IQ Consultants, Felicitas Solutions, ECS Trustees - loan repayment demands

[TakenAlongForaRide]

Has anyone reached out to these people directly? Phone numbers etc are on their website and their employees are on linked in.

Felicitas – Structuring is our business. https://www dot felicitas dot solutions/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/felicitas-group/

How can they honestly request repayment on money they never actually went out. all our wages went directly to them and they paid us back minus their cut, and now they demand a repayment like it was a legit loan we took out?! They are doing a money grab, and will prob rinse and repeat. The more they sell the loan on the more they distance themselves from this crime and dilute the truth of what actually happened here.

We need media involvement, we need the government to help, this will not stop here, they will keep reinventing themselves, last year they tried their scam online by emailing us, and now they stepped it up with letters to our houses with shady lawyers getting involved.

Some more digging, Felicitas were formerly known as Quinton international, and the owner and CEO is ADRIAN SACCO, a name that has already came up in this forum if you do a quick google search. Here is the cached profile for him from their old website which is no longer online

ADRIAN SACCO
Known as just “Sacco” to friends, colleagues and clients, Adrian Sacco is a British-Maltese dual national with approaching 30 years’ experience in offshore and onshore trust and tax work.

A qualified trust and estate practitioner, Sacco spent much of his early career devising successful tax planning products for well-known financial institutions, including what has become the most widely-used inheritance tax saving product, now used successfully by many thousands of taxpayers.

Since 2003 Sacco has been involved in a number of consultancy and service based business interests, including a very successful remuneration planning business co-founded in 2010 with Morris Hazell. His main focus is on private client work, specialising in trust, tax and succession advice to wealthy individuals and trustees, as well as non-tax driven work including planning for vulnerable individuals.

As well as heading Quinton’s management team, Sacco continues to devise innovative solutions designed to help clients effectively retain and control as much as possible of their wealth.

[DealorNoDeal]

Some more digging, Felicitas were formerly known as Quinton international, and the owner and CEO is ADRIAN SACCO, a name that has already came up in this forum if you do a quick google search. Here is the cached profile for him from their old website which is no longer online

ADRIAN SACCO
Known as just “Sacco” to friends, colleagues and clients, Adrian Sacco is a British-Maltese dual national with approaching 30 years’ experience in offshore and onshore trust and tax work.

A qualified trust and estate practitioner, Sacco spent much of his early career devising successful tax planning products for well-known financial institutions, including what has become the most widely-used inheritance tax saving product, now used successfully by many thousands of taxpayers.

Since 2003 Sacco has been involved in a number of consultancy and service based business interests, including a very successful remuneration planning business co-founded in 2010 with Morris Hazell. His main focus is on private client work, specialising in trust, tax and succession advice to wealthy individuals and trustees, as well as non-tax driven work including planning for vulnerable individuals.

As well as heading Quinton’s management team, Sacco continues to devise innovative solutions designed to help clients effectively retain and control as much as possible of their wealth.

Aye, I bet it was very successful for them.

[Scrogbank]

WTT Statement on IQ Consultants, IQ Contracts, Garraway Ltd, Darwin and Sanzar.
We have become aware that the loans that claim to emanate from the above schemes from late 2012 onwards have apparently passed into the hands of Felicitas Solutions Ltd. As a result many users of the above arrangements have received letters from Gladstones Solicitors (“Gladstones”) of Knutsford acting on behalf of Felicitas Solutions Ltd (“Felicitas”) of Ramsay Isle of Man.

The letter from Gladstones and Felicitas offers no proof that the rights claimed actually exist. It is the opinion of WTT that all recipients of these letters conduct a thorough amount of due diligence as to the bona fides of the claimed transactions. This can be raised with Felicitas directly. Their address is Felicitas Solutions Ltd, 8 Auckland Terrace, Parliament St, Ramsay, Isle of Man, IM8 1AF. Their email is [email protected] More information on the company can be found here Online Services - Company Summary

Felicitas also states that they are registered with the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading. The website of that organisation is here Isle of Man Government - Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading and we suggest that they would be an impartial body from who to seek advice if you consider that necessary.

WTT is of the view that unless you have agreed a formal settlement with HMRC under the terms of the announcement made in November 2017 (CLSO 2), then a write off of the alleged loan may be a taxable event at the time of the write off. We, therefore, strongly urge you to take appropriate professional advice as to whether tax may be due in the event of a write off.

WTT is undertaking work on behalf of those clients who used the above arrangements and will be responding directly on their behalf and working with the relevant IOM authorities. For obvious reasons we are unable to share the full details here. If you wish to enquire into these actions and/or join that action, please contact us on [email protected] alternatively we recommend you take appropriate professional advice before making any payments or indeed liaising with Gladstones.

