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Help! I think my umbrella company has screwed me over!

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    #11
    Originally posted by malvolio View Post
    If the "umbrella" have been in any way negligent or deceitful I would be suing them for the unpaid taxes plus interest...
    I may be wrong, however I used a scheme and I had to sign agreements before receiving money.

    OP, did you receive any form of loan agreement? If you haven't signed a loan agreement then technically the money is not a loan surely? In which case you could (I believe, maybe Webberg could clarify) just declare these 'payments' on a self-assessment now for the time using it last financial year and pay the tax due on them?

    If you did receive and sign a loan agreement then I think the title of this thread is slightly unfair

    Comment


      #12
      Originally posted by WalterWhite View Post
      If you did receive and sign a loan agreement then I think the title of this thread is slightly unfair
      Indeed but he won't like what the title should have read if this is the case
      'CUK forum personality of 2011 - Winner - Yes really!!!!

      Comment


        #13
        Umbrella Companies - failure to understand mechanics of

        Originally posted by londongirl7 View Post
        I am having an absolute nightmare and need some help! I've been contracting since August 2016 and at the time I was rushed into choosing an umbrella company to use, a friend of mine recommended me Payerise and I blindly just went with them as she told me she had used them years without issue.

        However, a while ago I questioned my payslip with them, my year to date tax seemed very low and I was worried that this was a problem, my consultant responded with: In regards to your payslip slips, as your umbrella company we are able to lower your taxable pay, your tax is then deducted from this amount and would be correct based on the tax code of 1059L that we have on the system for you. We calculate your pay in a way that gives you the best possible take home and are legally responsible for making all of your deductions from your and submitting them to the HMRC.

        She said "we are legally responsible" and so I just left it - I probably should have pushed it further but I am not originally from the UK and the tax system is confusing over here so I assumed I was probably just wrong.

        So fast forward to now, I have just resgined from my current contract role and am about to start a new one, funnily enough at the exact same time Payerise give me a new representative as my old one left, and she doesn't seem to have been given any kind of handover. I have not been getting paid and there seems to be alot of confusion, so i decided to look into a new umbrella for my new role which I am doing - thanks to this forum.

        HOWEVER... in the meantime, I checked out my payslip for the first weeks wages of this new tax year and something is definitely up.

        I get paid £150 per day, so £750 per week Gross.
        My take home is £607.50.
        Payerise's fee is £25
        and on my first payslip of this tax year it is saying that my taxable pay is £262.50 and that this week they have deducted £8.20 tax.

        £8.20!?! this is nothing! And certainly not 20%?!!?

        I have today requested a P60 or a proper breakdown of what's happening here from payerise but jusging by recent correspondence i fear i might not receive this and I am now unsure of the next step to get this sorted.. I assume i will need to contact HMRC at some point but I just want it clear in my head how I go about sorting this out as when I have contacted them before they have been most unhelpful!

        Has anybody else has issues with tax and umbrella companies? and are you able to shed some light on how you got it sorted? I appreciate it <3
        I was presureised by colleagues and representatives of Redstone to sign up. I did not and still do not understand how they work. I have no idea what their margin is and what has been deducted from my salary. Now I have HMRC breathing down my neck and I dont know what to do or say.

        Comment


          #14
          Originally posted by Cat View Post
          I was presureised by colleagues and representatives of Redstone to sign up. I did not and still do not understand how they work. I have no idea what their margin is and what has been deducted from my salary. Now I have HMRC breathing down my neck and I dont know what to do or say.
          This might be worth a read!
          HMRC will be after recouping the unpaid taxes and as some of the people on here know, it is very difficult to get out of this. I would be speaking honestly with HMRC about it and hoping you can come to some arrangement with them.

          Comment


            #15
            Hi,

            im in exactly the same boat, although feel worse as I'm a born and bred Londoner and should have been more on point when it come to tax, etc. Except that they have made it so confusing, forced me to use the scheme and lied to me the whole way through.

            So, yes I'm paid as an SEN TA by PAYERISE as my agency gave me no other options. I get £115 a day and they deduct 20% from my weekly, which i was informed covered my NI and tax. my payslip always looked dodge and confusing, but like a mug I never thought they could be so deceitful and that there must be regulation, etc.

            To be honest I never game it much thought.

