook referrals

https://www.192.com/business/review/73471ae016a85b14d75769dac9e3f7344882fe97/comp/


Note also the fact that some reviews talk of a deed of referral which is valid for five years and outrageous if true. I wonder if someone could take them to small claims for fraud?