HIDENDATAX.COM

[steve_b_wales]

A few months ago, my wife, unknown to me at the time, applied to the above company with regard to getting a tax rebate. She heard nothing from them until a few days ago, when she was contacted by them, stating that according to their records, the Inland Revenue had credited her/my account to the tune of £989:76 and that they now require a payment of £475:08 for their services. My wife explained to them that neither myself or her have received such payment. We both checked our bank statements going back many months, and there is nothing showing. Today, I/We received a letter from them, demanding payment otherwise 'further action may/will be taken'. I've just emailed them and asked them to provide me with the date this 'supposedly' refund was credited to either one of us. In the meantime, I am contacting Trading Standards and whoever else will listen!

[discobob]

Sounds like a con to me - or rather after a google, some very dodgy dealings

heres one

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-11138353/Readers-stories-EXPOSE-tax-rebate-sharks.html

[steve_b_wales]

2 hours ago, discobob said:

Sounds like a con to me - or rather after a google, some very dodgy dealings

heres one

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-11138353/Readers-stories-EXPOSE-tax-rebate-sharks.html

That's what I thought, and I went 'nuts' when my wife informed me that she had applied to this company! We have not received any tax rebate and I don't intend paying them the fees they are asking for.

[steve_b_wales]

UPDATE:

Hidenda Tax are still contacting me with regard to me paying them their 'fee'. I went through all my bank statements, as did my wife with hers, to see when I was supposed to hvae been sent a cheque by HMRC for £989:76. We could not find anything and after contacting HMRC this morning (57 minutes on hold) I spoke to an advisor who checked everything. She informed me that The cheque was sent to Hidenda Tax on 30th August 2022 as they were 'acting as my agent'. She said that they (Hidenda Tax) should take their commission and then send me a cheque for the remainder. At the time of writing this, HMRC are looking into this further and are going to contact me later this afternoon. I'm bloody annoyed that (1) my wife applied to Hidenda Tax without me knowing, and (2) Hidenda Tax have held on to my cheque since the end of August last year. I have tried contacting Hidenda to no avail.

Watch this space!

[12gauge82]

3 hours ago, steve_b_wales said:

UPDATE:

Hidenda Tax are still contacting me with regard to me paying them their 'fee'. I went through all my bank statements, as did my wife with hers, to see when I was supposed to hvae been sent a cheque by HMRC for £989:76. We could not find anything and after contacting HMRC this morning (57 minutes on hold) I spoke to an advisor who checked everything. She informed me that The cheque was sent to Hidenda Tax on 30th August 2022 as they were 'acting as my agent'. She said that they (Hidenda Tax) should take their commission and then send me a cheque for the remainder. At the time of writing this, HMRC are looking into this further and are going to contact me later this afternoon. I'm bloody annoyed that (1) my wife applied to Hidenda Tax without me knowing, and (2) Hidenda Tax have held on to my cheque since the end of August last year. I have tried contacting Hidenda to no avail.

Watch this space!

Might be worth a call to the police regards theft and fraud. If they've held funds meant for you it's theft and if they are trying to extort further funds from you it's fraud.

[steve_b_wales]

1 hour ago, 12gauge82 said:

Might be worth a call to the police regards theft and fraud. If they've held funds meant for you it's theft and if they are trying to extort further funds from you it's fraud.

UPDATE 2

HMRC contacted me again earlier and they are now cancelling the cheque that's 'lost' and will re issue another one in due course. The advisor contradicted herself on what she said to me this morning regarding the cheque being sent to Hidenda Tax Ltd, and said that it was 'sent to me' There's nothing in my bank statement/s showing this cheque. They (and myself) will also contact Hidenda Tax Ltd to explain the situation. I'm still annoyed at the amount that Hindenda tax Ltd are taking as commission but at least I will eventually get a rebate. had I known my wife was going to contact them, I would have stopped it and possibly contacted HMRC myself.

Anyway, it's going to take a month or two to get this sorted, so I'll leave this on the back burner until I get my refund.

[12gauge82]

18 minutes ago, steve_b_wales said:

UPDATE 2

HMRC contacted me again earlier and they are now cancelling the cheque that's 'lost' and will re issue another one in due course. The advisor contradicted herself on what she said to me this morning regarding the cheque being sent to Hidenda Tax Ltd, and said that it was 'sent to me' There's nothing in my bank statement/s showing this cheque. They (and myself) will also contact Hidenda Tax Ltd to explain the situation. I'm still annoyed at the amount that Hindenda tax Ltd are taking as commission but at least I will eventually get a rebate. had I known my wife was going to contact them, I would have stopped it and possibly contacted HMRC myself.

Anyway, it's going to take a month or two to get this sorted, so I'll leave this on the back burner until I get my refund.

Really glad to hear you've made progress 👍

[GHE]

3 hours ago, 12gauge82 said:

Might be worth a call to the police regards theft and fraud. If they've held funds meant for you it's theft and if they are trying to extort further funds from you it's fraud.

Theft requires intent to permanently deprive the owner. In this case, they could argue human error as a defence. And I can't see evidence of fraud either.

1 hour ago, steve_b_wales said:

UPDATE 2

HMRC contacted me again earlier and they are now cancelling the cheque that's 'lost' and will re issue another one in due course. The advisor contradicted herself on what she said to me this morning regarding the cheque being sent to Hidenda Tax Ltd, and said that it was 'sent to me' There's nothing in my bank statement/s showing this cheque. They (and myself) will also contact Hidenda Tax Ltd to explain the situation. I'm still annoyed at the amount that Hindenda tax Ltd are taking as commission but at least I will eventually get a rebate. had I known my wife was going to contact them, I would have stopped it and possibly contacted HMRC myself.

Anyway, it's going to take a month or two to get this sorted, so I'll leave this on the back burner until I get my refund.

Does the tax rebate apply to you, your wife or to both of you jointly?

If it's yours, and if the Company cannot provide evidence that she was acting as your agent, they can whistle for the money. And, in event, even if their fee is due to be paid it isn't really worth the cost and time involved in trying to recover it because their legal costs will exceed the value of the claim. My advice would be to get advice from the CAB.

[12gauge82]

10 minutes ago, GHE said:

Theft requires intent to permanently deprive the owner. In this case, they could argue human error as a defence. And I can't see evidence of fraud either.

Does the tax rebate apply to you, your wife or to both of you jointly?

If it's yours, and if the Company cannot provide evidence that she was acting as your agent, they can whistle for the money. And, in event, even if their fee is due to be paid it isn't really worth the cost and time involved in trying to recover it because their legal costs will exceed the value of the claim. My advice would be to get advice from the CAB.

I'm well aware of that, but if they are demanding money, from money they claim they never received despite proff to the contrary I would say that's attempting to permanently deprive.

As it turns out, thankfully it appears to be an error, the whole thing sounded like a scam at the start.