Idiot Client

Idiot Client

Didn't find your answer?

Client received a tax refund scam e-mail. Recognising it as a scam he sent it + the attachment to me with a comment "what do you think of this ??"

My response over the phone, to which he has taken exception was " you're a dickhead " Was I wrong ????

Replies (41)

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By mdcallen
18th May 2015 11:44

silence is golden

While you may not be wrong, you have perhaps voiced a truth which is better left unsaid?

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By andy.partridge
18th May 2015 11:54

Nobody wants to be called a [***]. It hurts all the more if it comes from someone they have hitherto respected.

Were you wrong in your assessment? No

Were you wrong to express it? Yes

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
18th May 2015 12:13

A Tad Harsh

Whilst you are clearly annoyed at his actions I suspect he did it with good intentions, to let you know of a HMRC scam that is going around. IE trying to be helpful. It is easy just to hit the delete button. I am sure he will not do it again though.

Out of interest did the email damage your computer?

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By cheekychappy
18th May 2015 11:58

I usually find it best practice not to call the people that pay me "dickheads". Very amusing though, I must say.

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By User deleted
18th May 2015 12:00

Did you open the attachment?

 

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By daveforbes
18th May 2015 12:10

Depends

How much was the refund for ?

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By JCresswellTax
18th May 2015 12:28

Idiot accountant more like!

.

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By User deleted
18th May 2015 12:39

to which he has taken exception

It looks justified given that the relationship with the client is professional - more so built against the backdrop of some 10-20 pages!!!

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By ireallyshouldknowthisbut
18th May 2015 12:53

.

One assumes that the OP opened the attachment and is now frantically running every virus scanner under the sun across his network.

On the plus side, its a good test of those never tested disaster recovery plans. 

 

To be fair I think a fair number of us would have accidentally open an attachment sent by a client. 

No so many then swear at said client, but hey ho.

 

 

 

 

 

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By The Innkeeper
18th May 2015 12:56

but be careful

if you are a member of one of the accountancy bodies. I do vaguely remember seeing a report of a member disciplined for such matters a while ago.

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By carnmores
18th May 2015 15:24

apologise

it will blow over or up

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By bernard michael
18th May 2015 15:50

No I didn't open the attachment and the client took me out to lunch today to make up. All is now forgiven on both sides

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By andy.partridge
18th May 2015 15:54

So . . .

You call client a [***] and client apologises and takes you out to lunch.

Sounds like a good result for you, but not such a good one for mankind.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
18th May 2015 15:56

IF.....................

Carlsberg did clients.

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By bernard michael
18th May 2015 16:01

I believe it' s called client control

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By paulwakefield1
18th May 2015 16:28

Presumably

the client's name wasn't Richard Head?

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Replying to Wanderer:
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By Carlile
18th May 2015 16:54

Ha

paulwakefield1 wrote:

the client's name wasn't Richard Head?

Brilliant!

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Replying to Wanderer:
By jon_griffey
19th May 2015 10:21

No

paulwakefield1 wrote:

the client's name wasn't Richard Head?

No, I think it was Richard Sole.

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By bernard michael
18th May 2015 16:37

NO whose he?

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By howlin wolf
18th May 2015 16:48

Idiot client & accountant

Sounds like you both deserve each other, complete unprofessional conduct by a so called accountant.

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By Anthony.Evans82
18th May 2015 20:39

Oh dear

I suppose I echo the sentiments of the majority in saying that you were not wrong, you were absolutely correct in what you said but you probably shouldn't have vocalised your opinion.  In saying that, he was a [***] and you got a free lunch.  Make sure he realises that it is not a tax deductible expense though!

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By sumo69
18th May 2015 23:05

Lunch menu??

Did the feast include a large plate of Humble Pie??

 

David

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By Bungo
19th May 2015 10:31

exception

I would take exception to being called a [***].  Particularly if I was a paying customer. 

Can't believe you got lunch out of it!

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By bernard michael
19th May 2015 10:51

Neither can I  - perhaps it's

Neither can I  - perhaps it's my natural charm

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Man of Kent
By Kent accountant
19th May 2015 12:17

Not now Bernard!

Laughed out loud when I read this post.

Personally I would have called him a dick head after I'd put the phone down.

Richard Head? At Uni we preferred to ask the Porters at the Students Union building to call over the tannoy system for our friend Mike Hunt to come to reception.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
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By adam.arca
21st May 2015 12:17

*

Kent accountant wrote:

Richard Head? At Uni we preferred to ask the Porters at the Students Union building to call over the tannoy system for our friend Mike Hunt to come to reception.

 

The preferred one where I trained was to write a note and leave it on the desk of the naïve first year that a Mr C Lyon had rung and asked to be rung back: the number given was of course that of the local zoo.

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Accountants Northampton
By Shamrock
20th May 2015 07:10

Lunch Tax Deductible?
Isn't the clients half of the meal tax deductible? After all that couldn't be considered entertaining.

I agree with most of you, this was very unprofessional.

