Churchill Knight & Boox clients being investigated as Managed Service Companies

[jamesbrown]

A recommendation regarding which persons within the first two categories should be issued with Transfer Notices and the reasons why"

This is the only sentence that hints at the decision by HMRC, but the broader context is distinguishing between 1/2 and 3 and I don't think it says, or even implies, equality of consideration.

We already know that there is broad scope to transfer debt and the reason for joint and several liability across this broad base was to prevent a debt going unpaid simply because the MSC could not pay it. Ability to pay will be a significant factor in their decision process. It is questionable whether CK and Boox will still be around when it gets to that stage and, even if they are, they are unlikely to have the required assets. Likewise the MSCs, so this will probably get punted to natural persons, either way. However, it's also worth noting that CBS didn't test the ability to transfer the debt further down the chain, even to an end client that promoted the use of a PSC/MSC in some way (e.g., by requiring that a PSC was used to engage), yet this cannot be ruled out.

As you say, it is hard to be confident, not least because the "ability to pay" will be a significant factor. It is clear that the MSC will be pursued first. Beyond that, I think it's reasonably safe to assume that the director(s) of the MSC will be pursued next, but that could be in combination with the MSCP too. There would be some degree of fairness in pursuing the MSCP for ErNI, but it doesn't really work like that.

[DealorNoDeal]

I doubt HMRC enforcement would even look at the MSCP until they've exhausted every possible avenue of recovering the debt from the MSCs or persons associated with the MSCs. They'd know it would be futile pursuing one company (the MSCP) for many multiples of debt.

[coolparty]

Hi everyone.

I have the 17/18 Reg 80 letter and recent NIC letter. Boox was my registered business address and I fear they have these additional 18/19 + 19/20 Reg 80 letters that everyone's talking about. Is anyone else in the same position and does anyone know how if there's a way of retrieving these? Worried that they're sitting in an empty Boox office which will mean I'll miss the appeal deadline.

[rdw1970]

Hi everyone.

I have the 17/18 Reg 80 letter and recent NIC letter. Boox was my registered business address and I fear they have these additional 18/19 + 19/20 Reg 80 letters that everyone's talking about. Is anyone else in the same position and does anyone know how if there's a way of retrieving these? Worried that they're sitting in an empty Boox office which will mean I'll miss the appeal deadline.

have you contacted Boox at [email protected]? I know they're no longer providing an accountancy service but the parent company TAAG is still trading so I doubt the office is completely shut and they surely still have some staff there to support the people caught up in this (you'd hope)

[GregRickshaw]

Hi everyone.

I have the 17/18 Reg 80 letter and recent NIC letter. Boox was my registered business address and I fear they have these additional 18/19 + 19/20 Reg 80 letters that everyone's talking about. Is anyone else in the same position and does anyone know how if there's a way of retrieving these? Worried that they're sitting in an empty Boox office which will mean I'll miss the appeal deadline.

There's not quite so much panic for the 18/19 and 19/20 letters, but if you have only just received your 17/18 letter, check the date of issue that's the only important date. If it's beyond April 24th 2022 then you are in the clear, if it is less than that then the amount if fully payable, and I'm surprised HMRC haven't followed it up, but then again nothing surprises me about this mess.

If your date of issue is before the deadline, get some specialist help as you have missed the 'stood over' appeal date.

[Lotok]

have you contacted Boox at [email protected]? I know they're no longer providing an accountancy service but the parent company TAAG is still trading so I doubt the office is completely shut and they surely still have some staff there to support the people caught up in this (you'd hope)

Send an AD01 form to Companies house, you can get it from their site. Change the address to your own. To do it online you need the auth code which I am guessing you do not have, but the printed version does not need that.

Once changed, you can request an Auth code and then register yourself for your submissions etc as well as have any future mail come to you. If you plan to close business, you can then do the DS01 as well.

In the meantime, you can also call HMRC and ask them to change the address they send any mail to. I had to do that as well and it was changed no problem. I now only have to be concerned with mail I missed prior to all of that.

[jofo]

Hi everyone.

I have the 17/18 Reg 80 letter and recent NIC letter. Boox was my registered business address and I fear they have these additional 18/19 + 19/20 Reg 80 letters that everyone's talking about. Is anyone else in the same position and does anyone know how if there's a way of retrieving these? Worried that they're sitting in an empty Boox office which will mean I'll miss the appeal deadline.

Yep i am in the same boat, except i haven't received the recent NIC letter. I have tried calling Limelight a number of times but the line just drops out after a few rings. So I ended up firing an email over to them specially about this, but had no answer from them as of yet. If i don't hear anything i'll pop down to boox's office and have a look if anyone is around. They're only 15 mins drive from me. Unfortunately that was one of the reasons why I went with them.

I have started the process of changing my registered office address, to give more confidence about receiving official letters. Hopefully my authorisation code will arrive in the next few days from companies house. I found an option to have that sent to my home address rather than the registered office.

[LTDBizDirector]

Impossible to get hold of Boox at all. Email fails ([email protected]), Insurers keep saying to get in touch with them because they can't give me information as it is managed by Boox. Insurers didn't even know about the clients being shipped off to another accountancy firm.


On a different note, any opinions greatly received as to choice of going with David Kirk or Qdos.

[antuk]

Send an AD01 form to Companies house, you can get it from their site. Change the address to your own. To do it online you need the auth code which I am guessing you do not have, but the printed version does not need that.

Once changed, you can request an Auth code and then register yourself for your submissions etc as well as have any future mail come to you. If you plan to close business, you can then do the DS01 as well.

In the meantime, you can also call HMRC and ask them to change the address they send any mail to. I had to do that as well and it was changed no problem. I now only have to be concerned with mail I missed prior to all of that.

So I did all this last year, and HMRC were updated online rather than over the phone, yet they have still sent letters to the old boox address. Im hoping they will stop soon!

[Lotok]

Maybe give them a call and ask any letters sent since you updated it be re-sent.