Upton Accountants - more info

[BA to the Stars]

As you may be aware, Uptons have a new firm called Freedom Accountancy which is headed up by Tina.

See a quote from the 1st para of the link from Bagpuss

"We recently made Darren John Upton (Mr Upton) bankrupt after he failed to pay funds to us intended for people who had invested in a scheme run by the unauthorised firm Upton & Co Accountants Ltd. "

I have received a mail from John Upton whose job title is Accountant at Freedom Accountancy. The name may be a coincidence?

[Bugbait]

As you may be aware, Uptons have a new firm called Freedom Accountancy which is headed up by Tina.

See a quote from the 1st para of the link from Bagpuss

"We recently made Darren John Upton (Mr Upton) bankrupt after he failed to pay funds to us intended for people who had invested in a scheme run by the unauthorised firm Upton & Co Accountants Ltd. "

I have received a mail from John Upton whose job title is Accountant at Freedom Accountancy. The name may be a coincidence?

I believe John Upton may be Darren's father. The question is, do you want to be serviced by a firm (Freedom Accountancy) that is run by the wife of and employs the services of the father of <mod snip> Darren?

[CU63]

You're correct that John is Darren's father. However I'm confused because some of the old accountants there told me that John lived in Newcastle and had a full time job, so I'm not sure how he has time to be an accountant at Freedom.


Has anybody spoken to John?

[cojak]

As you may be aware, Uptons have a new firm called Freedom Accountancy which is headed up by Tina.

See a quote from the 1st para of the link from Bagpuss

"We recently made Darren John Upton (Mr Upton) bankrupt after he failed to pay funds to us intended for people who had invested in a scheme run by the unauthorised firm Upton & Co Accountants Ltd. "

I have received a mail from John Upton whose job title is Accountant at Freedom Accountancy. The name may be a coincidence?

Note that the 'we' in this instance is the FSA, not Freedom Accountancy.

[BA to the Stars]

Note that the 'we' in this instance is the FSA, not Freedom Accountancy.

Yes, the quote is from the FSA - sorry about that

[Waldorf]

You're correct that John is Darren's father. However I'm confused because some of the old accountants there told me that John lived in Newcastle and had a full time job, so I'm not sure how he has time to be an accountant at Freedom.


Has anybody spoken to John?

Why would anyone bother? How many chances do you want to take?

[SueEllen]

You're correct that John is Darren's father. However I'm confused because some of the old accountants there told me that John lived in Newcastle and had a full time job, so I'm not sure how he has time to be an accountant at Freedom.


Has anybody spoken to John?

Lots of the work in accountancy practices can easily be done by a mixture of non-qualified staff, part-qualified accountants and bookkeepers. The qualified staff are there to oversee everything. Off course if they have a full-time job and live in a different part of the country this makes it more difficult.........

[backagain]

Mod Note:

Just facts in here please, not speculation.

[Andy rather handy]

More questions and no answers about Uptons!

Hi, I've been keeping track of this thread for some months now as Darren was my accountant, I'm sure this has been asked before in round about ways, but I have now hit a brick wall as to what to do next. In summary; Uptons caused me a hefty fine because they didn't submit my company return on time despite saying it had gone, and then in the months leading up to Darrens arrest they continued to take direct debits (even after his arrest) - It was only then we were aware of what was going on and advised them that we would take our business elsewhere and would like refund on this years payments already made - needless to say Tina has been no help and eventually advised I contact their insurers; which I then did only to be told by them that we would have to go back to Uptons direct....

Seems that they've got away with this one and as a small company we have taken a hit while they now can trade under a different name. Can anyone suggest a good path to take to get any funds back or is that just the way the cookie crumbles? I have tried calling today the new company (on the same phone number) and it was no help and I couldn't reach Tina (or Darren though I guess he's on his 'break' now). Anyone else in the same situation or found any help on this? Thanks

[backagain]

I have had excellent service from Uptons recently (or shall we call them Freedom?). I think they are making a concerted effort to provide good service and keep clients.

Recently I have had my accountants submitted and companies house annual return and Upton replied back with the submission receipt on both instances; this would indicate they have had problems with this in the past. Since the government is looking for efficiencies, most filing is done online and you get a receipt for the submission. So my advice is to make sure you receive a receipt of submission from your accountant.

Some may argue that you pay an accountant to do everything for you. I think the reality is that they will have 100s of clients and things do go wrong sometimes. So the responsiblity for these types of returns ultimatly rests with you, and I am of the view that you are ultimatly in control of your own destiny. Thus find out when returns are due, make sure they are done and make sure they are actually submitted. Don't assume everything will be taken care for you.

My main reason for not moving from Upton is it involves alot of upheaval; this includes moving my registered address which is the their Wakefield office. They are changing their name, but they arn't moving, so thankfully no changes for me. They increased my standing order by 2 pounds, but I am getting a good deal, so another reason not to move. This is my own opinion and preference; if you feel more comfortable moving to another accountants, then that is your choice. Whatever you feel comfortable with.