Sjd

[xoggoth]

No idea about SJD but having had various accountants it beats me why none of them ever provided some written summary of the basic tax issues to be aware of and the things one has to do.

[Gary_Jones]

I'm thick skinned but taking the micky isn't very constructive.

I'm not going to pull apart a company on a public forum and wont go into specifics.

I'll respond to the rather derogatory post of "They are accountants , not counsellors" and state I don't want a counsellor - my expectations were set on this forum that I'd get that extra little bit of help as a start up business and it would be an easy and painfree process.

Dissapointing to have my case published in detail on this forum after I've left what I feel to be quite generic statements with no specific mud slung about.

The problem is that I don't have a great deal of time at the moment, or in the last few months to chase this and spend the time required to go over this. Nothing has gone right with this, maybe Im just a cursed customer or unlucky. I just don't have the time to go escalating issues time and time again.

I don't want a flame war, and only think its fair that on Contractor UK I can leave honest and unbiased opinions of services offered to help others.

[gadgetman]

I have been with them for over a year now and have raised issues over some aspects of their performance. In their defence they have reacted quickly to address my concerns but there are some aspects I am still not happy with:

1. Terse and non-specific email replies to very specific queries e.g. I asked about a particular expense scenario and was referred to the SJD expenses document (which didn't cover my query). Another time I stated my understanding of how the 'tax free' dividend amount was calculated and asked for a simple confirmation. The reply did not address the question.

There have been quite a few instances of this sort of thing despite the office manager acknowledging the problem. To make it clear, I was not requesting War and Peace just a one or two line explanation.

2. Lack of pro-active information e.g. I was originally given a budget based on expected turnover and Corporation tax, NI etc tax levels at the time. This has not been updated. There have also been changes in SJD's expenses guidelines which I have only found out about due to postings on here.

3. "Late" (as in provided with a few days to spare) provision of several items such as annual PAYE schedule and quarterly VAT returns. Although plausible explanations were provided I'd still rather these were a bit more timely as I always feeled rushed.

4. Failure to deal with a simple item such as a company change of address despite assurances that it had been done. This just got "lost" and I didn't notice until I received redirected mail from HMRC several months later.

5. Downright wrong tax advice on at least one occasion and an error in my personal tax return, both of which (thankfully) I spotted. These could have cost me hundreds of pounds.

In short I don't mind paying a premium for a premium service. Unfortunately I don't feel I'm getting this at the moment.

Are other companies any better?

[Gary_Jones]

The last email we received from Gary was Sept - we've sent out several since then for various compliance matters, so no, that's not it.

I just spotted this and couldn't keep from responding.

Lets be amicable please. In fact, the poster hit the nail on the head - lack of contact has been my issue really, or more precisely the need to escalate to get an answer / progress made.

I'm leaving this thread as it's not of benefit to either of us and I'm not going to rise to mud slinging.

I don't want our relationship to go any further down the pan here - I've got a business registered to your address and am planning on going overseas in 4 months - I have no option to change, so I just live with the service and posted here to say its not quite as good as some posts would have you believe.

[malvolio]

No idea about SJD but having had various accountants it beats me why none of them ever provided some written summary of the basic tax issues to be aware of and the things one has to do.

What, like this....

[Lewis]

What, like this...

Or this ....

[BrowneIssue]

Dissapointing to have my case published in detail on this forum

I would be mortified to have a supplier attacking me in a forum like this.

[simondolan]

I would be mortified to have a supplier attacking me in a forum like this.

1. I was not attacking
2. Nothing I said could have indentifed the poster in any way
3. Why should the supplier have no public recourse?
4. We have been criticised on here a few times over the years, and every time I ask the individual to email me with details. Only three times has this ever happened, and on each occasion I have done my utmost to resolve the situation

Much as I'd like to, we cannot be all things to all people - we have over 8000 clients, some of whom have unrealistic expectations, some of whom are extremely difficult to please, and sometimes of course we mess up. That's life.

There are very few MD's of large organisations that would post on public forums in their own name and offer their own details. I do so because I am passionate about providing the best possible service we can and really do want to get to the bottom of any issues we have with any clients, but it is a two way thing. You must also be aware that competitors come on here pretending to be dissatisfied clients for obvious reasons ( I am NOT saying that anyone on this thread falls into this catagory). For all these reasons, please do not be suprised that I defend our position if I think we are not in the wrong.

[BrowneIssue]

Then I shall just creep off, mortified.

[MobileCheese]

I would be motified to if I could spell it.