DSW Tax Resolutions

[Boodog]

Is anyone having problems with DSW? There supposedly helping me settle, I’ve emailed Tim and Phil asking them to call me and text them but all I get is... can I call you later?

I’ve received my settlement deed, and since I’m struggling to contact DSW, I’ve missed my 30 days to respond back to HMRC. Any advice what I can do next? This is really stressing me out...




Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

I think you need someone from DSW to clarify their position and relationship with you since Phil Manley has left and started up his own tax consultancy business. Surely if you have registered and are paying fees to DSW, the responsibility lies with them to assist you with settlement.

[dammit chloe]

I think you need someone from DSW to clarify their position and relationship with you since Phil Manley has left and started up his own tax consultancy business. Surely if you have registered and are paying fees to DSW, the responsibility lies with them to assist you with settlement.

I don't understand the details of how partnerships work but in this case it seems the partnership was bought out and that part of the business went with Phil to his new company. So the clients went to Phil. Certainly that is the case for me.

Communications have improved a little since this has happened but still not up to speed and still over reliant on Phil.

[Boodog]

I suspect even if Philip Hammond was made to withdraw the loan charge and was whipped naked through Westminster you would still be unhappy.

Well yeah, actually, you’re right. There’s a wider issue than just the loan charge. If the loan charge is withdrawn, there are still thousands upon thousands of people backed into a corner and having to settle - or face litigation - against discovery assessments for ‘open’ years.

As for Hammond being whipped naked - not something I’d be happy to see either....but whatever floats your boat...

[APNMISERY21]

I see that WTT and I have been mentioned above.

There are two points raised.

The first is that the poster has received a poor and unresponsive service from WTT (and others) and by extension will treat others the same.

The second is that having somehow used the forum to generate business, we are now less involved and less active as the commercial incentive has reduced.

On the first issue, without knowing who the poster is, it is impossible to make a response on an individual basis and even if I did know, not only would I not do so on a public forum (respecting the client/agent confidentiality) but I suggest that the experience is a long way from typical. We are not perfect but the pattern described is extremely unusual.

I would invite the poster to PM me with a name/contact details and I'll be in touch.

On the second, I would entirely refute any suggestion that we have withdrawn from the forum. Any objective analysis of our posts, responses, PM traffic and articles submitted to this website would stand equal to or better than most.

In the run up to the loan charge deadline, there were a large number of active issues in which we participated. Quite correctly however the loan charge and the actions of LCAG were prominent and we judged that it was better for that group and its supporters (in which we are included) to have as clear a field as possible. We therefore focused elsewhere.

Post the loan charge deadline, the whole forum has been less active the crossroads created by that tax charge has pretty much forced people into settle or fight - a decision and consequences we have been very vocal on. Our focus has been on "fight".

For obvious reasons, we are not going to reveal here the details of that fight. It is an unfortunate fact for us that whilst we would expect HMRC to be interested in what we are doing, ignorant criticism from other quarters was an unwelcome distraction.

It's perfectly acceptable to have a view on a plan or strategy that you understand and have applied some technical knowledge to. We are often responding to such views outside the forum as usually these exchanges add something. We choose not to respond, publicly or privately, to views that have little technical integrity or which are based on an incomplete understanding of what we are doing. That is true of this forum and other platforms.

Since the 5th April we have been working on our litigation process. Again, we are not sharing details of that here.

We have also been looking to the future and the options we can offer existing and hopefully new clients. This website has rules about advertising. We have always respected those rules, often seeking permission to post certain items before doing so. Some of those ideas have appeared in the paid for advertising in this website. Some elsewhere.

We cannot please all the people all the time. However, I hope the above is useful.

I have no intention of 'PMing' you on here when you did not have the courtesy to reply to my many emails direct to your work inbox. I find it curious that you now want to chat when this is in the public domain but you were not interested when it was private.

I think your service was appalling and however you try to smooth things out on this forum the reality is very different. I'd welcome anyone thinking of engaging WTT to contact me first for the formal evidence in this regard.

