Unscrupulous Solicitor firm cheating on Stamp Duty Payment- Advice needed please

G_M

Seems pretty clear.

Puflet

chuang6 wrote: »

Please see the below statement from CLC website on Dec 11 2013 after the firm's collapse.



"Stamp Duty Land Tax Payments
It appears that some payments of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) should have been made by Reeves Fisher & Sands on behalf of the client, but were not in fact made. The CLC is working with HMRC to find out where this has happened, and to try to ensure that demands for payment of SDLT do not continue to be made when that tax should already have been paid by Reeves Fisher & Sands.

Where Reeves Fisher & Sands held a client’s money for the payment of SDLT and did not make that payment, the client will not be required to pay the tax themselves. The payment will be made either from the funds of Reeves Fisher & Sands or, in the event that they are not sufficient, from the CLC’s Compensation Fund."

Does this give me assurance that I will not be asked to pay again even HMRC still put me as a liability person.

From this, it looks as though you're fine. The phrase "the client will not be required to pay the tax themselves" puts you in the clear. It's then down to HMRC to collect that payment from the organisations mentioned above, and, given their enormous powers - I doubt there'll be a problem for them.

chuang6

Thank you all everyone who contributed to this thread so far, highly appreciated.
I made some further inquiries yesterday and the outcomes are mixed and I have got more questions than answers.

I called HMRC and I was told that they are still working on the case with other investigators, there is no sign and indication when the investigation will be complete.

I sent a couple of chasing emails to CLC asking then whether my claim will be time limited with 6 years rule, so far they have not replied to me at all.

I called two Professional Negligence solicitor firm, their feedback is that since HMRC is doing investigations, they will not get involved. The other firm saying that because it is borderline 6 years now, they do not have enough time to investigate or represent me, also the amount of the Stamp Duty we claim around 10,000 pound is too small for them.

From the Thread discussion, the only new item is around the 6 year claim window. I am now stuck as I do not know this will be applied to my case if HMRC can not recover all the money and ask me to pay the rest, I will need to get CLC Compensation Fund to pay. But they may say it is not automatic and it is outside 6 year window. I will chase CLC again this week and get some clarity if I can. I will try, they probably will not say.

Please could anyone shed some lights on my case and share your perspectives - Thank you!!

hazyjo

chuang6 wrote: »

I sent a couple of chasing emails to CLC asking then whether my claim will be time limited with 6 years rule, so far they have not replied to me at all.

I'm still crossing everything that I'm 'safe' and that the 6 year rule goes both ways when it comes to them. Mine's over 6 years - surely they can't chase me now if it wasn't paid?

chuang6

hazyjo wrote: »

I'm still crossing everything that I'm 'safe' and that the 6 year rule goes both ways when it comes to them. Mine's over 6 years - surely they can't chase me now if it wasn't paid?

Thank you. Are you saying that HMRC can not chase me after 6 years, OR CLC may say that I can not make a claim after 6 years? I guess it is the latter one. Please clarify. thank you

hazyjo

chuang6 wrote: »

Thank you. Are you saying that HMRC can not chase me after 6 years, OR CLC may say that I can not make a claim after 6 years? I guess it is the latter one. Please clarify. thank you

No idea, sorry. I'm just hoping they don't come after me! No idea if they paid my stamp duty!

Tiglet2

Have you raised this with the Legal Ombudsman? This might be of interest:

https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/downloads/documents/publications/stampduty-report-final-140429.pdf

With regard to the six year rule, I believe that there is no time limit before which HMRC can pursue a debt for tax or interest once the assessment or demand has been issued, but am not an expert and happy to be proved wrong.

GDB2222

If I were you, I'd form an action group of people in the same position. (If you can't find any, don't worry. A one man action group still works.)

Then issue lots of press releases along the following lines:
1. It's now 6 years, and you still have the stress and anxiety.
2. The worst mistake you ever made was using a licensed conveyancer, rather than a solicitor. Say that you hadn't realised the difference, but the CLC oversight has proved ineffective, and their compensation scheme has left you in the lurch.

Effectively, you need to run an anti-marketing campaign for licensed conveyancers, recommending solicitors instead.

hazyjo

GDB2222 wrote: »

Effectively, you need to run an anti-marketing campaign for licensed conveyancers, recommending solicitors instead.

tbf, they did call themselves 'Property Lawyers'. Even I got caught out. They came recommended, were really efficient, did the job quickly, and responded to emails and were generally (apparently) very good.


I will certainly look into actual credentials next time. Lesson learned to me.

Tea_Pea_Dee

I used them in 2012 but bought a property under the threshold of SDLT. Like Jo, they were recommended, and I also thought they were Solicitors. Just checked an old letter and they are, indeed, Licensed Conveyancers. I used Ian Storey. You live and learn.