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

[pnr8uk]

I too received a demand to pay interest that has accrued since 20## with the original promoter IQ.

After listing the interest element owned they added the following...

"You are now required to bring the remaining payments of interest up to date. Provided you bring your account up to date by 12 February 2002, we will waive the right to any interest that was due on 5th April in years prior to 20##."

Clearly they are doing me a favour.

I spoke to HMRC this morning (already settled my tax affairs with them) to ask how come I am demanded for interest payments on these loans when clearly the law of the land / HMRC have deemed these loans as part of my earnings and taxed me accordingly. It was the first they have heard of this demand across their desk so said he would call back within 20 min.....yep he called back, again said that he was surprised IQ came out, sold the loans on and now demands are being sent out - no one else at HMRC has heard about this. He categorically stated these were not loans hence the recent change in legislation etc to tax us accordingly.

I asked would HMRC get involved as this is clearly some kind of scam - if the law states these are not loans then clearly someone is committing some kind of fraud in trying to convince me otherwise and get me to pay up. HMRC advised to seek legal representation as it is clear that these people need to prove these are loans, should be hard if the law states they are not.

So yes people, seek Legal Advise for a specialist solicitor.....I spoke to some big firm accountants they too said its a legal matter. Made some calls all day, not many general corporate solicitors new about Loan Charge/Schemes but offered to take my case on to look in to this (which means, to educate themselves) then write back to Gladstones Solicitors explaining why they dont have a legitimate claim based on the Loan Charge ruling etc......but as you expect come at a price....most were charging approx £500 to engage to write a letter only. Will cost more when things progress but bearing in mind this is all new to them so most of the cost involved will be to educate them.

Best find a solicitor which knows this area, if anyone is speaking to a solicitor firm that is clued up on Contractor Loan Schemes/Loan Charge and face off with these leeches please share. Rest assured I will still be making calls to find the right solicitor, if i do find one will share on here so more work the firm gets could potentially lower the cost for representation.

thought this was buried after entering settlement but these leeches do not die!

This is great advice, thank you. To add to this I have disputed the debt with Gladstone quoting FCA guidelines, this is common practice when you receive a debt request you are not aware of or have no knowledge of.

Like most of the posters in this thread I have settled with HMRC.

Digging a little further into Felictas and Gladstones. Felicitas are based in the Isle of Mann and no surprises here, in the same office block as Sanzar once were... I'm going to dig further but I suspect this is Sanzar and Garraway behind this in some way. Let's all stay in touch here.

[Wasim2]

Next steps regarding this letter from Gladstones

Could someone please advise on the next step. I read we may need to setup a fee structure. I am new to this forum. Will appreciate if someone can explain how this works.
Thanks

[DG705]

This is great advice, thank you. To add to this I have disputed the debt with Gladstone quoting FCA guidelines, this is common practice when you receive a debt request you are not aware of or have no knowledge of.

Like most of the posters in this thread I have settled with HMRC.

Digging a little further into Felictas and Gladstones. Felicitas are based in the Isle of Mann and no surprises here, in the same office block as Sanzar once were... I'm going to dig further but I suspect this is Sanzar and Garraway behind this in some way. Let's all stay in touch here.

Could you advise what FCA guidelines you quoted?

[DG705]

Have had the same letter

Spoken to my Accountant, who replied:

Gladstones are well known as a firm of solicitors who chase unpaid parking fines. This letter takes them to a new low, but is very serious.

You need legal advice. I have doubts about whether the trustees were acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries in assigning the loans. The authorities in the IOM may well get involved.

In parallel, a public interest approach may work. I would suggest that you alert your MP, IPSE, the SRA, and the BBC (Money Box). Obviously there will be thousands of contractors receiving similar letters.

[cojak]

Another Moderator’s Note

A word of warning Ladies and Gentlemen.

In the past we have had scheme advisors pretending to be punters caught up in this kind of mess.

Their modis operandi is to ask you to contact them using email away from the forum (either publicly or via PMs), and then try to persuade you to to drop proceedings/provide you with false information and certainly to stop posting negative things about the original scheme or the debt collectors (presumably to try and keep the brand ‘clean’).

Be aware of those who try this, test the waters of any WhatsApp group for this kind of thing happening.