At least Phil started out with the best of intentions.........

[BrilloPad]

I have no intention of 'PMing' you on here when you did not have the courtesy to reply to my many emails direct to your work inbox. I find it curious that you now want to chat when this is in the public domain but you were not interested when it was private.

I think your service was appalling and however you try to smooth things out on this forum the reality is very different. I'd welcome anyone thinking of engaging WTT to contact me first for the formal evidence in this regard.

At least Phil started out with the best of intentions.........

You have way too high expectations.

Graham and Phil are in a very tough position.

Of course, the real villian here is HMRC. But they are untouchable. So just attack those trying to help.

I don't know how Graham and Phil put up with this nonsense.

[starstruck]

You have way too high expectations.

Graham and Phil are in a very tough position.

Of course, the real villian here is HMRC. But they are untouchable. So just attack those trying to help.

I don't know how Graham and Phil put up with this nonsense.

You say that but I too have paid (am paying) both money and am not entirely happy with the service. I see no excuse for persistent, long term failure to return emails which is what I get from both. I have often resorted to asking questions of them on here as you get a better and quicker response than contacting them directly. Just my honest opinion. Not saying they do no good or everyone gets the same service it’s just my experience.

[Invisiblehand]

I don't know how Graham and Phil put up with this nonsense.

I hear it pays well.

[webberg]

I have no intention of 'PMing' you on here when you did not have the courtesy to reply to my many emails direct to your work inbox. I find it curious that you now want to chat when this is in the public domain but you were not interested when it was private.

I think your service was appalling and however you try to smooth things out on this forum the reality is very different. I'd welcome anyone thinking of engaging WTT to contact me first for the formal evidence in this regard.

At least Phil started out with the best of intentions.........

Well in that case I cannot help you.

You are of course entitled to an opinion but I suggest that without the context of what you wanted to achieve and whether we told you that was possible, your reaction is less credible?

I'd also say that your experience (if accurately reported) is not what 99%+ of our clients report to us.

As to the implied slur on our intentions when we started and now, any objective assessment of our actions will show that to be incorrect.

We accept that if we use a public forum then we will get to occasional adverse comment - usually without much rhyme or reason behind it. We have been (and no doubt will continue to be) trolled by many here and elsewhere. We are able to brush this off because we know that we offer a realistic alternative to HMRC and all those with deep connections to the schemes used and who are therefore actually or possibly conflicted.

A comparison with Phil Manley is interesting. I have no doubt that Phil is doing things in a manner that he considers is appropriate and likely to achieve whatever target he has in mind. I am not privy to what that target is nor how he intends to achieve it. I wish him luck in getting there though.

I think however there is no reliable yardstick to measure "intention" which must always be subjective. We have been very open and transparent with what we do and are doing. For all I know, Phil has as well - I've not looked. I suggest that the only sensible route to gauging intention is to speak with each person and make an individual judgement. Comparisons here have no credibility.

[BrilloPad]

Well in that case I cannot help you.

Which means they are beyond help.

[webberg]

I hear it pays well.

But probably not as well as doing what we do via an accounting/legal firm?

Tax enquiry work, from answering simple questions to developing alternative analyses, is the preserve of managerial and above grades in professional practices.

Average hourly rate for this grade of professional?

Perhaps between £500 and £750. Let's call this £625.

Hours charged to clients in a year, somewhere between 1200 and 1500. Let's call this 1350.

Each client might use 5 hours a year.

So the price of helping 270 clients a year is £843,750 or £3,125 each.

Not all of that is income for the individual of course. However he/she might expect a quarter of that - £210,937.

Is that good pay for the effort expended? Probably.

Is that what we get for helping perhaps 10x that number of people? No.

After our staff salary bills, rent, training, overheads, we are not at that level.

If I really wanted to make money from this scenario, I would focus on the higher earners, have fewer staff, work in the sticks and do none of this public forum nonsense.

I choose not to for a number of reasons and you may wish to be cynical about those.

As I have demonstrated however, one of the reasons is not to become wealthy on the back of misery.