I have recently set up practise in Accounts. I have a new client who has approcahed me to do his personal tax returns (3 years of late ones). He has in the past, 2012 I believe, been the subject of a CCJ in connection with a a car he took on finance and got into difficulty with payments. This debt has risen in the past years to over £27k from an original £10k. He also has debt owed for unpaid social fund loans of £1500 dating back to 2011. He now wants to create a limited company to protect a van that he owns i.e. transfer the van into the companies name. He has only owned the van in the last 6 months. Would doing this protect the van from ever being ceized to pay his persoanl debts? He has other reasons for going limited in that his income is going to be much higher in the future and he is looking at being VAT registered also as he needs to purchase large items of plant also. Any advise would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.
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putting beside the moral maze you're creating by assisting an individual in 'hiding' his assets, it is also probably in contravention to your institute rules to assist such client.
We would not touch the client like that with a bargepole, in fact, I would consider a report to NCA, just to cover our back...
You will end up getting calls and letters from various DCA's and spend lots of time on dealing with someone else's c..p
AVOID AVOID AVOID
'sleep with dogs you get fleas'
Another thing - i am not sure if he'll be able to find a bank account with such a poor state of creditworthiness.
"I have recently set up practise (sic) in Accounts"
At some point, in my distant past, I also started out in private, general, practice.
From distant memory, I was; eager, excited and willing. I'd probably have even entertained taking a client's dog, for a walk, I was that desperate to please!
Move forward, some 36 years or so and, my, how times have changed. You have a prime example of one of those changes.
Take some advice, particularly, as you're "just starting out", ditch this client, you'll probably have to join a queue for your fees and, if you want to provide some free advice, tell him to contact https://www.stepchange.org/
Other than that, his; scheming and underhand values, should have no place in your life.
Start out, as you mean to go on. Be honest with yourself.
From what you say, you've already had an unlucky start.
What do they say, " a friend in need, is a bL00dy nuisance"?
I'd imagine, because of your relationship, you'll do all that you can to resolve this chaps dilemma. However, you will expend valuable time and energy, which I doubt you'll recover.
The benefit to all of this, might be, that you never work for a "friend" again?
It's a difficult one this one as It's a friend of a friend so to speak. So I wanted to help
No good deed ever goes unpunished...