I employed a woman who said she was an accountant but she filed my taxes Kate and I got huge fines and she cost me £12k in Covid 19 grants because of her tardiness.
She has also continually told me lies about when she submitted VAT returns and she is totally impossible to get in contact with.
I have started a paper trail asking all my files back so I can get an actual accountant to do my returns but she died not reply to me
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"AccountancyManager" was a tag the OP selected from the menu when posting. It's an Aweb site label, not anything to do with their role. I changed it to "customer service" to make the tag more relevant to the subject matter.
"AccountancyManager" was a tag the OP selected from the menu when posting. It's an Aweb site label, not anything to do with their role. I changed it to "customer service" to make the tag more relevant to the subject matter.
No. There was definitely the word “Accountant” in the poster’s profile which has now been deleted.
She died. Surely she can't reply to you in this particular case. Maybe whispers of the grave...
Perhaps an useless man would have been a better choice. Oh those women.... What else can go wrong here. ...
How about your due diligence before engaging or employing someone? Heh? I'm an architect cause i just started planning my 1st floor extension...
Hi ... I would seek the guidance of an experienced accountant in your area...Where are you based? Not that it matters too much as most accountants have clients all over the place and deal with a lot on Zoom... good luck seek a good accountant and they can sort all your problems...
seek a good accountant and they can sort all your problems...
Not really. The SEISS grant position can’t be changed.
The OP should have taken greater care writing this post and also with their tax affairs. £12k is a lot of money so why only query it a year on?
For huge fines this problem must have been going on for a few years.
Has anything gone in on time?
Not relevant to the question, but you really should proofread before you post. If you don't care how your question is presented, why should others care about helping you with it.
Filing the returns on time is your responsibility. What actions did you take to ensure this was done? Reliance on another is not accepted as a good excuse. If you had reason to believe they had been filed, that is a different matter.
To have cost you in Covid grants, this problem must be over a year old. Why are you only looking at it now? The longer you leave it, the harder any action will be.
You are only starting a paper trail now. A paper trail now is almost useless to you. What you need is a paper trail when the problems occurred. Do you have one?
If she is impossible to get in contact with, how has she told you lies? She has to have been in contact to tell you lies.
This is a legal question, and one that definitely merits paid-for advice. You appear to have already let these problems get a lot worse. Now is not the time to try to get an answer for free with a shoddily written online query.
Have you looked at her website
Does it claim that the firm is regulated?
Have you looked at the accounting body websites on find a member funtions?
Do you have evidence that she claimed the best UK qualification?
"she is not chartered I cannot involve another accountant to request the files" Why can't you appoint another accountant, its not uncommon for accountants to be appointed in these circumstances? Have you been round to her office/home is she still there? Is she active on social media? Do a bit of sleuthing to find out were she is and the perhaps you need to speak to your solicitor again if you have suffered a loss.
[quote=Jennyb1200]
She told me she was a chartered accountant but it appears anyone can pretend to be an accountant in UK and you don’t need any qualifications.
Sorry to hear this. If you have proof she said she was a Chartered Accountant, then she is actually subject to the rules of the ICAEW, whether a member or not, and therefore you have the right to launch a complaint against her with them.
Yes. Accountant is not a protected term and anyone can call themselves that.
Finally, whilst I hear your frustration, you have a pool of (mostly!!) highly regarded professionals who generally help here. Rubbish accountants come in all creed, colour, shapes and sizes: best not tarnish with the same brush that we use to moan about clients who are a PITA!
If she has your paperwork then you must have her address, perhaps a visit with a large friend with a stout stick might help in retrieving your paperwork.
As others have said, you should engage a proper accountant to help sort this out.
And as a Chartered Accountant, I would like to point out that while anyone can call themselves an accountant, the term Chartered Accountant is protected and is not free for anyone to use, if a person holds themselves out to be a Chartered Accountant without the requisite qualifications it is an offence of some sort I'm sure.
Did you not ask them what else could be done? Getting a single letter sent and then just giving up does not sound right. I spoke to a solicitor who sent her a letter but to no avail.
Anyone can call themselves an accountant. Chartered Accountant is a different matter. That is a protected term because it refers to a specific organisation. There are other accountancy bodies as well. She told me she was a chartered accountant but it appears anyone can pretend to be an accountant in UK and you don’t need any qualifications.
That said, what matters is competence, not qualifications. All a qualifcation guarantees is there is a third party you can complain to for bad service. This is why getting recommendations is a good idea.
I don't know where you would get this idea but, as others have said, it is wrong. I’m not looking free advice but as she is not chartered I cannot involve another accountant to request the files.
Wrong people to ask. Most members here are accountants, not clients. I am just wondering if anyone has had a problem like this before and what action can I take?
Sorry about the typos. I have a paper trail from Oct 2019 as I started to suspect she was telling me lies. She told me she had submitted all accounts but when I received fines for late filing I realised you cannot believe one word. I spoke to a solicitor who sent her a letter but to no avail.
She told me she was a chartered accountant but it appears anyone can pretend to be an accountant in UK and you don’t need any qualifications.
I have been fighting this for over a year and have requested all my files back but that to date has drew a blank and she has not responded.
I’m not looking free advice but as she is not chartered I cannot involve another accountant to request the files. I have never dealt with a so called professional who has been so incompetent and who tells lie after lie.
I am just wondering if anyone has had a problem like this before and what action can I take?
"Submitted all accounts" Can we infer from that you are running a limited company ??
Can you detail the £12k fines between late VAT filing , late filing of accounts with HMRC and also Companies House or something else
If they are your files, I think you will find there are legal avenues beyond "her good grace".
If they are files she has created on your behalf, the position is potentially trickier.
Legal advice is needed, not accounting advice.
JennyB, your original post began I employed a woman..."
Was this woman ever an employee of yours?
If she is not an employee of yours, does she work for herself and hold herself out as a bookkeeper or accountant? (and if so, which?)
Finally (for now), if she does hold herself out as a bookkeeper or accountant which body supervises her? (Everyone holding themselves out as a financial professional must be supervised by a professional body, and if they're not supervised then they break the law - with serious consequences - in the same fashion as an unsupervised electrician or gas installer would break the law. There are a number of supervisory bodies - various flavours of chartered accountants, other professional accountancy bodies including quite commonly the Association of Accounting Technicians, various bookkeeping associations; and, if your bookkeeper or accountant doesn't belong to any of those then they have to enrol with and be supervised by HMRC). To discover which body yours belongs to, take a close look at the T&Cs in her website; or the letter of engagement (ie the contract) drawn up between you; or even her invoices or letterhead.
Just on the off-chance, is your ex-accountant called Ms Baldwin and does she ride a motorbike?