Accountant charging for consultation

[psychocandy]

Remember years ago when IR35 was on the horizon and I was looking for a new accountant.

Family member recommended his accountant (he was a taxi driver so I should have known his accountant wasnt suitable). So I went to see they guy and mentioned IR35 - became obvious he had no idea what I was on about. Left it with him and asked him to get back to me not holding out much hope.

Few weeks later I had bill for £400 off him. I phoned him and asked him WTF. He said this was for his time looking into IR35 and getting knowledge about it. But he could now do my accounts for some stupid figure per month.

Told him to shove it up his backside.... didnt pay.

Pretty sure the greedy git had got a whiff of contract income as discussed and he'd thought I'll have a bit of that - he can afford it. Robbing git!

[d000hg]

You know his address, his name, and the name of his company. I think you could figure out how to send payment if you wanted to

But it sounds dodgy to me. Can you respond, asking him why he is trying to charge you for a free consultation, and let us know what happens?

[Forbes Young]

Greetings all, just after a bit of advice really.

My current accountant doesn't know his ar*e from his elbow, so I set about looking for a new one. Found one fairly locally and agreed to meet up to discuss my accounts. At the end of the hour meeting he told me his price for simply preparing and returning a CT600 was £2,500 . I wasn't prepared to pay that to a man operating out of his house, so I told him I wouldn't be signing up for his services and went on my way.

He's now sent an invoice through (with no details of how to pay) asking for £100 + VAT for his time. This wasn't mentioned at any time in our telephone conversations or in the meeting, and I'm sure he's pulled that figure out of his ar*e. I should have checked beforehand as to costs, I know.

Where do I stand on this? Shall I just pay up or can I dispute it? Feel it's a bit cheeky of him the

That is unethical - he should have explained if any fees were payable at the onset.
I wouldn't pay it if I were you and if he chases it up, report him to his institute (if he is a qualified accountant). The institutes eg CIMA, ACCA ICA have lists of members and each one has a membership number and they need to abide stringently to their ethical code. Unfortunately I have come across many "accountants" in the contractor accounting field over the 15 years I have been involved in it who run firms (some from home) but are unqualified. This is the sort of issue that results.
Graeme Bennett ACMA, MBA.

[ensignia]

Thanks for all the replies; just as I suspected he's trying his luck.

For a laugh I might send him a bill for my time, and see what he says.