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Is convicted ex accountant Darren Upton practicing?

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    Originally posted by mudskipper View Post
    Interesting reading here

    More Misery for Contractor Accountant - Contractor Weekly

    It appears he was removed from the student register of ACCA way back in 1999 for "dishonesty".

    "In 2009 he dishonestly stated on his student registration form that he had never been the subject of disciplinary action by another professional body whereas he had been removed from the student register of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) 10 years earlier for dishonesty;"
    Wow! good find. Leopards and spots? I guess it's genetically programmed in some people. They see an opportunity to lie for personal gain and just can't stop themselves. Incredible story this is becoming.
    Public Service Posting by the BBC - Bloggs Bulls**t Corp.
    Officially CUK certified - Thick as f**k.

    Comment


      Originally posted by mudskipper View Post
      Personal comment - Darren Roberts seemed good - personable, friendly and helpful, and gave sound and accurate advice.
      So did Darren Upton up until the day he went to jail.
      When the news broke on here about him being arrested I immediately contacted him to ask what was going on and he told me that it was utter nonsense and that his solicitors were involved with the owners of CUK.
      Even after he had been arrested he couldn't stop himself from telling lies.

      That man will always be very personable, friendly and helpful.
      While he is helping himself to the contents of your bank account.
      Still Invoicing

      Comment


        Originally posted by blacjac View Post
        So did Darren Upton up until the day he went to jail.
        I know this. It's a hard one to reconcile.

        Comment


          Originally posted by DeludedKitten View Post
          Having been with Dynamo for three years or so, I'm torn about whether to stay or go elsewhere or realise that I should just do it myself since I'm not sure I have the trust in the accounting profession any more.

          The annoying / sad thing is that Darren gave good advice, and as you have said, the service level at Dynamo has definitely declined since he left (I am getting fed up with having to tell my accountant why they are wrong and I am right!). If he'd come back honestly and openly then I might have given him a second chance as long as he stayed well away from the actual money.

          Having just read the previous thread from 2010 and seeing a few people giving advice to contractors telling them get out and take your accounts elsewhere as it sounded risky.. i wonder if there was any of those that ignored that advice as the service had always been great.. but then went on to regret it..

          Comment


            Originally posted by moggy View Post
            Having just read the previous thread from 2010 and seeing a few people giving advice to contractors telling them get out and take your accounts elsewhere as it sounded risky.. i wonder if there was any of those that ignored that advice as the service had always been great.. but then went on to regret it..
            It's a personal decision. Do you trust your business to a company that seems to have dropped a clanger with their due diligence or a company that appears to have colluded in helping a known fraudster? Or do you stay with companies who are brave enough to give a time-served fraudster a second chance? If the companies do not have access to your money and you are careful about where you send money yourself, is there actually any risk?

            Not easy, is it...
            Blog? What blog...?

            Comment


              Originally posted by malvolio View Post
              It's a personal decision. Do you trust your business to a company that seems to have dropped a clanger with their due diligence or a company that appears to have colluded in helping a known fraudster? Or do you stay with companies who are brave enough to give a time-served fraudster a second chance? If the companies do not have access to your money and you are careful about where you send money yourself, is there actually any risk?

              Not easy, is it...
              Given the plethora of alternative accountants in the same price bracket I'd say it's pretty easy

              Comment


                Originally posted by pr1 View Post
                Given the plethora of alternative accountants in the same price bracket I'd say it's pretty easy
                How do you know that any of these plethora are who they say they are?

                For years, posters on this forum (and others) have argued that there is no need to have a local accountant because you never need to see them, you never meet your accountant, and as long as they are on the end of the phone or on an email then it is unimportant about where they are based.

                Assuming that the main part of this thread is accurate (and I think it is), then the advice that it doesn't matter becomes poor. I used to have a local accountant who was good (but expensive) - I could meet up with them (and I did), they were on the end of the phone, I could email them. I had a dedicated accountant and I would see him periodically during the year. I then moved to an online accountant, based on the advice of people here and the posts that the accountant made - I trusted them, I had confidence in them, but I never met them and wouldn't be able to pick them out of a lineup if I needed to. After that, I moved to Dynamo with Darren for much the same reason - he gave good advice, he was personable, he seemed trustworthy, but again I never met him and wouldn't (until recently) have any idea what he looked like or be able to identify him.

                There are a plethora of alternative accountants in the same price bracket, but whether I trust (m)any of them is the question that I'm struggling with.

                At the moment, it's looking more likely than not that it will be DIY from here - at least then I know who is pressing the button in FreeAgent.
                I'm not fat, I'm just fluffy.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by DeludedKitten View Post
                  How do you know that any of these plethora are who they say they are?

                  For years, posters on this forum (and others) have argued that there is no need to have a local accountant because you never need to see them, you never meet your accountant, and as long as they are on the end of the phone or on an email then it is unimportant about where they are based.

                  Assuming that the main part of this thread is accurate (and I think it is), then the advice that it doesn't matter becomes poor. I used to have a local accountant who was good (but expensive) - I could meet up with them (and I did), they were on the end of the phone, I could email them. I had a dedicated accountant and I would see him periodically during the year. I then moved to an online accountant, based on the advice of people here and the posts that the accountant made - I trusted them, I had confidence in them, but I never met them and wouldn't be able to pick them out of a lineup if I needed to. After that, I moved to Dynamo with Darren for much the same reason - he gave good advice, he was personable, he seemed trustworthy, but again I never met him and wouldn't (until recently) have any idea what he looked like or be able to identify him.

                  There are a plethora of alternative accountants in the same price bracket, but whether I trust (m)any of them is the question that I'm struggling with.

                  At the moment, it's looking more likely than not that it will be DIY from here - at least then I know who is pressing the button in FreeAgent.
                  It's just my opinion, but Dynamo and FB either knew they were working with a convicted fraudster, or they didn't know they were working with a convicted fraudster

                  Either of the above would be enough for me to take my business elsewhere, yes the next place may also be working with a convicted fraudster but I don't know they are.

                  Checking whether your assigned accountant has a cartoon picture on linkedin would be a nice quick first step that everyone could do!

                  Comment


                    Originally posted by pr1 View Post
                    It's just my opinion, but Dynamo and FB either knew they were working with a convicted fraudster AND DIDN'T DISCLOSE IT, or they didn't know they were working with a convicted fraudster AND NOW THAT THEY KNOW THEY AREN'T COMING CLEAN.

                    Either of the above would be enough for me to take my business elsewhere, yes the next place may also be working with a convicted fraudster but I don't know they are.
                    FTFY.

                    As to the first, if they were up-front about it, and explained what controls they had in place to protect clients, I'd have been fine with that. Second chance and all that. Better that he work than be on benefits, and I'm not opposed to helping with that.

                    As to the second, if they made a mistake and have thoroughly reviewed to make sure there's been no fraud, and taken steps to make sure it never happened again, I'd probably be fine with that, too. Again, second chance, this time for them.

                    That's not what happened, though.

                    Comment


                      I have a friend(well okay someone I work with) who is with Dynamo and watching this thread very carefully to see who jumps ship.

                      Comment

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