A woman has issued a warning to other taxpayers after being left out of pocket when trying to claim a tax rebate.
Mum-of-two Julie Pulford, who lives in Twickenham, unwittingly used a third-party company to process her claim after being convinced she was dealing with HMRC.
She had been advised by her employer that she might be entitled to a tax rebate due to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
You can claim tax relief on £6 per week, with the amount you get back based on the rate at which you pay tax.
For example, if you pay the 20% basic rate of tax you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief - this adds up to around £60 per year.
This is what Julie was expecting to get back - but she says the claim has been issued to a company instead of her bank account.
Julie believed she had been dealing with HMRC but instead, she had used a claims refund company to process the rebate on her behalf after seeing an advertisement on Facebook.
These companies say they can help consumers with their tax rebates - but the difference is they charge a fee of up to 48%. HMRC does it for free.
Have you been left out of pocket by using a claims refund company? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
“The online logo and brand was the same brand colours as HMRC and very convincing. It was an online form and remember it being really easy to do,” said Julie.
“My employer did say, it was really easy and was an online form so I didn't think anything of it.”
Which? has previously warned how claims refund companies are using similar branding and language as HMRC - for example, the same teal colour and similar fonts and phrases.
The consumer champion argued that this could lead people to believe they were being contacted by the government department itself.
The companies get permission to process your rebate by asking customers to sign legally binding contracts called a “deed of assignment”.
If the claim is successful, HMRC will usually send a rebate cheque to the company. It takes its fee, and then pays you what’s left.
Alarmingly, depending on the terms, the “deed of assignment” could then stay in place beyond the initial rebate.
These companies are not regulated so are not subject to the same rules as claims-management companies (CMCs).
They also don’t need to be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and consumers cannot take complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Julie told The Mirror her tax rebate had been sent to a company called Tax Credits Ltd.
They charge an effective fee of 48% to process your claim - but so far, Julie says she hasn’t received a penny back.
“Throughout the whole process and including during the phone call, I believed that Tax Credit was the department that issued the working from home tax rebate,” she said.
“I called HMRC and spoke to a customer service advisor who was very matter of fact and said the cheque had been sent.
“I asked multiple questions still believing my money had been issued to a legitimate section of the tax office called Tax Credits.
“It was only as I pursued questioning that it became clear what had happened.”
A HMRC spokesperson told The Mirror it encourages all customers to come to HMRC directly to make their claims.
They added: “We do not approve or in any way use external agents to make people aware of claims they can make, and take firm action against any agents who are not complying with the law.
“We urge anyone thinking of using a tax refund company to actively read the company’s terms and conditions on documents and websites, so they understand in advance the fees they will pay, the service they’re signing up for and any legal contract they may be entering into.”
HMRC says it intends to run a consultation this year on ways to tackle the high costs to taxpayers of claiming tax refunds.
Tax Credits Ltd did not respond to requests for comment.