As a trusted advisor you don't want to create an air of unapproachabilty, the client may have felt embarrassed and apologised but what if next time they have something important to discuss and they hesitate to contact you?

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By User deleted
20th May 2015 08:03

Explain or just insult …

Did you go on to explain the implications of his actions or just insult him - i.e. your machine & all your clients were at risk & how would he feel if he had opened an email from you that infected his machine ... etc ...

Instead of just ‘shooting from the hip’, sometimes explaining is even more effective because the client then realises for himself that he has been an idiot rather than losing face by being directly insulted

Nevertheless, very unprofessional conduct, however satisfying it may have been

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By bernard michael
20th May 2015 15:29

The client acknowledged that they knew it was a scam and accepted my criticism. My clients know that I always tell it as it and do not pussyfoot around. It doesn't seem to have hurt the practice as I get a lot of recommendations 

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Replying to Ben Alligin:
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By andy.partridge
20th May 2015 15:44

Niche

bernard michael wrote:

The client acknowledged that they knew it was a scam and accepted my criticism. My clients know that I always tell it as it and do not pussyfoot around. It doesn't seem to have hurt the practice as I get a lot of recommendations 


Have you made masochism your niche?
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Stepurhan
By stepurhan
20th May 2015 15:44

Purpose of question then?

Since you apparently have a client base who are happy for you to subject them to personal abuse without consequence, why did you ask the question?

For that matter when did willingness to be abusive (which is what people always mean when they say they "tell it like it is") become viewed as a positive trait?

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By bernard michael
20th May 2015 15:51

You have have misinterpreted "tell it like it is" By that I mean that if the client is being silly I will tell them where and how they are. For anybody even a client to send a scam e-mail to a business is gross stupidity and deserves a telling off - I could have made it a lot stronger as I didn't consider it funny

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Replying to John Wheeley:
By Bungo
21st May 2015 11:41

Scam or not

bernard michael wrote:

You have have misinterpreted "tell it like it is" By that I mean that if the client is being silly I will tell them where and how they are. For anybody even a client to send a scam e-mail to a business is gross stupidity and deserves a telling off - I could have made it a lot stronger as I didn't consider it funny

I recently signed up for email notifications from HMRC and I also recently did my own tax return. I have been getting those fake emails from HMRC for quite a while so I know the one I just got is also a fake and nothing to do with my recently submitted tax return and even arriving same day as a genuine HMRC email did. But you know not everyone is up to speed with these things. Not everybody works in an office and knows the dangers of scams and viruses, it is no excuse to mock and abuse people especially your clients.

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Replying to pauld:
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By bernard michael
21st May 2015 11:54

Idiot client

Bungo wrote:
bernard michael wrote:

You have have misinterpreted "tell it like it is" By that I mean that if the client is being silly I will tell them where and how they are. For anybody even a client to send a scam e-mail to a business is gross stupidity and deserves a telling off - I could have made it a lot stronger as I didn't consider it funny

I recently signed up for email notifications from HMRC and I also recently did my own tax return. I have been getting those fake emails from HMRC for quite a while so I know the one I just got is also a fake and nothing to do with my recently submitted tax return and even arriving same day as a genuine HMRC email did. But you know not everyone is up to speed with these things. Not everybody works in an office and knows the dangers of scams and viruses, it is no excuse to mock and abuse people especially your clients.

 

In my OP I stated that the client recognised it as a scam so he acted with full knowledge and stupidity

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By carnmores
20th May 2015 16:58

its the way you tell em obviously Bernard

depends on how you say it , sometimes its not a bad idea to give people a gentle nudge ... compared to you some of the people above say extraordinary things in a most extraordinary way , mines a large one  burp

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By Harrison88
21st May 2015 11:51

Wow

Worked out well for you it sounds like but I would never swear at a client, no matter how much they may or may not deserve it. Need to stay professional.

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By petersaxton
21st May 2015 12:12

My recommendation

Don't insult a client but explain why what they did was wrong.

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By slipknot08
21st May 2015 12:44

at least you didn't...

...yell *f@?k* down the phone at a tax partner in your Firm (whilst a very junior tax dogsbody)!!! Unfortunately, as I reached for the ringing phone, I knocked over my cup of boiling hot (no milk) coffee and as the phone reached my ear, and my mouth reached the microphone, the scalding liquid reached my legs and other delicate areas.

I was very (VERY) aplogetic when I explained the circumstances to him, and got away with some sniggering and a *thank god it wasn't a client*... it was 25 years ago now and I still shrink in horror thinking about the potential for disaster...

:-)

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By bernard michael
21st May 2015 14:10

I'm surprised that so many think that clients are next to God and should be treated with total deference instead of normal individuals with the usual shortcomings capable of being bollocked

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Replying to Wilson Philips:
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By andy.partridge
21st May 2015 14:25

@Bernard

bernard michael wrote:

I'm surprised that so many think that clients are next to God and should be treated with total deference instead of normal individuals with the usual shortcomings capable of being bollocked


Time to stop digging. You're beginning to sound like a [***] ;)
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By User deleted
21st May 2015 14:13

And I thought dinosaurs ...

... had died out!

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