FYI: Sneaky fee increase by SJD

[billybiro]

Apparently, the company closure fee quietly went up 50%, from £300+VAT to £450+VAT, in late 2017. When I asked whether it is appropriate to raise fees without a prominent notice - even Sky warns me about a £1.01 broadband rate hike - I got the following response.

"As for the closure fee, we don’t normally send a notice if there is a fee change in relation to any of the additional services we provide, as they are not included in our monthly fee. The price for any additional service is quoted as and when the additional service is requested and all current prices are listed on our website".

Not cool, SJD, not cool.

Simple response.

Don't pay their fees. When they come chasing you for payment simply explain to them that you're having a moratorium on supplier payments and that "we don’t normally send a notice if there is a change in relation to any of the payments we make".

Two can play at that game!

[malvolio]

So you told them you didn't require their services anymore, stopped your DD at a year end and they prepared your final accounts in a timely manner ? ie. it would be after the year end. When I closed Ltds before I then received a big bundle with all my receipts and stuff, I'm thinking this doesn't apply anymore with it all being online scans !?

I left them at tax year end, not company one. However I was still trading, just switching to using an accountant that does the job properly, so no other work needed.

[Darren at Fox-Bartfield]

SJD

Does anybody know how much SJD/NW charge you to move over to another accountant ? I presume there has to be some contact between them and a new accountant !?

Shouldn't cost a penny.....we've taken on a few and they've not been charged to move.

[DolanContractorGroup]

Does anybody know how much SJD/NW charge you to move over to another accountant ? I presume there has to be some contact between them and a new accountant !?

Shouldn't cost you anything! you give notice in the month you wish to leave and that should be the last fee due. I would imagine there closure cost increase would be to bring them in line with the rest of the group.

Hope that helps.

[rootsnall]

Didn't cost me anything. Mind you. I wasn't sure they noticed I'd left, given they kept submitting the RTI returns to HMRC...

So you told them you didn't require their services anymore, stopped your DD at a year end and they prepared your final accounts in a timely manner ? ie. it would be after the year end. When I closed Ltds before I then received a big bundle with all my receipts and stuff, I'm thinking this doesn't apply anymore with it all being online scans !?

[malvolio]

Does anybody know how much SJD/NW charge you to move over to another accountant ? I presume there has to be some contact between them and a new accountant !?

Didn't cost me anything. Mind you. I wasn't sure they noticed I'd left, given they kept submitting the RTI returns to HMRC...

[rootsnall]

Does anybody know how much SJD/NW charge you to move over to another accountant ? I presume there has to be some contact between them and a new accountant !?

[Maslins]

To my mind it's cheeky, but from a hard nosed business perspective it makes sense. Once you're at the stage you want to close, it'd be daft to change accountant. No "new" accountant would realistically want to take a client on at that stage.

As an aside, MVLO had an ex SJD client approach us for a liquidation, as they'd been quoted £1,995 (plus bits) by SJD insolvency, and our fee is £995 (plus bits). We said great, we could help. SJD then basically said they'd need to charge the client an extra £1,000 accountancy fees due to all the extra work required dealing with MVLO instead of their in house liquidator (utter BS IMHO). As in my opening para, business-wise and ignoring having any moral compass, good profit making model. However it left an extremely sour taste in my mouth.

[Fred Bloggs]

You need to vote with your feet. The last two companies that I closed there was no additional charge levied. Why should there be? You already paid for the accounts to be prepared and it takes two minutes to fill in a DS01 and send it off.

[Waldorf]

That seems quite a hefty fee for hardly any work. What exactly do they say they do for this? The annual accounts are part of their standard service so apart from passing the details over to the insolvency practice, there is nothing extra to do.

Even less justification if you are just closing and not liquidating.

Might be worth investigating what their sister companies (Nixon Williams, Clearsky) charge for the same ‘service’.

[MrButton]

FYI: Sneaky fee increase by SJD

Price hikes are annoying. Especially 50% !.... But why would you expect them to tell you?

Did Sky write to you and tell you about some other service (you don’t currently have) has gone up in price too?

Probably not. They tell you when your service price is changing. As expected.

Not sure there is a difference.

Edit - This is a useful thread for SJD customers to know about the hike.

[demyan1]

Apparently, the company closure fee quietly went up 50%, from £300+VAT to £450+VAT, in late 2017. When I asked whether it is appropriate to raise fees without a prominent notice - even Sky warns me about a £1.01 broadband rate hike - I got the following response.

"As for the closure fee, we don’t normally send a notice if there is a fee change in relation to any of the additional services we provide, as they are not included in our monthly fee. The price for any additional service is quoted as and when the additional service is requested and all current prices are listed on our website".

Not cool, SJD, not cool.