Then Tax Refunds. Is this a Scam?

WhoisDannie

5 years ago I got PPI refunded and today I got an email from a company called Then Tax Refunds 

Hi Myname,

Great news. We have been successful in reclaiming your PPI-related tax refund! We have received a cheque from HMRC and are ready to send you your payment*. All we need now is for you to provide your bank details via our secure online form so we can send you your refund of £301.21. Click here to provide this now

Thanks,

Then Tax Refunds Team. Would HMRC send a cheque to Then Tax Refunds or is this a scam to get my bank details?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

WhoisDannie said:

5 years ago I got PPI refunded and today I got an email from a company called Then Tax Refunds 

Hi Myname,

Great news. We have been successful in reclaiming your PPI-related tax refund! We have received a cheque from HMRC and are ready to send you your payment*. All we need now is for you to provide your bank details via our secure online form so we can send you your refund of £301.21. Click here to provide this now https://bd.then.tax/**************

Thanks,

Then Tax Refunds Team. Would HMRC send a cheque to Then Tax Refunds or is this a scam to get my bank details?

If they had your authority to do so then yes they would.

But why you would give such an authority to a third party rather than claiming the refund yourself is a complete mystery.

Have you checked your Personal Tax Account to see how much the actual refund was?

If you're getting £301 then it might easily be approaching £600.

Of course if you haven't provided this company with all your taxable income details to enable them to submit a refund claim it could well be a scam.

But only you know what has gone on between the two of you.

WhoisDannie

It was my partner who dealt with it but he passed away

sourcrates

Once you give a company written authority to act on your behalf, such as to make a claim for PPI mis-selling for example, that authority continues until you cancel it in writing, which I would say almost 100% of people never do.

So you are basically leaving yourself open to any future claims this company can make on your behalf, and as they make their living from this kind of thing, they will be actively looking for routes to accomplish this.

You need to write and revoke your permission for them to act on your behalf in order to put a stop to this.

The web is full of these shyster claims companies and people do not realise what rights they are giving up engaging in such practices.

WhoisDannie

I think my partner did get someone to help with the PPI claim but I can't find any paperwork about it.

What could actually happen if I did give them my bank account number and sort code?

Alpine_Star

Scam alert. 

sourcrates

WhoisDannie said:

I think my partner did get someone to help with the PPI claim but I can't find any paperwork about it.

What could actually happen if I did give them my bank account number and sort code?

Your details can only be used to pay money into your account, or to set up a direct debt to take money out.

Are you signed up to your personal tax account via Government gateway ?
All your tax and benefit details can be found there.

If not, my suggestion would be to contact HMRC and confirm what they are telling you is correct, if it is, fair enough, go ahead, then cancel their authority in writing, if HMRC don`t confirm it, you`ll know its a potential scam.

WhoisDannie

I have just had a letter from HMRC saying I have had a tax refund and it has been sent to Then Tax Refunds so the email is probably genuine.

However in the small print of the email in light grey is the statement

*Your payment has been calculated by deducting our fee (48% (inclusive of VAT where applicable)) from the gross refund issued by HMRC. If you are unable to provide us with bank account details, in certain circumstances we can issue a cheque. An administration fee of £15 (the "Admin Fee") will apply to all onward payment methods except for bank transfers made directly to your own personal account. Any Admin Fee payable to us shall be deducted by us prior to onward payment to you of any refund sums due. How do I get my tax refund without paying this 48% fee or is it too late now and how do I get out of the clutches of this company?. It seems my partner had done things that I am only now finding out.

baser999

And to think OPs partner could have sorted out their own repayment without resorting to a claims firm and allowing themselves to deduct such vast fees 🙁

Dazed_and_C0nfused

WhoisDannie said:

I have just had a letter from HMRC saying I have had a tax refund and it has been sent to Then Tax Refunds so the email is probably genuine.

However in the small print of the email in light grey is the statement

*Your payment has been calculated by deducting our fee (48% (inclusive of VAT where applicable)) from the gross refund issued by HMRC. If you are unable to provide us with bank account details, in certain circumstances we can issue a cheque. An administration fee of £15 (the "Admin Fee") will apply to all onward payment methods except for bank transfers made directly to your own personal account. Any Admin Fee payable to us shall be deducted by us prior to onward payment to you of any refund sums due. How do I get my tax refund without paying this 48% fee or is it too late now and how do I get out of the clutches of this company?. It seems my partner had done things that I am only now finding out.

48% (even inclusive of VAT) may seem exorbitant but if they have provided the service then why would you not expect to have to pay it?

If you do nothing the fee effectively becomes 100% 😳

WhoisDannie

It wasn't a scam

I have a bank account that has no money in it that I could close if anything funny happened so I put these  details into the web site and the money was paid into that account.