ID fraud. I've been scammed!

[Drago]

Will it help if I PM you my full name, D.O.B., address, post code, NI number, and mother's maiden name?
I'll include my bank details too, just in case you feel like making a substantial contribution towards my upcoming tax bill!

But what if he's the offender?!

 

[Brandane]

Perhaps your accountants can negotiate several billions off your tax each year like the Revenue let Vodafone do?

My people are onto that.

But what if he's the offender?!

Your people are onto that.

 

[marknotgeorge]

I hate talking to HMRC. They are quite happy to make wild unfounded allegations in writing, but will refuse point-blank from retracting them in writing, even though they are more than happy to do so over the phone.

So they repeat the allegations, and you have no evidence that they have accepted that they are not valid. So it all starts again.

Ask them for the call reference number.

 

[Brandane]

[QUOTE 4626218, member: 45"]Looks like I have been done.
Long story short.....
For the last couple of years I have been working part time for several agencies, driving HGV's. I also receive a public sector pension.
Recently I acquired a new part time job, not in the haulage industry, so contacted my most recent employer to tell them their services were no longer required. They did the right thing and paid me the balance of holidays due to me, but when I received my payslip yesterday I was surprised to see I had been taxed at 45%. Genuine mistake, I thought, and we'll sort it out.

Coincidentally, my tax code notice arrived in this mornings post. There are 3 "employments" listed on it which I don't recognise, but all with similar sounding names. Parent companies of driving agencies, possibly, was my first thought. Then I saw that my tax code had been adjusted to put me in the 45% bracket! Plus, an estimate of underpaid tax for year ending 5th April 2017 of just over £49000.00

At that point I got a little worried and decided to phone the nice people at HMRC. Trying to get to speak to a real person at HMRC is worthy of it's own thread, but I digress. It would appear that some company, unknown to me, has been telling HMRC that I receive a LOT of money from them. They have created 3 employment records for me, too . I have confirmed with the driver agencies I used to work for that none of them have a parent company of the name used by my alleged employer.

Hopefully HMRC will get this sorted, but it's just another little bit of stress that I could do without. Anyone know if this is a common modus operandi for a fraud? Be very careful about who you pass your details to! I am normally anal about such things, but clearly someone somewhere has obtained some personal data that has been useful to them .[/QUOTE]
Wow; that sounds identical to my story. This ID fraud stuff is more common than I thought!

 

[Brandane]

Well at least that's the 2015/16 tax return done, so one less thing to worry about with our friends at HMRC.. I've only been sitting on the request since last April. I keep promising myself that I'll get it done before the summer, so why do I always end up sitting on the PITA thing until January?
It cost me £32 in unpaid tax this year, which might turn out to be something of a bargain if this morning's letter is anything to go by .

 

[classic33]

Can you confirm that the "money paid" was never actually received by you?

 

[Brandane]

Can you confirm that the "money paid" was never actually received by you?

Definitely not. I might have noticed; given that I would need to be earning over £150k per year to fall into the 45% tax bracket.

 

[bikingdad90]

HMRC should be able to trace the details easily. Everyone who pays employees through PAYE needs to submit a file called an EPS which tells them when you got paid, how much and what tax/ni is deducted. It also puts a marker on when you start a new job or leave a job so your records get adjusted accordingly.

What can happen is that the EPS goes wrong and it doesn't p45 you and close the employment record down, instead it thinks you have a second job which triggers a tax code change. Make sure HMRC have the right start and end dates and right pay attributable to each employer.

Secondly check your NI number with HMRC to ensure it is not a clerical error. It could be someone with the same name, DOB and similar number but not you so the adjustment has been made to the wrong account. If your tax is wrong your NI record is likely to be wrong too which will impact on your state pension payments (when due). The tax records and NI records are "separate" at hmrc so if one is correct and the other is wrong it can be spotted a mile away.

 

[ufkacbln]

I had something similar......

