Accountant seems to have stolen £15k+ Don't know what to do

Tammykitty

AngryandScared wrote: »

I'm a regular poster but don't want this associated with my other account.

I had no idea where to post this, I know I can't find legal advice here but I just don't know where to turn emotionally. I'm scared, angry and have been being violently sick since my phonemail with HMRC yesterday morning.

In summary:

• Tax year 14/15 I earnt about £62,000
• My accountant filed for me in late May 2015 (we wanted the SA302 to start house hunting) and told me I would owe £19.5k in tax
• I sent him over £20k, in fees and tax money for the HMRC
• This week I received a letter from the HMRC demanding £900. I was surprised so I rang them. They say they have only received £5300 for my account for that tax year, and 'adjustments' have been made.
• I've filed a report with Action Fraud, I've complained to the bodies he claims to be members of and I've reported it to HMRC fraud (not interested)
• HMRC are telling me to pay the money. Action Fraud tell me I shouldn't have to as that will be admitting liability. The money is gaining interest daily.
• I now earn substantially less and the stress is making me ill.
• I put it all in an email to the accountant, including bank statements, and asked for an explanation. All I got in reply is "I don't understand. Please call me on my mobile". Action Fraud told me to keep it all in writing and insist on that.

I think I just needed to get that all out. I know I should be contacting a lawyer but this surely is going to cost the earth. It might just be cheaper to pay the £900 and then let it lie, but then he's stolen £15k of what I meant to be my contribution towards society. Don't know what to do.

Sorry if that's all a jumble or doesn't make sense. OH isn't much help as I sort all these things out. He wants me to just pay the £900 and let it go, but then what if he's now said I earned far less (looks like that's what he's claimed) in order to pocket the cash, and one day we get chased for fraud!?

None of what you have said really makes sense.


Firstly, if you are earning £62k the tax due on it would be £14k, plus about £5k National Insurance.


However this is excluding expenses, and at a guess your accountant has managed to lower you profit at least a little bit.


If only £5,300 has been received, how do you only owe a further£900?


My first port of call would be my accountant, you e-mailed and he said to ring him, did you?


Are you self employed or owning a limited company?

peachyprice

Wouldn't the sensible thing to do be to pay HMRC the £900 to get them of your back and to stop the interest then pursue the accountant? Keeping HMRC hanging on is not a good idea.

AngryandScared

Fosterdog wrote: »

Sounds like a very stressful situation, please don't make yourself I'll over this.

For now either put £900 aside or just pay HMRC, I know you thought it was already paid but it's not their fault that your accountant never passed the right amount on, for now that tax is still owed. At least that would get HMRC off your back for now and take some if the worry off. I don't get what action fraud mean by it would be you admitting liability, it is your liability, you earned the money, you owe the tax, it is unfortunate that you have been let down by someone you employed to take care of it for you but passing the money to the accountant doesn't end your liability.

Then you need to start looking into what has happened with the accountant, possibly another accountant could help with this? I'm not sure. If your accountant has stolen the money you need to get back on to action fraud and tell them that the department they told you to ring said that they can't deal with it. They may well have other contacts they can out you in touch with.

You may well have to go down the route of taking the accountant to court to reclaim the money from him, you need to start gathering as much evidence as you can, look back over ever email and piece of paperwork you have ever received from him and HMRC.

This could be a genuine mistake, the accountant may have simply linked the payment to the wrong client showing them as over paying and you as underpaying. HMRC may have done the same and mistaking lay linked the payments incorrectly at their end.

Thanks for this. I do hope it's a genuine mistake!! I'm optimistically hoping the silence is because he's figuring it all out. If it is of course I will withdraw my fraud report!!

Another accountant is an idea I hadn't thought of. Perhaps I could get them to look over everything, and find a way to get the 'adjustments' from HMRC, so we can see what has happened.

I'm going to pay the £900 today so I don't have to worry about it further. It's no small amount to us, so it'll hurt, but at least I'll be able to sleep as HMRC seem to think I only owed about £6k for the 14/15 year in the end so that will be me settled up as far as they're concerned.

The AF guy was lovely as calming me down (I must admit I was a bit hysterical) but I'm not sure how knowledgable he is or how much he can actually help me

Thanks again all who have been so helpful. Feeling a bit more like I can sort this out somehow.

