'Special Deal' for employees - rip off?

Lou3000

I work part time at a local supermarket. With our payslips this week, there was a letter attached (with the supermarket logo) offering: 'Special Service for (name of supermarket) Employees' - another Chance for you to apply for a Tax Rebate'

This form went on to say that if you filled in the Tax Refund Claim form on the back you would get a free confidential assessment on whether or not you are entitled to a refund. People are rushing to fill it in but I read the form properly and discovered these words: "If you don't get a refund, there's nothing to pay. If you do, you get 60p for every £1 refunded. Any future savings from using the correct tax code are yours to keep in full.'

Personally, I wouldn't want someone else getting 40p of every pound OF MY HARD EARNED MONEY!! The company offering the service is called The Tax Refund Company and apparently "used by major trade unions (e.g. Unison, Amicus etc)

What do the experts here think about it? Not everyone at my place of work has access to a computer where they could go on line and find out for themselves if they are paying too much tax. I just feel it's unfair that these people who are poorly paid anyway, are not being given the proper/better way to go about claiming possible tax refunds.

We don't have anyone we could ask about this (we don't have on site union reps) but I'd be pleased if someone here could tell me how I could explain a simple way for my colleagues to see if they are due a refund and keep ALL the refunded money if they get lucky :rolleyes:

Browntoa

there was another thread on a similar theme

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8959573#post8959573

I posted some information in there

NeilW

Lou3000 wrote: »

Personally, I wouldn't want someone else getting 40p of every pound OF MY HARD EARNED MONEY!!

Then do the job yourself. Obviously you will know how to do it being here. However not everybody in the world is as savvy.

If you ask somebody else to do the job for you (or any job for that matter) then you have to expect to pay for it. They are not a charity. They are offering a service that recovers money that you (or people like you) don't realise they have overpaid.

NeilW

Cook_County

More importantly they are unqualified so you could not complain to a professional body if they mess up as they are not governed by any professional body.

Complain to your employers.

G-G_4

Well I always think any money is better than none.. but, if you can be bothered to do it yourself then more money for you

fengirl_2

All this company will do is to check that you have been allowed all your expenses for the past 6 years. If you have to wash your uniform, then you can claim a small deduction to cover the cost - probably £25 pa. There is nothing to stop you writing a letter to your tax office explaijing that you have a uniform which has to be washed at home and you want to claim for this, going back 6 years (assuming you worked there for that length of time). These companies are a pain, and, as everyone says, you can do it yourself and get all the money (although it wont be much!).

Tarasam

Please dont use them, you can do this yourself for free, wothout much hassle at all.

shelly

kellyshay wrote: »

Please dont use them, you can do this yourself for free, wothout much hassle at all.

I totally agree. I recently got in touch with HMRC as I believe I over paid for nearly a year. They said to just send a covering letter saying that you wish for them to check you haven't overpaid. Then you have to list every job you have had and all monies you have received in those years you want looking into and send in the P60 for that year too.

My advice is to call them yourself. They have been friendly and helpful the couple of times I have called them.