Low pay and when enquirers it was due to my new Tax bracket

Apparently I had a new fun time job in Cardiff and the combined wages with my full time job in Portsmouth put me in the 45%

Luckily at the time we had a tax office in Portsmouth, so arranged appointment and went in....... In my case it was an error on their part as opposed to a scam, but is still annoying

 

[classic33]

Definitely not. I might have noticed; given that I would need to be earning over £150k per year to fall into the 45% tax bracket.

"I"was being paid, on the second NI Number, for a 39 hour week at £11.20. I gave the details of the bank to contact, to HMRC, where I knew my wage was being paid into. Which didn't match where the other account was held. The banks then got involved.

 

[Brandane]

Make sure HMRC have the right start and end dates and right pay attributable to each employer.

The problem arises though when people have multiple employers on the go at the same time, as I have/did. Thanks to zero hour contracts and temporary work, I suspect a lot of people will be in the same boat. At one point last year I think I had 4 different employers, all current at that time, as 3 were agencies who I would play against each other just to make sure I got enough work without doing too much! In fact, technically speaking I still have 4 employers as I have not made myself "unavailable" to them and requested a P45..

 

[bikingdad90]

The problem arises though when people have multiple employers on the go at the same time, as I have/did. Thanks to zero hour contracts and temporary work, I suspect a lot of people will be in the same boat. At one point last year I think I had 4 different employers, all current at that time, as 3 were agencies who I would play against each other just to make sure I got enough work without doing too much! In fact, technically speaking I still have 4 employers as I have not made myself "unavailable" to them and requested a P45..

Ah, that will be a factor then, 4 live employment records. You can only have one main employer to which your personal allowance is applied and then every other employer is notified that you are using that allowance elsewhere and to tax you appropriately. You can choose your main employer by telling HMRC.

All none paying organisations will be submitting zero value EPS each month keeping you as a live employee.

Due to the above at the end of the year do you add up all your earnings and work out the tax and then compare it to what you paid to see if you are due a rebate?

 

[nickyboy]

I had something similar......

Low pay and when enquirers it was due to my new Tax bracket

Apparently I had a new fun time job in Cardiff and the combined wages with my full time job in Portsmouth put me in the 45%

Luckily at the time we had a tax office in Portsmouth, so arranged appointment and went in....... In my case it was an error on their part as opposed to a scam, but is still annoying

As I said, this would be one of the most pathetic and inept scams going if it was a scam as it is very easily picked up

The typical scam for businesses like this is either under declaration of revenue (cash jobs) or over declaration of costs (fictitious invoices). With fictitious invoices the way it works is that the company actually pays the invoices (otherwise they would sit on the books forever and look suspicious) but the recipient of the cash is some bank account connected to the owner of the company

 

[Brandane]

You can choose your main employer by telling HMRC.

As well as multiple employers, I also have a pension which is my main income. As it is a constant, that is my "main employer" and any income on top of that is taxed at BR (basic rate). It's often a PITA when you start with a new employer who don't seem able to grasp the concept that you need to pay basic rate tax from the off.

Due to the above at the end of the year do you add up all your earnings and work out the tax and then compare it to what you paid to see if you are due a rebate?

I've been doing tax returns every year since 2003 when I declared myself self employed for a few months. Never had a rebate yet; it's always ME who owes THEM, even if just a few quid.

 

[Tin Pot]

I've been doing tax returns every year since 2003 when I declared myself self employed for a few months. Never had a rebate yet; it's always ME who owes THEM, even if just a few quid.

Trust them as far as you can throw them.

I did get a rebate. A five figure one. I raised one eyebrow. I phoned them, I told them they were wrong. They insisted. A cheque arrived. I raised the other eyebrow. I waited. Nine months later they told me I owed them my expected tax plus pretty much exactly the amount of the cheque.

A lot of people would've run out and spent it, and then they would have you...