            It only while applying fora mortgage that there have been problems. The payslips were like the video from the ring. 4 brokers who saw them either went on holiday or left their company. So alarm bells started to ring. Everything was in place, but after getting my P60's and seeing how little taxable hours theyve claimed for me I've sacked them, and printed a dossier of everything they have emailed me, all my payslips, bank statements, the lot. It went straight to HMRC in a brown envelope.

            I talked to hmrc about it and without seeing the paper copies they said that any unpaid tax would be chased from the umbrella companies end.
            Im furious though as we've lost our flat now and been turned down for a mortgage when everything else is in place. The idea that all I would have to to pay the umbrella markup makes me want to spit bile too...these *******'s"

            Anyone give me some words of wisdom?

            Comment


              #16
              Hi boonaby1982

              So sorry to hear what has happened - unfortunately until we can get to a situation whereby companies are masquerading as "umbrella companies" when in reality they are not there is very little that can be done.

              Might be worth reading up on POTAS just so you are aware of a few things that could help when you speak with HMRC.

              Comment


                #17
                You've done what you had to do and contacted HMRC. You need to stop using this umbrella, and if that means terminating the contract, so be it.

                Be aware that by using a legitimate umbrella that will pay the expected amount of tax and NI, you will receive approximately 65% of your day rate.

                If you pay less than 30% tax (>70% take home) then I would imagine HMRC are NOT receiving PAYE amounts and will come after you for the gap.

                And believe it or not, there is no comeback on these dodgy umbrellas if they work this way (I'm not even sure if it's illegal).

                Apart from the bad publicity, that is...
                "I can put any old tat in my sig, put quotes around it and attribute to someone of whom I've heard, to make it sound true."
                - Voltaire/Benjamin Franklin/Anne Frank...

                Comment


                  #18
                  Originally posted by cojak View Post
                  Be aware that by using a legitimate umbrella that will pay the expected amount of tax and NI, you will receive approximately 65% of your day rate.
                  ... Unless you are a 40% taxpayer, and it is more likely to be in the region of 52-56% take home.

                  Comment


                    #19
                    Originally posted by boonaby1982 View Post
                    Hi,

                    im in exactly the same boat, although feel worse as I'm a born and bred Londoner and should have been more on point when it come to tax, etc. Except that they have made it so confusing, forced me to use the scheme and lied to me the whole way through.

                    So, yes I'm paid as an SEN TA by PAYERISE as my agency gave me no other options. I get £115 a day and they deduct 20% from my weekly, which i was informed covered my NI and tax. my payslip always looked dodge and confusing, but like a mug I never thought they could be so deceitful and that there must be regulation, etc.

                    To be honest I never game it much thought.

                    It only while applying fora mortgage that there have been problems. The payslips were like the video from the ring. 4 brokers who saw them either went on holiday or left their company. So alarm bells started to ring. Everything was in place, but after getting my P60's and seeing how little taxable hours theyve claimed for me I've sacked them, and printed a dossier of everything they have emailed me, all my payslips, bank statements, the lot. It went straight to HMRC in a brown envelope.

                    I talked to hmrc about it and without seeing the paper copies they said that any unpaid tax would be chased from the umbrella companies end.
                    Im furious though as we've lost our flat now and been turned down for a mortgage when everything else is in place. The idea that all I would have to to pay the umbrella markup makes me want to spit bile too...these *******'s"

                    Anyone give me some words of wisdom?
                    I am in the same boat too.

                    I joined them after recommendation, looking for a PAYE payroll service.
                    They said I had to be taxed at 42% as a high rate earner.

                    After a 3-4 months when I asked for a P60 they presented a minimum taxable amount. Rest of the net income came into a form of a dividend voucher. They also gave me a statement of earnings clearly saying gross and net amounts.

                    I was receiving monthly payslips with a strange ‘Tax and expenses’ line on the bottom left of the payslip but it never crossed my mind that they would deviate from a pure PAYE service into something I still can not comprehend.

                    Despite all these discrepancies they keep reassuring that they will pay the tax, they are even offering to give me the money to pay the tax earlier(!) if I was in a hurry since as you already mentioned they calculate their tax return just before January.

                    If they are to pay the tax owed I am wondering on what income basis do they pay this tax. They have generated a P60 for my employment and paid a minimum tax on it.. If they were to pay the tax owed they would have to generate another P60 which is not possible, right? Do they pay a collective tax for all of their employees then as a company? I do not get it.. How are they justifying the rest of my gross income coming in their pocket, as what?.. as Ltd’s income paying 20% tax?

                    Someone shed some light explain how could they do it in an avoidance way?

                    Thanks.

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