Accountant Problem

scotchio

I used to have a great accountant, but he decided to emigrate to NZ with his family. He passed me on to another accountant who has been rubbish since day1. Things came to a head when I got an call from the accountant 3 days before my tax return was due to be submitted, to say they had forgot to do it, but not to worry as they would sort any problems. Some 4-5 weeks past without contact until I sent a barrage of calls and they could ignore it no longer. My tax returns were eventually completed, however I then had letters demanding £100 late filing charge from the Inland Revenue, again the accountant said they would pay it on my behalf, but not before I received a red letter stating it would be sent to a debt recovery agency if I didn't pay in the next few days.
Finally I received a letter from my accountant stating they had settled the fine and they now wanted over £400 for their services.

By law, can I pay what I think the service is worth (50%) because of all the hassle? BTW - They didn't save me a penny

Many thanks
Scott

diablobear

Sounds like my old accountant - just the thought of him makes my blood curdle. - If your's is a member of the Chartered Institue of Accountants, then try to have a word with them to see what you can do?

loveandlight

Posted by scotchio
By law, can I pay what I think the service is worth (50%) because of all the hassle? BTW - They didn't save me a penny

Yes definitely. Pay them a reasonable amount and send it with a covering letter setting out why you are not paying them in full.

I am in a similar situation. I changed from one accountant as he was too moody and would moan when I gave him work and he didn't do a very good with a due diligence he did for me last year when I was in the process of buying a business. He told me the business was fine but i don't trust anyone so checked all through the figures myself and found huge holes in his work. I ended up pulling out of the purchase as I had been tracking the sales figures for six months and noticed they were nose diving and sure enough a week before completion I discovered the sales figures had collapsed completely.

The new accountant has still not done my accounts for last year despite them knowing they were very urgent and I have also been sent a fine by HM Revenue & Customs for £100. I have therefore sent my new accountant a letter telling him I am not paying the fine and I expect his firm to pay it. Now I am on the look out for yet another accountant.

Sorry this message is long but just wanted to give you the confidence to go ahead with your plan and that you are not alone in having a carp accountant who ends up costing us more money!!

Petmidget

What can I say, my professional has its good and bad apples just like any other.

I would agree with the other posters, just like any service (bar solicitors who will sue you for a fiver) if the product is up to scratch dont pay for it or pay what you believe is reasonable.

I wouldnt bother to approach institute(s) to complain on what is a fairly minor issue, they simply wont care.

Best of luck finding yourself someone better

CarolynH

Hi hun.
Do you have an engagement letter with/for/from your new accountant?

There are often teething troubles with the first year with a new client/accountant relationship but this seems way beyond that.

Is your new accountant a small/ one person company or not? It may just be that internal communication has gone wrong if it is a 'larger' company (by that I mean more than a couple of people in the office).

Edit - also need to say that an accountant who doesn't save you money hasn't necessarily done a bad or wrong job. Tax due is tax due regardless of who prepares the the return. Once you're doing all the right the stuff, the accountants job is to record and report this correctly. The technical term for money savings beyond this is 'fraud'.

scotchio

Thanks guys for all your input, good to hear that my first thoughts were 'on the money', as it were.