Upton Accountants - more info

[DimPrawn]

Not just tax fraud allegation

Hmmm, just found this by googling...

BBC News - Investors gain £4.4m compensation

Make up your own mind.

[maverick]

Can anybody give me a PM with regards to a replacement accountant for Uptons, preferably willing to take on my last years accounts for free or a very small fee to join them!

[MarkT21]

WHAT THE '@@@@@'

!!! Talk about late to the party !!!! I must have been asleep for most of this year ...

I have been with Darren for the last 5 years, and yes, the service has declined over the past 2/3 years .. spoke to Fay over at Uptons this morning and got all the usual assurances that Tina has taken over, new staff and restructuring are going on .. but, my end of year accounts at the 31st of this month .. emailed Tina to see if they are going to be able to actually do my accounts, and she has responded stating Darren is no longer a director, they have a new accounts manager and they are making a go of it and are nearly in a position to transfer the company and staff to a new company .. good luck to that I say .. I may still have to jump ship tho as I don't want to miss my end of year submission ..

I have the usual recommendations .. Nixon Williams and also, a company called "Stilwell Gray" that are local to me and are probably going to get my business next year ..

never a dull moment eh ''

[BillHicksRIP]

I jumped to Intouch and have found them to be very good indeed so far. To Upton's credit, they've responded quickly and comprehensively with everything I've asked for.

[Waldorf]

I have the usual recommendations .. Nixon Williams and also, a company called "Stilwell Gray" that are local to me and are probably going to get my business next year ..

never a dull moment eh ''

Never heard of Stilwell Gray, I use Nixon Williams and can recommend them.

I do wonder why so many people are sticking with Upton's how much writing do they need on the wall?

[satiated]

Never heard of Stilwell Gray, I use Nixon Williams and can recommend them.

I do wonder why so many people are sticking with Upton's how much writing do they need on the wall?

The trouble is that you do not normally search the internet on the off chance that your accountant has been arrested for fraud. I imagine most people here have come across this information because they've suddenly found that their accounts are possibly not going to be done in time, and so they start looking for information on the net to find out if they're the only ones having troubles. That's my story.

The disheartening thing is finding out that information about this stuff started coming out months ago. Still, it's a short term pain and then hopefully on to greener pastures.

[philip@wellwoodhoyle]

Just to put a different point of view from an accountant. I can fully understand why you want a new accountant who will take over and not charge for the current year, on the grounds that you've been paying Uptons (or whoever).

What a new accountant will be wary of is whether the ex accountant will provide the changeover information promptly. If they don't the new accountant will have to try to reconstruct the opening balance sheet position and get copies of returns etc from HMRC. This can be a very time consuming job. And then, once done, there's still the time taken to actually do the outstanding accounts they're not being paid for and if well into another year (i.e. filing deadline looming), that's another part year!

I always negotiate with new clients in this situation, but part of my negotiation is my best guess as to whether the old accountant will co-operate promptly and what kind of mess their records will have been in. I've been stung lots of times by so-called qualified accounts who've prepared accounts with differences, unexplained balances, etc., who then won't provide any explanations, meaning lots of time and back-tracking to get things right to move forward. There are some firms, for example, who I've had prior experience with who are co-operative and quality is good (one or two regularly mentioned on these forums) where I'm happy not to charge anything for taking over prior months as I know what to expect and can absorb a relatively small amount of time to bring up to date as a freebie. However, there is one firm (also mentioned on these forums) where I won't touch one of their clients without a full fee for bringing up to date because they're slow and unhelpful. Not the clients fault, I know!

What I don't know is whether Upton's are co-operating with new accountants. I've never taken on an Upton's client. I wonder if anyone else can share their experiences as to whether Uptons are providing the changeover information promptly. This knowledge would help other clients of theirs, and other accountants, when deciding to change.

[Clare@InTouch]

With regard to the handover information for old clients, we've not had any problems. When Darren was there he replied personally to any query, and since he's left we've heard from other members of staff when necessary. It's all been very professional to date, and the process has been quite smooth.

[MarkT21]

The problem I have is that I have paid up for this year and my end of year is the 31st Aug, so moving to another accountant is going to cost me extra, plus all of the handover stuff mentioned above .. I have spoken to the new accountant at Uptons, and have spoken to Tina a few times and my view currently is I have to give them a chance to do my end of year, how long I give them before **having** to make the switch is a bit of a guess, I will put on some pressure and see what I get back, but I can little afford to throw away £500 to get my accounts done at a new accountant, and it is doubtful I would get a refund on this years costs .. so, the long and the short is that "I want to move accountants, but doing so will cost me dollar, so lets see how it pans out" ..

[MarkT21]

Never heard of Stilwell Gray, I use Nixon Williams and can recommend them.

I do wonder why so many people are sticking with Upton's how much writing do they need on the wall?

Stilwell Gray are in Winchester and come highly recommended from a contracting colleague who has been with them for 15 years .. I chose them over Nixon as they are local for me ..