Total Tax Claims

[Mark-E46-wagon]

I thought I was responding to HMRC but seems it was a scam being pulled by Ensign amongst other names. I contacted HMRC who said they were aware but had sent them a cheque anyway.

3 months on and I've had no luck tracking the cash down or getting any response. Anyone else fallen for this?

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/marriageallowance...

Is there anything I can do to get the £300 refund HMRC sent out by cheque?

[Countdown]

Mark-E46-wagon said:

I thought I was responding to HMRC but seems it was a scam being pulled by Ensign amongst other names. I contacted HMRC who said they were aware but had sent them a cheque anyway.

3 months on and I've had no luck tracking the cash down or getting any response. Anyone else fallen for this?

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/marriageallowance...

Is there anything I can do to get the £300 refund HMRC sent out by cheque?

Just to make sure I understand TTCL claimed a tax refund on your behalf from HMRC and they're now refusing to give you the money?

I don't think HMRC will do anything as (I assume) you authorised TTCL to act on your behalf. Your only option would be MCOL against TTCL

[Mark-E46-wagon]

There was a link that looked like you were sending info directly to HMRC but was actually one of these numerous company names they use. The first I knew was a letter from HMRC saying they'd sent a cheque for the money owed to Ensign Ltd, which is when I called them (HMRC) and realised what I had done. There were no clues or T&C's so HMRC advised I report this but basically said there was nothing they could do as the cheque had gone and I had authorised the payment, whether aware or not.

I emailed Ensign and they respond with generic replies after about 2 weeks, saying it will be 35 days to process my payment. This started back in May.

There's only one info@ email address, no phone numbers and no second name in the email replies.

I'm surprised and disappointed how disinterested the HMRC appear to be. They were certainly aware there's an issue.

[Puzzles]

all too common im afraid

[FatboyKim]

Mark-E46-wagon said:

I thought I was responding to HMRC but seems it was a scam being pulled by Ensign amongst other names. I contacted HMRC who said they were aware but had sent them a cheque anyway.

3 months on and I've had no luck tracking the cash down or getting any response. Anyone else fallen for this?

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/marriageallowance...

Is there anything I can do to get the £300 refund HMRC sent out by cheque?

Well simply put, yes, you can ask HMRC to send out your repayment by cheque. But if a nefarious company has already got the money or cashed a repayment cheque, then HMRC aren't just going to issue another.

Unfortunately, there are myriad scams and similar companies about. When you sign up with these companies, it's usually the case that you'll accept something in their terms and conditions which allows them to be your authorised agent for tax, and therefore claim any refunds.

To be clear, and for the benefit of others, any company or individual offering to claim a tax refund for you for a % fee of that refund is NOT to be trusted and should be reported to HMRC. You can be forgiven for believing HMRC do nothing about it and don't care, but they do have a ruthless team who go after these firms.

Sadly, I don't think you'll be seeing your refund any time soon. Well done for owning up to getting scammed though, keep this thread updated because it will be indexed by Google and come up when others search for https://marriageallowanceagency.co.uk/ or 'Total Tax Claims'.

Big fat red banner at the top of their website: We are no longer taking on any new applications for Marriage Allowance since the 22nd February 2022. There is no limit as to the number of clients an agent can have, so this rather highlights that they are not in HMRC's good books.

Side note, one of the very few benefits of HMRC only communicating by letter is that you can be sure any text, email or phone call you receive purporting to be from HMRC is a scam. Yes, there are circumstances where HMRC can text or call you, but you would have already received a couple of dozen scary letters about the matter and be fully aware of the trouble you are in.

Edited by FatboyKim on Monday 1st August 16:33

[Mark-E46-wagon]

Well I must admit it's a little embarrassing having to admit I got taken in by these people but I guess it's that anger and frustration at myself, that's giving me the motivation to keep on with trying to get my cash.

I did manage to email someone else leaving a negative Trustpilot review and he had a call out of the blue yesterday. Someone calling themselves Roxanne rang from a mobile asking 'how can we resolve the issue'? He demanded payment into his bank, which he said they did pretty much immediately. He's given me the number but they haven't answered my calls yet.

I did speak to HMRC and my complaint was actioned about 4 weeks ago, so the wheels are turning albeit slowly.