Experience with ITECS?

[Safe Collections]

Hi "Safe Collections",

Thanks very much for your information. This really helped me. I advised my solicitor of this information, and we moved to object to the striking off. It seems this is what prompted the company to offer a settlement - possibly they are very keen to get the company struck off before anybody else claims money owed? I have got some of the owed money from them (not yet all) and they are now trying to get me to drop my objection to the striking off before all of the owed money has been paid. I would advise anybody trying to claim owed money from ITECS that continuing to object to the striking off action is essential. I will drop my objection if/when all my owed money is paid, so if somebody else is in my position then they must ensure that they make their own objection.

Hopefully this update is useful for somebody . . .

Regards,
Diamond

That is excellent news! Glad we could be of assistance

The above in bold would seem to be best route for any creditor at the moment based on what Diamond has said.

It goes without saying we would not recommend you rescind your objection until the final payment has been made.

[Charlina]

Hi Vlad . . .

I worked with ITECS for around 3 years. After OK (not brilliant) service for a couple of years they completely switched off all pretence of any service. They did not pay my taxes, and have left ME to pay a tax bill of more than 30,000 Euros that they should have paid. I'm now trying to get this money back via the courts. My advice is to stay well, well, well away from ITECS!!! I am happy to give you the details offline . . . I really would like to avoid that they stitch anyboy else up like they have done with me . . .

Regards,
Diamond

Diamondnostril,
I would be interested in your experience. Could you give me some detail in private?
Thank you

[diamondnostril]

That is excellent news! Glad we could be of assistance

The above in bold would seem to be best route for any creditor at the moment based on what Diamond has said.

It goes without saying we would not recommend you rescind your objection until the final payment has been made.

Hi all,

This is a last shout out to anybody that is trying to get money from ITECS in Ireland. After a year-long legal process, I've now obtained the money owed to me due to their failure to pay my taxes. In order to get this money (around €60,000) I've had to agree to write off a further €10,000 that was owed to me via their tax-avoiding Employee Benefit Trust scheme. Although this is a considerable sum, I've taken the hit and am glad to be shot of them.

As my solicitor has agreed with them, now that the money for all of the previously unpaid taxes has been returned to me, we will now drop our objection to the voluntary striking-off of the company in Ireland. This means it is very important for anybody that is owed money by ITECS to raise your own objection to the striking-off request! My objection will be withdrawn in the next few days.

I don't know the reasons behind all the problems that I've had with ITECS, as they stopped the pretence of any meaningful communication with me long ago. But as I've found out more during the legal processes, they seem more and more dodgy. My interpretation of things is that they basically steal the money that should be used to pay clients taxes. ITECS holds the money that needs to be paid as tax, until such time as that tax is due to be paid. In my case it seemed to be that as soon as I told them I would no longer work via ITECS, they decided that they would not release any outstanding/unpaid tax funds. Of course I only have my own experience to go on, but that's how it appears to me.

I've been able to get the majority of my money back, but I feel this was mainly due to the good luck that I looked on this site and was given important information by "Safe Collections" regarding objecting to the striking-off request (see earlier Posts). Thanks again, Safe Collections!!

The whole process, from ITECS failure to pay my 2011 (and 2012) taxes until now getting reimbursed, has taken more than 18 months. And with the EBT write-off and solicitor's fees I am around €14,000 out of pocket.

They also completely screwed up the payment of my 2010 taxes to the German tax office, which caused me considerable stress and problems. At the time I put this down to incompetence, but with subsequent events I now suspect that this may have been deliberate.

My advice is definitely to stay well away from Parker Woods / ITECS!

Hope this is helpful for somebody out there!

Regards,
Diamond

[Safe Collections]

Hi all,

This is a last shout out to anybody that is trying to get money from ITECS in Ireland. After a year-long legal process, I've now obtained the money owed to me due to their failure to pay my taxes. In order to get this money (around €60,000) I've had to agree to write off a further €10,000 that was owed to me via their tax-avoiding Employee Benefit Trust scheme. Although this is a considerable sum, I've taken the hit and am glad to be shot of them.

As my solicitor has agreed with them, now that the money for all of the previously unpaid taxes has been returned to me, we will now drop our objection to the voluntary striking-off of the company in Ireland. This means it is very important for anybody that is owed money by ITECS to raise your own objection to the striking-off request! My objection will be withdrawn in the next few days.

I don't know the reasons behind all the problems that I've had with ITECS, as they stopped the pretence of any meaningful communication with me long ago. But as I've found out more during the legal processes, they seem more and more dodgy. My interpretation of things is that they basically steal the money that should be used to pay clients taxes. ITECS holds the money that needs to be paid as tax, until such time as that tax is due to be paid. In my case it seemed to be that as soon as I told them I would no longer work via ITECS, they decided that they would not release any outstanding/unpaid tax funds. Of course I only have my own experience to go on, but that's how it appears to me.

I've been able to get the majority of my money back, but I feel this was mainly due to the good luck that I looked on this site and was given important information by "Safe Collections" regarding objecting to the striking-off request (see earlier Posts). Thanks again, Safe Collections!!

