Trust help line email help!

[Hairybiker66]

Hi all,

I have been contacted via email by Trust help line with the following email.

Dear Sir / Madam.

Your former Employer wrote to you in April 2018 regarding your outstanding Employee Benefit Trust Loan position(s).

Please see a copy of the attached letter that was sent to you, to which we don’t seem to have a response. We have also attached a document regarding confirming your identity back to us so that we can assist you.

The ‘2019 Loan Charge Legislation’ includes an opportunity for Contractors caught by this legislation to register for the Settlement Opportunity. Registering with HMRC does not commit you to settling, but allows you to take advantage of the Global Terms offered should you wish to.

The opportunity to register runs out on 31st May 2018.

Regards,

Helpline Services Limited


The pdf they attached talks about employment with a company called Garraway (UK) and trustee loans which i have never been part of.

I am trying to understand what this company is? are they just acting as an agent and taking advantage of people that have trustee loans to scam more money off them?

I have stupidly(for a short period) in the past dealt with Dynamic Partners that issued me trustee loans etc. I appreciate that there is a deadline coming up to register to potentially slow down a APN?

I am a bit lost with it all and don't know which way to turn so some advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Jack

[WTFH]

It looks like a spam email.

If they don't know your name and just send it to Dear Sir/Madam, then it's spam.

I'd be careful about the attachment - I hope your anti-virus is up to date.

As for the real issue - if you were paid via a loan scheme, you need to get yourself a tax advisor in the next couple of days.

[webberg]

Our information is that the sender has been engaged by a number of trustees of schemes to act as either the new trustee or an administrator of the trust.

Clearly we know nothing about arrangements between the company and the trustee.

We have seen similar letters for those who were with Dynamic.

The letter is also correct that you should register an interest in settlement before 31st May.

This is nothing to do with slowing an APN.

I think Dynamic has indicated that one of schemes was not disclosed but that they are now doing so and therefore an APN might be available to HMRC. However, there are a lot of potential issues there such as whether a disclosure now is valid and even then, whether a late disclosure is grounds for an APN.

We are still thinking about the situation that might arise.

As to the motive for this move at this time, we have insufficient information to speculate.

[Hairybiker66]

Many Thanks for your advice. Can anybody advise of a good tax adviser that can help as suggested(ideally specializing in trustee loans).

Thanks All

[Jes1]

Many Thanks for your advice. Can anybody advise of a good tax adviser that can help as suggested(ideally specializing in trustee loans).

Thanks All

Yes, Webberg from WTT.

[Hairybiker66]

Yes, Webberg from WTT.

Thank you just dropped him a PM..

[Lonerous]

I've also had this letter, and wonder if the good people on here can answer a couple of questions.

HMRC sent me a letter about nine months ago asking for my income for 2012/13 and 2013/14 as they suspected I was using a tax avoidance scheme. In this case, it was Darwin/IQ Contracts.

Through my accountant, I sent back details of all loan payments made, using bank statements as supporting evidence. HMRC replied in August 2017, confirming they had received the documentation along with a case reference number. This was the last communication I had from them. As I understand it, I have not had an APN. My questions are as follows:

1. Given I have already been in touch with HMRC and they have all my documentation, do I need to separately register with HMRC by the closure date of May 31st 2018? If so, who exactly do I register with? Do I call HMRC directly with my reference number and register over the phone?

2. The Trust Line email states the following:

Your Options

Two pro-active options that may be open to you are:

If you have received an APN already and made payments to HMRC,

(1) Contact Helpline Services Limited to purchase a “Deed of Release” which is the trustee’s agreeing to your formal legal release from the debt, and

(2) Obtain further advice on how to discharge/settle and close your case with HMRC.

If you have not received an APN yet,

(1) Register your interest to enter into a settlement opportunity with HMRC by 31 May 2018;

Please note, even if you go ahead with the settlement opportunity, the loans you received created a genuine liability, which is still due and repayable as per the terms of your original loan agreement. Therefore, the loans will be still outstanding even if you settle with HMRC. If settlement is the route you are inclined to take, it is advisable that you contact Helpline Services Limited regarding the purchase of a Deed of Release; or

(2) Repay the loans that you have taken. There will then be the potential for the trustees to make a distribution from the trust to you or others within the class of the beneficiaries.

If you think the second option might suit your financial position Helpline Services Limited can introduce you to Templeton Brook who might be able to assist with a personal review and your individual calculations in relation to the options above. Templeton Brook are in the process of discussing the terms of a global settlement with HMRC for contractors who elect to take that route.


I've spent weeks reading these forums but this makes little sense. Are they saying the tax owed on the loans AND the loans are repayable? Surely it is a loan or it isn't? How can HMRC and the loan company be claiming two contradictory scenarios?