AngryandScared

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Has the accountant sent you copies of the tax returns so that you can check that everything is in order?

did you receive a letter for HMRC saying how much tax you owed? I cannot understand why you would pay your accountant the tax when it hadn't been finalised by HMRC and you hadn't received the letter from them.

Until you speak to the accountant you will have no idea what has happened so I suggest you telephone, take notes and then follow up with a letter. If you have a recording device on your telephone use this when you speak to him. Really this is the only thing you can do if he refuses to reply in writing.

Maybe I'll have to grow some big hairy ones and give him a ring if he won't engage in writing. If it's all one big mistake I'm hoping he'll just be able to email over what's happened.

I paid him the tax money because that's what he told me to do. I paid him the exact amount that he'd calculated I would owe, separate from the amount I paid in fees, for him to pay straight to HMRC. I had no idea that that wasn't the way it was usually done. In my mind I just thought it was great that I wouldn't have to worry about 'ring fencing' the money and that it was all done and dusted.

fairy_lights

AngryandScared wrote: »

Office is only an hour away and I considered going last week about the matter of an unfiled return for my partner, but kept trying to ring the office and it went to switchboard, so didn't want to waste 2 hours round trip and not catch him. Plus I work 8-6 on weekdays and I think he's Jewish so Saturday might be a bit of a non-starter if he's practising.

Even if you don't go in, I'd want to drive to his office to check if he's still there and hasn't done a runner.

AngryandScared

Tammykitty wrote: »

None of what you have said really makes sense.


Firstly, if you are earning £62k the tax due on it would be £14k, plus about £5k National Insurance.


However this is excluding expenses, and at a guess your accountant has managed to lower you profit at least a little bit.


If only £5,300 has been received, how do you only owe a further£900?


My first port of call would be my accountant, you e-mailed and he said to ring him, did you?


Are you self employed or owning a limited company?

Self employed, no longer so. Didn't have expenses. The total amount I was meant to owe was £17.5k for up to April then he guessed £2k for the period after that as I had accepted a new position in a company starting not long after. I just thought it would be easier to hand the lot over.

As you can see I'm completely clueless. I'm just hoping he comes back and explains because right now I'm paralysed by fear that somehow I'm going to owe all this money again.

pimento

Go. And. See. Him.

I don't see how you can sort anything out until you speak to him face to face.

ljonski

Since you have had a reply from him in an email,however brief then i would reply back saying something like that you want all correspondence to be done in writing. Secondly in that email ask for the copies of the relevant documents. If no reply then you could suggest a f2f. very soon. If no reply i would email him and say you are coming on suchand such aday. However in reality come a day or 2 earlier and bring your partner. You may have to seek advice from a Solicitor also. For £20 grand a morning off work may be suitable. Depending on what has happened a personal visit to local Plod may also be in order HTH

AngryandScared

ljonski wrote: »

Since you have had a reply from him in an email,however brief then i would reply back saying something like that you want all correspondence to be done in writing. Secondly in that email ask for the copies of the relevant documents. If no reply then you could suggest a f2f. very soon. If no reply i would email him and say you are coming on suchand such aday. However in reality come a day or 2 earlier and bring your partner. You may have to seek advice from a Solicitor also. For £20 grand a morning off work may be suitable. Depending on what has happened a personal visit to local Plod may also be in order HTH

Thanks, that sounds good. I've already taken today working from home as I'm in no fit state to be in the office. This sounds like a good plan.

I'm going to ring HMRC and pay them (thank god for Dave Ramsay and his emergency fund :mad:)

I'll tell the accountant to please respond in writing/via email.

If I don't receive anything by 3pm tomorrow I'll hop in the car. Action Fraud have advised against visiting/phoning but as others have said I'm not sure what choice I'll have if he doesn't respond. It's just occurred to me that despite putting in a report I'm not sure what they can/will do about it. I'm still hoping it's a mistake, but if it is why isn't he saying so instead of not engaging in writing

I could probably get away with paying about £1.3k in late fees (for partners supposedly filed return) and tax owed and let it lie, but then if HMRC ever queries my past earnings in the future it could look like I've adjusted it/lied to wiggle out of £13k in tax.

Thank you again all.

ljonski

Tbh honest i just wouldn't rush into doing anything but weigh up your options and have a plan of attack. When visiting i would actually turn up an hour before opening hours to have a scout around and maybe have a quiet word with the local neighbouring businesses . Plus also you would want to catch him entering the office so as to stop the Secretary saying that he is unavailable. A second witness is a must and inform people beforehand where you are going!