Are WWT able to advise whether these schemes have ever been declared illegal?

[UnhappyRed]

And the rest of the Quinton team

Found this in the paradise papers. Shows all the names registered for Quinton who are still at same address in Malta as Felicitas

QUINTON TRUST (MALTA) LIMITED | ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database

[corsair]

Gladstones solicitors....

Has anyone looked up the address on the covering letter on google maps...

It’s weird as fek. It’s a golf course!


Gladstone’s solicitors
The terrace
High Leigh park golf club
Warrington road
Knutsford
WA16 6AA

How can that be an address of a solicitors? There’s no obvious sign of any offices except the golf course. Anyone local care to comment?

[cherries]

I too have had a letter and sent an e-mail to Gladstone's disputing the whole matter. I would like to thank you all your hard work and will help if I can.

[78paul]

Hi all,

I was wondering, what is classed as 'Engaging' with them... Is the Dispute email I want to send to Gladstone's classed an engagement?

JayBoogieToday;
You mention Gareth Griffiths, I remember him from IQ and email correspondence from him in the past... If I knew then, what I know now....

I have seen some really good threads and people have already started to do many actions. How many of us our there?
We need as many people as possible to combat this, fight it and win it!...

Paul

[JayBoogieToday]

Hi all,

I was wondering, what is classed as 'Engaging' with them... Is the Dispute email I want to send to Gladstone's classed an engagement?

JayBoogieToday;
You mention Gareth Griffiths, I remember him from IQ and email correspondence from him in the past... If I knew then, what I know now....

I have seen some really good threads and people have already started to do many actions. How many of us our there?
We need as many people as possible to combat this, fight it and win it!...

Paul

I caveat my blurbs by not being a lawyer and many a smart person will soon shoot me down for my narrow view but let them. I sent a response to Gladstone's disputing the interest and I did this to THL and Dor Resolutions, every email I send I CC the counter avoidance team at HMRC to help them. Adrian Sacco I have sent his details to the IOM FCA today who sent me a list of 10 questions to start his investigation.... I think I will be busy this week sending responses and evidence.

I have had the same advice as Matt from 2 solid barristers in the city so they could be wrong as well but I need to chose a plan and go with it right? this blurb echoes my thoughts as well --- sorry to the owner of this site its a long response.

I spoke to Michael Perry (a really helpful accountant with significant experience in these matters) this morning, in his view:

- dispute or ignore it
- Felicitas have bought bad debt and are now employing Gladstone's (Ambulance Chasers) to scare people into paying
- unlikely to go to court and, if it did, they are highly unlikely to be successful as they would have to prove it was a loan
- HMRC have already proven it’s income (disguised remuneration, not a loan) according to UK Law so have taken payment for the owed tax value as income tax
- may still potentially be a future issue with HMRC for inheritance tax (if you were in an EBT scheme) but no action required on that unless HMRC contact you about it - in which case he is arranging a group response so cost to contest would be minimal.

I also just spoke to Freeths who are fantastic. They echoed the points above and suggested I just dispute it. They do not believe they have a legal basis on which to claim payment of interest or capital given I can evidence the company that paid me the income (IQ Contracts LTD / disguised remuneration) have in fact already received the funds from the company I contracted for in return for the work I delivered - so they are not out of pocket and have done nothing that would suggest I have a debt to them.


I have the tax paid out the way so just going hell for leather to sort any legal problem. I approached HMRC myself to deal with my settlement as I couldn't afford an accountant at the time. Maybe I should have waited to see how it all pans out with the loan legislation but I just thought end one part of it... shoot me down people if you like.

[Wazza1882]

This is awesome and a touch reassuring. But, one question I have...

If and it’s a big IF they can prove it was a loan, who do we claim our income from in a court? IQ? They’re dissolved. The trust? They didn’t employ us.

I’m not sure if we’re screwed in this regard or I am missing something.

[JayBoogieToday]

This is awesome and a touch reassuring. But, one question I have...

If and it’s a big IF they can prove it was a loan, who do we claim our income from in a court? IQ? They’re dissolved. The trust? They didn’t employ us.

I’m not sure if we’re screwed in this regard or I am missing something.

Again expecting a cream pie thrown in my face by a contract law expert - I'll ping you a private message as I am sure there are promoters on here willing to throw the pie. I am going the route of HMRC happy surely a judge will see through the mud. I am probably naive but hey make it a pecan pie as I hate cream.