Trust help line email help!

[Willy Wicket]

Hi all,

I have been contacted via email by Trust help line with the following email.

Dear Sir / Madam.

Your former Employer wrote to you in April 2018 regarding your outstanding Employee Benefit Trust Loan position(s).

Please see a copy of the attached letter that was sent to you, to which we don’t seem to have a response. We have also attached a document regarding confirming your identity back to us so that we can assist you.

The ‘2019 Loan Charge Legislation’ includes an opportunity for Contractors caught by this legislation to register for the Settlement Opportunity. Registering with HMRC does not commit you to settling, but allows you to take advantage of the Global Terms offered should you wish to.

The opportunity to register runs out on 31st May 2018.

Regards,

Helpline Services Limited


The pdf they attached talks about employment with a company called Garraway (UK) and trustee loans which i have never been part of.

I am trying to understand what this company is? are they just acting as an agent and taking advantage of people that have trustee loans to scam more money off them?

I have stupidly(for a short period) in the past dealt with Dynamic Partners that issued me trustee loans etc. I appreciate that there is a deadline coming up to register to potentially slow down a APN?

I am a bit lost with it all and don't know which way to turn so some advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Jack

Dear Jack,
Put it in the Spam box!
This is a new level of Phishing.
Forget you ever read it.
Do not click on their links, which will set off a new level of activity, once you have volunteerd your details.
I am informed then you will be asked to enter the total amount of your EBT loan(s) and then they will use that amount which you so kindly tell them, to invoice you for an amount of 5% of your outstanding loan amount to shut down the agreement, using frightening terminology to try and get you to cough up.
If it makes you feel better, report them to trading standards.
The company is listed on Companies House, and one of the company directors is 19 years old, and the other one has involvement in a plethora of other similarly dodgy sounding companies.
The only people you should be dealing with is HMRC and your own (recommended) tax advisor, if you need one.
Not the people sending you un-secured emails, gained via Data security breaches on the Isle of man.

[Willy Wicket]

Hi GreenMirror,

I haven't had any demand for recall of loans! But am worried that it might come back to bite in a few years (with accumulated interest!) I would like to contact @Webberg but I have just joined yesterday so can't send PMs... Any help would be much appreciate. Am really pulling my hair out over this.

Not gonna happen!
Anyway, weren't the employer loans "Interest free"? hence the initial tax charge from HMRC for benefits in kind (No interest)
Therefore, ask yourself, why would interest be accumulating?
The Helpline Trust (Trust? ) are just a bunch of opportune fraudsters in my opinion. Ignore them. Put their mail in the Spam folder.
They will make enough money from the people easily conned, who haven't been on this site.
Check out the company directors on the Companie's house website, if you need any further corroboration of their shallowness. delve deeper into the director's other companies, and involvement, and then see how old the people are. Still in Nappies! With Fraudster profiles.

[Willy Wicket]

Hi all, has anyone been through the website and actually seen all their loan statements? Does this newly formed company actually have the alleged data on all schemes the user used or do they just have the email addresses?
Clearly Trust Help Line is a scam, but the question still stands does this newly formed company actually hold valid data?

What do people think?

Data that has been stolen and sold on the deep dark web.
I think the data they hold is limited to scheme users and email addresses. Any additional information they cleverly get you to "Volunteer" back to them!
The Data about EBT users, that they hold, clearly was obtained in a manner which contravenes the Data Protection Act 2018, particularly in relation to how it was distributed and stored. Someone is accountable, they would need to demonstrate the way that they obtained such data, and if that (Very likely) failed the test, the fines would be magnificent, if someone had the backing to prosecute, particularly with regards to the storage of that data, and the distribution of that data to third parties, then the penalties are 10 million Euros or 2% of their turnover (whichever is higher), to a maximum under certain circumstances of 20 million Euros or 4%.

If only a small percentage, of the total EBT scheme users were scared enough to pay them 5% of their EBT loan amounts, then these scammers would be having a very enjoyable Christmas! I would rather see them behind bars eating bread and water. We can only remain very wary and cautious. It is very easy to investigate on line, before committing to any of this junk.

[Willy Wicket]

I hope this isn't a data breach at HMRC? That would be quite something.

[piebaps]

You're probably a little off target here Willy.

The users of these schemes entered into contracts with Winchester and the others. Those contracts will show who exactly the contracting parties were. If one of those parties was an Isle of Man company, then the contract could be under Isle of Man law. While this is broadly similar to UK, it is not the same and actions for data breaches will be via the Isle of Man Information Commissioner. He has a website and is quite active on data breaches so look up the site and report away. Isle of Man Information Commissioner

You may find however that the underlying contracts allow for details to be passed to associated companies and as you have rightly pointed out THL is obviously associated. Timing is also a factor. The GDPR only came into force comparatively recently and some of these arrangements are very old. The data may have been passed to THL before the consent requirements of GDPR were in effect.

[webberg]

Be clear here please.

We are not suggesting that information has been obtained illegally by Helpline Services Ltd.

I can say that our clients are being advised in a certain way.

I suggest that other advisers will have their own view.

[CUK1357819]

Has anyone actually purchased this deed of release?

Also has anyone contacted THL and got a response?

I am wondering if THL is actually genuine or not with the lack of a phone number.

[piebaps]

You probably need to read a few more threads CUK as your questions IMHO appear to have been covered.

Don't buy the certificate. HMRC aren't asking for it.

Lots have been in touch and had responses.

It appears genuine. The trustees have hired them to look after the admin which is how they have your details. Whether or not the Trustees have that power will depend on the Trust deed and your contract with whichever scheme you used. THL may however be closely linked to the scheme promoters who caused the problem in the first place and it may not be a good idea to give them more money.

[CUK1357819]

You probably need to read a few more threads CUK as your questions IMHO appear to have been covered.

Don't buy the certificate. HMRC aren't asking for it.

Lots have been in touch and had responses.

It appears genuine. The trustees have hired them to look after the admin which is how they have your details. Whether or not the Trustees have that power will depend on the Trust deed and your contract with whichever scheme you used. THL may however be closely linked to the scheme promoters who caused the problem in the first place and it may not be a good idea to give them more money.

THanks for the reply piebaps.

This is the only CUK thread I've found on THL. Do you know of any others?

No-one has posted any responses to having contacted them and the response.

A few people have posted the content after having logged into the THL portal.

Also none has said they then went ahead and bought the deed of release.

So has anyone bought this deed and had any contact with THL (other than logging into their portal)?

[piebaps]

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...rust+Help+Line

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...rust+Help+Line

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ht=baker+tilly

https://www.contractoruk.com/forums/...ht=baker+tilly

Five minutes of searching got these threads. If I can do it, so can you. ETA - sorry, one appears to be duplicated