Anyone using/used Access Financial Services?

[ExpatZ]

Sorry to revive a zombie thread but...

I am using Access right now and am VERY unhappy with their service.
They have not held up their end of the quote, give me the run around every month, have supplied me with ONE payslip in 2 and a half months and are currently short on payment to me to the tune of £1400.

I highly recommend staying away from these clowns, I am dumping them tomorrow after I re-incorporate and locate some insurance.

I work in Belgium but am in a transition from the UK and they have royally screwed up my UK taxes, I would have been better off just dealing with it myself using spreadsheets while drunk on cheap scotch.

Seriously.

[Brussels Slumdog]

I am using Access right now and am VERY unhappy with their service.
They have not held up their end of the quote, give me the run around every month, have supplied me with ONE payslip in 2 and a half months and are currently short on payment to me to the tune of £1400.

I highly recommend staying away from these clowns, I am dumping them tomorrow after I re-incorporate and locate some insurance.

I work in Belgium but am in a transition from the UK and they have royally screwed up my UK taxes, I would have been better off just dealing with it myself using spreadsheets while drunk on cheap scotch.

Seriously.

What has working in Belgium using AFS got to do with your UK taxes?
They should be deducting their fee, employer NI, employee NI and Belgian taxes.
You are only paying them to make payments to the tax authorities and social fund.No more and no less.They most likely offer an employee or self employed solution.

Did you get a quote from them on how they arrive at your your net pay?
If you wish to work in Belgium for longer than a year then make enquiries about self employment.

[howlsy]

UK Contract from Spain

Hi,

Was wondering how you got on with the above?
I have just moved to Spain recently and working on a UK contract from here and with some vendors here with the odd trip back to the UK.
I have previously worked in the UK through a LTD Company but don't think that's really a viable option to pay myself here.
Wondering if anyone had used any payroll companies or umbrella companies that enabled them to meet Spanish tax and social security obligations whilst still invoicing the UK client, that are trustworthy and recommendable!

Thanks!
Ryan

[newbie13]

I have used Access one time, but will never use them again.

I have used Access, but I will never use them again.

They have a convincing sales patter, so be careful to not be taken in by it.

[dropbaer]

I have used Access, but I will never use them again.

They have a convincing sales patter, so be careful to not be taken in by it.

Hi there! I am considering using AFS but am having second thoughts after I read your post. Would you mind to elaborate why you wouldn't use them again? What problems did you encounter with them? Many thanks!

[milzee]

Just putting this here as an FYI to warn off other potential victims. I used Access Financial for six months last year before switching to another payroll company ASAP at my next renewal. Expensive, utterly incompetent and I am still sorting out and paying for problems they have caused over a year later. Avoid them like the plague.

They charged me a fortune to work via self-employed scheme in Malta and then basically subcontracted the work out to a local accountant who I could have found in the local yellow pages and who was absolutely useless. I had to do all my own registration paper work (VAT, tax, social security and work permit), keep my own books, raise my own invoices, and do my own VAT returns and my own tax return. I had to submit documents to the accountant multiple times because they kept losing them. I had to correct forms filled out incorrectly by the accountant. The deregistration process when I quit their scheme is still going on almost a year after the contract ended (I’m still submitting nil VAT returns every quarter) and, to add insult in injury, I am now getting penalties for late submission of forms which I sent to the accountant on time. All through this Access have done absolutely nothing, denied all responsibility and blamed everything on the accountant, whilst charging me about three times what I was paying my old accountant to do my old company accounts. I would have been better off finding a local accountant and setting up my own limited company.

[fruxi]

Keep away, they are scammers. Let me explain my issues with them:

1. From the beginning, contacting the accountant was really hard, she would hardly answer my emails.

2. They were supposed to do all my tax declarations as long as I was contractor, but they refused to do it the second year as I also was permanent employee. In any case, they charged the 550 euros per month for doing nothing. I requested a refund, but they didn't accept.

3. The accountant was very incompetent and caused so much trouble that took a couple of years to solve with German authorities. At some point I was facing thousands of euros in fines. They are not skilled enough to do your tax matters.

4. When explained the problem to Access Financial, all they did was blaming the problem on the accountant and asked me to insist further...

5. When I requested all my documents to accountant, she ignored my request. So far I couldn't get my documents yet. I gave up as I think she will never release those.

Please, don't do worst mistake in your contracting career. If some agency forces you to work with Access Financial, a much better option is to lose the contract opportunity. The will cause so many sleepless nights and problems...

[Andy Hallett]

A bit of googling should have you looking for another company.

[Professional]

Hello All,
it is my first post in the forum. I am an Italian management consultant, based in Germany who is considering start contracting in 2021.
It is very likely that I will be involved in multi-countries projects (for example: working 50% in Germany, 30% in Netherlands, 20% in Switzerland) and with contracts signed with non German Legal Entities, which means I will need to find a Company which can be able to fill up tax returns in most of the EU Countries, and of course also UK.
I was recommended Access Financial but of course after reading these reviews, I would wonder if any of you may advise a good reliable Company that is able to support Contractors on tax matters when they work internationally and being able to fill tax returns in multiple EU countries.
Honestly, I googled and searched everywhere, also in the forum, but I could not find any clear recommendation and indication as most of them are related to local accountants and I search a company that can cover at least the majority of the western EU countries.
This is to me the biggest problem / decision to start my new career as a free lancer.
Any help and recommendation would be extremely appreciated.
Thank you.

[Fred Bloggs]

Hello All,
it is my first post in the forum. I am an Italian management consultant, based in Germany who is considering start contracting in 2021.
It is very likely that I will be involved in multi-countries projects (for example: working 50% in Germany, 30% in Netherlands, 20% in Switzerland) and with contracts signed with non German Legal Entities, which means I will need to find a Company which can be able to fill up tax returns in most of the EU Countries, and of course also UK.
I was recommended Access Financial but of course after reading these reviews, I would wonder if any of you may advise a good reliable Company that is able to support Contractors on tax matters when they work internationally and being able to fill tax returns in multiple EU countries.
Honestly, I googled and searched everywhere, also in the forum, but I could not find any clear recommendation and indication as most of them are related to local accountants and I search a company that can cover at least the majority of the western EU countries.
This is to me the biggest problem / decision to start my new career as a free lancer.
Any help and recommendation would be extremely appreciated.
Thank you.

The zero replies is the best answer, it's all you need to know. However, I will give my point of view. Though residency and movement of labour within the EU states is harmonised, there is no harmonisation of employment taxation. Each country will gather it's tax as it is due on your income. Many people, including myself will never work in other EU states because the tax situation is a mess. Good luck with your search. There is nobody I know of who is reputable enough to recommend who can do what you ask. If you find someone, even if they are reputable, it is likely to be very expensive. Good luck.