The whole process, from ITECS failure to pay my 2011 (and 2012) taxes until now getting reimbursed, has taken more than 18 months. And with the EBT write-off and solicitor's fees I am around €14,000 out of pocket.

They also completely screwed up the payment of my 2010 taxes to the German tax office, which caused me considerable stress and problems. At the time I put this down to incompetence, but with subsequent events I now suspect that this may have been deliberate.

My advice is definitely to stay well away from Parker Woods / ITECS!

Hope this is helpful for somebody out there!

Regards,
Diamond

That is a great result under the circumstances and we are pleased we could assist

Not bad for some free advice from a bunch of cretins eh...

In seriousness, EBT schemes basically encapsulate everything you don't want in a client into one heady mix of awkwardness.

• Overseas Client? Check.
• Complicated corporate structure? Check.
• Jurisdictional difficulties? Check.
• Retaining contractor funds in offshore accounts? Check!

The simple fact is, if you do business with an EBT you are entirely dependent on goodwill to get paid! We have written an article for CUK on EBT schemes in general that can be found here.

[cojak]

That is a great result under the circumstances and we are pleased we could assist

Not bad for some free advice from a bunch of cretins eh...

In seriousness, EBT schemes basically encapsulate everything you don't want in a client into one heady mix of awkwardness.

• Overseas Client? Check.
• Complicated corporate structure? Check.
• Jurisdictional difficulties? Check.
• Retaining contractor funds in offshore accounts? Check!

The simple fact is, if you do business with an EBT you are entirely dependent on goodwill to get paid! We have written an article for CUK on EBT schemes in general that can be found here.

<saves for future reference and tips hat to SC.>

[Sim0n]

ITECS contract mid August - til December 2013, info needed regarding payment of tax

I wondered if anyone could offer me some advice?

I have been using ITECS for around 4 months and am in discussion with them in regards to the payment of taxes here in Germany as I am transferring agency as from January 2014.

The ITECS office I am working with is based out of Gibraltar. In may payslips they deduct social security for Gibraltar, which is strange as I work in Germany (I have also checked with the Gibraltar authorities and I am not registered with them) and they show me what I thought was what they paid the tax for me in Germany, but from what I now know they withold the tax and deduct it from my wage as 'witholding tax'.

I have asked ITECS about the process of paying this tax and they have told me I need to submit a tax return for 2013 before the May 2014 dealing. Once the tax is then issued to me they said I need to forward this onto them for payment.

I wondered if anyone could offer some advice on this to check that this is correct?

This is what they sent me, your help would be appreciated:

Further to our conversation yesterday, please see the process for filing tax returns below.

The tax year in Germany runs from 1 January to 31 December. The deadline for filing a tax return in Germany is always 31 May of the following year. This can be extended until the end of September if a tax advisor is filing the tax return or on written confirmation from the tax office.

Tax forms for your return can be obtained from the local tax office (Finanzamt) or can be sent to you directly at your workplace. Tax returns may also be made online using the electronic filing system, Elster. Elster can be found at:-

https://www.elster.de/index.php



Please note the website and forms are in German.

Should you wish to receive local professional advice on completing your tax return, which we strongly suggest, we can recommend Grant Thornton in Germany and provide you with the necessary contact details. Please note that you will need to pay the costs incurred for this service personally. If you would like the contact information for Grant Thornton, please let us know.

Please note it is your responsibility to complete and file a German tax return; German legislation does not permit that this is done by your employer under a power of attorney and you must sign and submit the tax return yourself.

Once your tax return has been filed and processed by the Finanzamt, you will be sent a payment slip for the tax due on your income. Please send a copy of the slip to us and we will arrange with our Director to transfer withheld tax funds to cover the bill.

If the amount that we have withheld is higher than the value requested on the payment slip, any additional funds will be returned to you.

It may be the case that you are advised by the accountant that your income is not liable for tax in Germany and therefore do not need to file a tax return in Germany because you have not been working in Germany long enough to become liable for German tax. In this case, you would need to file a tax return in your home country and declare your German income there.

If this is the case, you would sign an indemnity letter confirming that you will declare the income at home, and we would release withheld tax funds to you directly.

[BlasterBates]

If they have registered you as a "Freiberufler" this would be OK, but not as an employee.I was with ITECS for a year or so in Luxembourg, also working there, I had no problems, so I think probably they're not pulling a fast one. As far as social security goes Freiberufler don't have to pay it at all in Germany.

[freeman99]

I have been using Itecs for over 6 months in the NL. I would recommend anyone to stay away from them.

They messed up my paperwork for the visa.
Never reply to my emails or phone messages.
Always delays to get paid.
Very unprofessional in general.

There are far more better payroll solutions in the NL than Itecs.

Cheers,

[Maxim Penegin]

Never work with itecs!

Payment delays or mess with papers are not the most of problem. I've been working under that company for a while in Belgium in 2012. And I still waiting for some of my money from them ... Now I'm looking for the lawyer.

[Safe Collections]

Payment delays or mess with papers are not the most of problem. I've been working under that company for a while in Belgium in 2012. And I still waiting for some of my money from them ... Now I'm looking for the lawyer.

Before you spend any money on lawyers it may well be prudent to check your contract and see if the company you dealt with is still live. We suspect you will find that it is not...