HMRC tax rebate

molerat

I would be asking your wife's union a few questions. This is where they get the details of many professionals for a kick back !

RBNOTTS

Hi there My wife is not in a Union just NMC for registration ? Thanks for your reply.

S_Lawson

I received a letter from these awful people today as well. I received an application form through the post and like others did not realise I was dealing with a third party. There was no mention on the application form that I would be charged for this either. HMRC issued payment of £46.65, from this Online Tax Rebates Ltd deducted £12 plus £2 VAT Cheque processing fee and £11.20 plus £3.87 VAT Charges based on 20% of gross tax refund. There was NO indication on the letter they sent me indicating they were a third party and that they would charge me, surely they shouldn't be allowed to do this???

I'll be contacting HMRC tomorrow make sure this company cannot do ANYTHIING on my behalf again. Please make others aware of this so they don't get duped by this company

Lifesaver

I received one of these letters this morning and almost filled it in.

I got to the bit at the bottom which states ' I authorise Uniform Tax Rebate to receive on my behalf any amount due'.

I googled the company and found this thread.

This started off by being a Marriage Allowance Transfer- I married this year and my husband passed away a few weeks later. I've had so much paperwork to deal with that I didn't know if I was coming or going and initially thought it was just something else I needed to sort out.

Thanks everyone, saved me more stress and worry!

dori2o

I deal with hundreds of these every week.

Please be aware that as part of the process of completing these forms, when you sign it you are not only agreeing to the companies terms and conditions, but in 99% of cases you will be signing a letter/deed of assignment.

A letter/deed of assignment is a legally binding contract where one person lawfully assigns an item of value, in this case a tax refund but often seen in cases where debt is transferred from one company to another,. In basic terms it means that for the defined period shown on the claim form part/all of the tax refund due legally belongs to the company who the refund has been assigned to.

The difference between an assignment and a simple nomination is that HMRC must issue a tax refund to an assignee if that tax year has been assigned to the company. With a simple nomination it is at HMRC's discretion as to whether the taxpayer or the nominee receives the payment. With a simple nomination the taxpayer remains the legal owner of the tax overpaid and can call HMRC to cancel it.

With an assignment, it can only be cancelled if both parties agree. Therefore if you have assigned all tax refunds for the 13/14, 14/15, 15/16 tax years to one of these companies, then any refunds due for these years, now or in future (so long as the claim is made within 4 years of the end of the tax year in question) legally belong to that company, even if they have had nothing to do with the claim.

You cannot simply phone up and ask/tell HMRC not to issue any tax refunds to an assignee. The only way to cancel an assignment for any tax year is by mutual consent between the taxpayer and the assignee. I have seen cases where some of these companies will freely agree to cancel the assignment, and others where these companies will charge a fee in order for them to agree to cancel. The highest I have seen asked for is £150 per year assigned.

Some of the information in previous posts is incorrect.

In order for a tax year to be assigned then the tax being refunded has to be deemed as paid, therefore an assignment is only valid for completed tax years. It is not possible to assign future tax years. As of today the earliest tax year that can be assigned is 2016/17.

Assignments do not roll forwards. So for example if you assign all the tax years upto the 2016/17 tax year but dont send in another assignment then 2017/18 tax year will not automatically be assigned.

Once a tax year has been assigned to one company it cannot be assigned again to another until the original assignment is cancelled and further new assignment is received.

Assignments are only valid for 'in-date' years. This means that as with the ability to only ask for a review of the last 4 tax years, you only assign the last 4 tax years.

Assignments received for years prior to the last 4 are invalid.

There is nothing HMRC can do to stop an assignment. If HMRC were to repay the taxpayer in error where an assignment is in place for that year, HMRC would then have to repay the assignee immediately and then write to the taxpayer, apologising, and demanding repayment of the original refund.

If this was to happen in Self Assessment (where the taxpayer can request a refund themselves online) then the over-repayment may also be subject to interest and other charges.

OP you're not the first to be caught out and wont be the last. These companies pray on SOME peoples need and desperation for money.

You see them on facebook, they send unsolicited letters, emails, texts, and unfortunately as one poster pointed out some unions promote them in exchange for a 'royalty'.

It boils down to making sure you read the small print and if you are unsure check out the details on the internet, with HMRC, on forums like this etc etc.

If you think your entitled to tax relief on these expenses or professional fees then you can always fill in HMRC's official form and even submit it online.

angelmusic

Hi all, I received a letter this morning telling me I had a tax refund (nice). It then went on to say that this will be sent to The Tax Repayment Agency within 14 days. I telephoned HMRC and they explained to me that I had signed up to a tax repayment agency some time ago who acts on my behalf after taking their percentage. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to send it to me? Many thanks in advance

Dazed_and_confused

If the letter you've received is a P800 calculation then your accountant/agent should get the cheque in the next week or so but presumably they'll have to bank it, let the funds clear, calculate how much of it to keep (:eek:) and then get round to sending you the pittance that's left!

So all in all I'd guess you're looking at sometime in July.

If you hadn't bothered with that firm your P800 letter would have included an invite for you to go onto your personal tax account and provide your bank details so the refund could be paid direct into your account and you'd have 100% of the money early next week probably :mad:

[Deleted User]

Hi,

sorry no idea how long it takes.

If the percentage is anything like OP, then looks as though they will take a third.

If your tax isn't complicated, do you need an agency?

Cook_County

It is quite untrue that HMRC can do nothing. HMRC can and must supervise for anti-money laundering purposes. HMRC can prosecute companies that pursue fraudulent refunds.


HMRC can (via the UK Treasury) ask Parliament to change the law so that these dodgy companies are required to abide by PRCT guidelines.

Cook_County

angelmusic wrote: »

Hi all, I received a letter this morning telling me I had a tax refund (nice). It then went on to say that this will be sent to The Tax Repayment Agency within 14 days. I telephoned HMRC and they explained to me that I had signed up to a tax repayment agency some time ago who acts on my behalf after taking their percentage. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to send it to me? Many thanks in advance

Why did you choose an unqualified company to represent you with HMRC?