Leaving SJD Accountants

[JtotheD]

Simon (and yes, he does own the business) has responded personally. I really suggest you deal with him and stop flailing around on here.

Well yes I can see that, but thanks for pointing it out.

[JtotheD]

Just learnt that if you decide to leave SJD prior to the end of year without them doing your end of year accounts, you are not entitled to a refund on any of your Direct Debit fees paid. Even if all they have provided you with is VAT and a couple of emails.

[eek]

Just learnt that if you decide to leave SJD prior to the end of year without them doing your end of year accounts, you are not entitled to a refund on any of your Direct Debit fees paid. Even if all they have provided you with is VAT and a couple of emails.

And? So? What does the contract you agreed when you joined them say?

[Martin at NixonWilliams]

Just learnt that if you decide to leave SJD prior to the end of year without them doing your end of year accounts, you are not entitled to a refund on any of your Direct Debit fees paid. Even if all they have provided you with is VAT and a couple of emails.

I'm afraid this is quite common, but it depends on the circumstances, i.e. the work done and the fees paid etc - It would expose the accountant if clients were able to leave at month 12 and expect a refund of earlier months due to the accounts not being prepared.

However, with the above in mind, it would probably be cost effective for you to remain with SJD until the end of your first accounting period. The reason for this is because your new accountant is likely to charge you for the whole period if you leave part way through the year, whereas if you appoint a new accountant at the start of your next accounting period you will only pay from that first month.

I hope this helps.

Martin

[JtotheD]

I'm afraid this is quite common, but it depends on the circumstances, i.e. the work done and the fees paid etc - It would expose the accountant if clients were able to leave at month 12 and expect a refund of earlier months due to the accounts not being prepared.

However, with the above in mind, it would probably be cost effective for you to remain with SJD until the end of your first accounting period. The reason for this is because your new accountant is likely to charge you for the whole period if you leave part way through the year, whereas if you appoint a new accountant at the start of your next accounting period you will only pay from that first month.

I hope this helps.

Martin

Thank you Martin. I've emailed Simon Dolan direct with the information he requested hopefully this will get resolved.

[Bunk]

Just learnt that if you decide to leave SJD prior to the end of year without them doing your end of year accounts, you are not entitled to a refund on any of your Direct Debit fees paid. Even if all they have provided you with is VAT and a couple of emails.

If your client cancels your contract before the end, do you refund them any of your fees up to that point?

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

I'm afraid this is quite common, but it depends on the circumstances, i.e. the work done and the fees paid etc - It would expose the accountant if clients were able to leave at month 12 and expect a refund of earlier months due to the accounts not being prepared.

However, with the above in mind, it would probably be cost effective for you to remain with SJD until the end of your first accounting period. The reason for this is because your new accountant is likely to charge you for the whole period if you leave part way through the year, whereas if you appoint a new accountant at the start of your next accounting period you will only pay from that first month.

I hope this helps.

Martin

Concur, its the way our contacts are constructed. There is a trade off between simplicity v protection v fairness. I found my magic wand ran out at that stage.

[JtotheD]

If your client cancels your contract before the end, do you refund them any of your fees up to that point?

I only charge my clients for services received.

[d000hg]

I only charge my clients for services received.

You've received several months' of having an accountant. It's not their fault you didn't give them much work to do in those months.

If I cancel Sky I can't say I didn't watch it so I want my money back.

[JtotheD]

Final Update and Close out on this.

The information I was given was incorrect, SJD have part refunded my fees and apologised for the service I received. (Luckily I didn’t follow some of the advice on here otherwise I wouldn’t have received a penny! A caution to others when reading these forums, not everyone is here to help!).

I believe this to be an isolated case and not a reflection of SJD as a whole, a number of colleagues I've recently found to use SJD are extremely happy with the services they have received to date. From the way my case has been handled (with a little help from Simon Dolan) the SJD team have been excellent.

I have suggested they add a complaints email address / guidance on their website to allow people in the future to contact a designated person with any issues, so if you are reading this with a similar issue it may be worth checking the website before posting here.

Thank you to those who offered constructive advice to help me resolve this both on here and in private messages, it truly is appreciated.