3. What is a "deed of release". And how much do these cost? (My edit: On investigation, it's 5% of total loan amount).

4. Trust line are asking I upload passport image, proof of address and all supporting documents to their portal. I am very uneasy about doing this, especially as they have no contact phone number. Does this sound legit?

Many thanks for any help that can be provided. I will be speaking to my accountant next week but it's always useful to have additional thoughts and feedback.

[Loan Ranger]

I've also had this letter, and wonder if the good people on here can answer a couple of questions.

HMRC sent me a letter about nine months ago asking for my income for 2012/13 and 2013/14 as they suspected I was using a tax avoidance scheme. In this case, it was Darwin/IQ Contracts.

Through my accountant, I sent back details of all loan payments made, using bank statements as supporting evidence. HMRC replied in August 2017, confirming they had received the documentation along with a case reference number. This was the last communication I had from them. As I understand it, I have not had an APN. My questions are as follows:

1. Given I have already been in touch with HMRC and they have all my documentation, do I need to separately register with HMRC by the closure date of May 31st 2018? Yes. If so, who exactly do I register with? Do I call HMRC directly with my reference number and register over the phone? You can register by email, as decribed in this post:

https://forums.contractoruk.com/hmrc...ml#post2555018

2. The Trust Line email states the following:

Your Options

Two pro-active options that may be open to you are:

If you have received an APN already and made payments to HMRC, Whether you've had an APN, or not, is largely irrelevant. Either way, you still need to register if you want to settle.

(1) Contact Helpline Services Limited to purchase a “Deed of Release” which is the trustee’s agreeing to your formal legal release from the debt, and

(2) Obtain further advice on how to discharge/settle and close your case with HMRC.

If you have not received an APN yet,

(1) Register your interest to enter into a settlement opportunity with HMRC by 31 May 2018;

Please note, even if you go ahead with the settlement opportunity, the loans you received created a genuine liability, which is still due and repayable as per the terms of your original loan agreement. Therefore, the loans will be still outstanding even if you settle with HMRC. If settlement is the route you are inclined to take, it is advisable that you contact Helpline Services Limited regarding the purchase of a Deed of Release; or This sounds like a bit of a veiled threat to me.

(2) Repay the loans that you have taken. There will then be the potential for the trustees to make a distribution from the trust to you or others within the class of the beneficiaries. There's a high risk this would be caught by the "earmarking" provisions of the loan charge. Tread very carefully.

If you think the second option might suit your financial position Helpline Services Limited can introduce you to Templeton Brook who might be able to assist with a personal review and your individual calculations in relation to the options above. Templeton Brook are in the process of discussing the terms of a global settlement with HMRC for contractors who elect to take that route.


I've spent weeks reading these forums but this makes little sense. Are they saying the tax owed on the loans AND the loans are repayable? Surely it is a loan or it isn't? How can HMRC and the loan company be claiming two contradictory scenarios? It's HMRC applying quantum mechanics to tax. A loan can be a loan and not a loan at the same time.

3. What is a "deed of release". And how much do these cost? (My edit: On investigation, it's 5% of total loan amount). That's a hefty fee for not doing very much.

4. Trust line are asking I upload passport image, proof of address and all supporting documents to their portal. I am very uneasy about doing this, especially as they have no contact phone number. Does this sound legit?

Many thanks for any help that can be provided. I will be speaking to my accountant next week but it's always useful to have additional thoughts and feedback.

See comments above.

This has a whiff of sharks taking advantage to me.

[Lonerous]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

I must admit, I assumed because HMRC already had an open investigation against me (with a reference number) I didn't need to register. I'll do this ASAP. That said, I may call them first. According to the HMRC website:

If you’re already speaking to someone in HMRC about your use of a disguised remuneration scheme, or if you have a customer relationship manager, you should register your interest with them.

I'm not sure who 'them' is. The only correspondence I have is fairly generic in nature and signed by a member of the counter avoidance team.

With regards the email from Trust Line, I have forwarded it to my accountant.

[BankingContract0r]

I am in the exact same position. Same scheme and same year (2013/14) being assessed. Difference is I have received an assessment from HMRC of what they think was the loan amount and taxes/ interest/ late payment charges due.

Given that tax is currently being accrued on this amount, is it worth making a payment on account to help negate some of these additional charges? Or even paying the full amount and then settling for the years HMRC haven't queried?

My current intentions are to settle but each time I think I have a figure worked out (which is BIG!) I hear about addition costs such as this. 5% for deed release is also a big sum for me. Am I right in understanding that there is little no allowance for expenses through the settlement route? I did read that someone managed to get travel expenses factored in?

I don't think I could take the stress of this hanging over my head by joining a group to fight this and the constant chasers from HMRC but at the same time we have a third child on the way and financially things will become very very tight.

Writing from the deepest darkest depths of despair...