And let the Mods know what is happening, we will deal with the forums our end without letting on who informed us.

[Trust Punisher]

Hi Guys,

Also received the same letter described yesterday. Sorry to hear more of you are having to deal with these morally bankrupt leeches.

I inadvertently used Darwin / IQ in 2012 - 2013.

I wrote back to Gladstone’s yesterday disputing the claim - await their response.

I asked for:
- a signed copy of the loan agreement
- details of how the Loan value and interest had been calculated
- details of how the alleged loans were transferred to Felicitas
- why, if they were genuine loans, I have not received statements or advice of interest / charges in any previous year (a legal requirement)
- why they feel they can threaten legal action now (in my case over 6 years later) which is beyond the statute of limitations as I understand it

In the meantime I plan to speak to Michal J Perry FCA who is knowledgeable on the scheme apparently. I am also speaking to Freeths later this morning to get a legal view.

Happy to post up what I establish later today.

I fail to see how any money can be owed but the HMRC declined to get involved stating it’s a private matter despite having asserted they were not loans when demanding income tax (which I settled years ago).

All in all this is seriously unsavoury. I fail to see how money can be owed on a loan when the HMRC determined it as income + any monies paid to me via what IQ described as a loan was pre-paid to them via my employer before any payments were made.

Will keep an eye on this thread for any further / useful advice you guys can share and will update you with my findings / advice received later on.

Best,

Matt

Matt, I am having trouble finding a solicitor who is clued up on this area if after speaking to Freeths you feel they are knowledgeable and can help in this area then please let us know as I too will then instruct them to reply.

thanks
TP

[Fred Bloggs]

A word of warning Ladies and Gentlemen.

In the past we have had scheme advisors pretending to be punters caught up in this kind of mess.

Their modis operandi is to ask you to contact them using email away from the forum (either publicly or via PMs), and then try to persuade you to drop proceedings/provide you with false information and certainly to stop posting negative things about the original scheme or the debt collectors (presumably to try and keep the brand ‘clean’).

Be aware of those who try this, test the waters of any WhatsApp group for this kind of thing happening.

And let the Mods know what is happening, we will deal with the forums our end without letting on who informed us.

Indeed, the number of first or very low post count messages should be ringing alarm bells very loud and clear here. Be careful and sceptical at all times.

[neveragain]

Would be good to know what you replied to them, perhaps we might all go down the same line

My reply to them was written in anger and stress so probably not the most coherent mail.

As someone has stated, very few, if any solicitors/lawyers, will have any experience in this, but I’ve asked a solicitor to see what they make of the letters I’ve got.

So, Gladstone’s seems to be a legitimate solicitors according to the law society website, google it and the SRA number:
Gladstones Solicitors Limited - The Law Society

Felicitas details:
https://opencorporates.com/companies/im/131081C
Online Services - Company Summary

Below are the points I made on my mail to them:

I’m disputing this
How the hell I’m supposed to pay this.
Where has this interest figure/charge come from as I have not been advised about any of this, and provide me proof of this.
How can you charge me for 5 years’ worth of interest when no-one has sent me anything about it. Ie you cannot charge interest on something you have not told anyone about.
If I decide to pay, how can you guarantee you or them won’t come back for more?

IQ have taken around 15% off my pay for their services and paid me the rest as a 'loan'. So their services have been paid already, and you’re/they’re asking for more of my wage?
In addition, this money was payment for services I carried out for a company. I advised Darwin who appointed a company called Wise Move who appointed IQ contracts to pay me for my services.
As tax has been paid on this ‘loan’, it can no longer be classed as loan.

Please respond asap.


IF i get a reply, i'll post it.

[hcr3001]

Even newer newbie!

I too have received this letter yesterday asking for a significant amount of interest by 12th Feb. Just had a sleepless night feeling that I'm being persecuted again! Feel somewhat relieved that there are others there with me. I have not responded to Gladstone yet, but worry the clock is ticking, so happy to join any group that hires legal assistance. Should I email a request for more information this morning?

[ab10]

Hi, I am new to this forum.

I too have received this letter yesterday asking for a amount of interest by 12th Feb.

Has anyone received correspondence/email from THL ( Trust Help Line) to provide help in releasing deed. Has anyone actually received Loan Release Deed and if anyone received,
Have they again contacted for payment of interest?