Reply to: CrystalUmbrella & Tax- help

[Calidris]

It gets worse !

quote from an email communication from No Longer on 26th March:

".... the partners agreed to cease the partnership in April 2008 ...."

How can you dissolve a partnership yet partners be unaware of this for nearly 12 months ?

Can you trust these people ? I'm sure I don't.

[MrBluesky]

You're not alone

Hi,

I and 2 other colleagues are in a similar position.

Although I'm not that worried about paying the tax bill myself (in principle) I have a serious issue of how they can charge for a service they have simply not provided?

The service offered was perfect for my needs, however this is not the service they have provided, by a considerable margin.

I am not sure of the legalities, but some serious questions come to mind.

I am hoping that NLL / Crystal make a serious offer of compensation / refund of charges for services not provided....

[Crystal Umbrella Services]

Crystal Umbrella Services

Crystal Umbrella - Statement

We thought is best to interject at this point with some accurate information as to the reasons behind the sudden change in processing methods for the old No Longer Limited Liability Partnership.

We have for just over a year now been working with the HMRC in attempting to get our unique model of LLP approved as an MSC proof way of trading by the HMRC and Treasury. However at the last minute the HMRC decided that with our model being unique and nothing to compare against it was best to revert back to old style processing. This means that the HMRC were not willing to accept direct PAYE tax payments from us on your behalf, instead the tax payments had to come from you the individual.

Since having this confirmation just a few weeks ago we have worked tirelessly on an alternative solution which we will be announcing and launching very soon. However in the mean time we are currently processing PAYE tax payments into workers accounts so that individual payments can be made. Its just very unfortunate that our plans were altered without notice so close to the year end and now we are having to reconcile accounts faster than anticipated.

We apologise sincerely if you feel we have let you down, however we stand by our promise that all payments will be made and compensation payments will be made where needed and necessary.

I can assure you all that Crystal Umbrella Services are not in financial difficulty or unwilling to make the PAYE tax payments, we are working through them as quickly as we possibly can. If you are experiencing a longer delay than originally anticipated it may indicate that we are having difficulty fully reconciling your account, which could be due to funds being owed to us by your agency / client.

I would urge that anyone still outstanding a payment that has not already received prior notification as to when it is to be resolved to contact us immediately so we can look into your individual case.

Worried, Cito & Friends
If you would all like to contact Crystal Umbrella Services outside of this public forum to have each of your individual cases answered we will be more than happy assist you.

If you would like to contact me directly on 0800 848 8888 or email your name and contact details to [EMAIL="scott.illingworth@crystalumbrella.com"] and we will look into your enquiry immediately and provide you with and answer.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion and doubt to our intentions

Kindest regards

Scott Illingworth
Director of Sales & Marketing
Crystal Umbrella Services Limited

[worried]

Cito did you get any more info on this? I am in same position as you. LLP but tax and ni taken at source and I have the payslips to prove it. Not got the tax demand letters yet as away o/s but no doubt they will be waiting for me when i get home. What a nightmare. Are Crystal still trading? Or has this umbrella folded (sorry, awful pun)

[cito]

I and my two colleagues are in the same position as the OP. We are all with No Longer Limited/Crystal under their old LLP solution. Our tax was deducted at source and has been paid by NLL for the last two years.

This year they made a decision in isolation not to make the payments to HMRC as they had previously but never thought to notify their clients of this change in policy until we all received our Final demands for the Jan deadline.

Between the three of us that I know of locally they have £30k of our tax funds and despite being promised two weeks ago that they would send us this money to allow us to pay HMRC ourselves we are still waiting.

I have contacted their director, CS etc but to no avail.

Can anyone please advise us whether they can legally hold our tax funds and how we might force them to transfer our money back to us as they have now stated we have to pay HMRC? Is there a regulatory body or ombudsman for example?

Many thanks.

[Ardesco]

I think you need 5 posts to be able to PM now, or something like that. I'm sure an admin/mod will clarify

[Calidris]

mlwtwin, why don't you turn on Private Messaging like cojak suggested ?

Could be important !

[Calidris]

I have had the same letter and am fully confident that the guys at NLL know what they are doing, not failed me yet.

Maloty, you seem to be saying that (like others) you heard only recently that NLL missed the 31st Jan. tax deadline for you, incurring interest and also missing the 28th February 5% penalty date. Yet you think they haven't failed you !

With a definition of failure like this, I suspect you are a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland remuneration committee (yes, the group that approved Sir Fred Goodwin's pension) !

Cojak, no, it's not a Limited Company, it's a Limited Liability Partnership. But obviously there are similarities, not just that they are both registered at Companies House.

[cojak]

However if you are an Umbrella customer, no worries as Crystal are classed as your employer so it will be them that get fined for late payment not you..

I suspect that you have a Ltd company, Maloty, otherwise think on...

So these umbrella companies have taken your money that's due to the tax man to probably pay another contractor, and you wouldn't not bothered or worried by that?

What about the rest of your money?

Do you still have access to that, I wonder?

Good luck with that one....

[Maloty]

Umbrella or LLP

I really do not know what to do with the current situation with my umbrella company - Crystal Umbrella. They have not paid my end of year tax. it looks like none of the contractors have and I have final demands. They have said that they will transfer the money back so I can then pay HMRC.......

Any help appreciated.

Depends whether your an Umbrella customer or an old LLP customer as No longer Limited (Crystal's original company name) offered 2 solutions before the MSC legislative changes, which meant Crystal was opened to manage Umbrella business and NLL remained just LLP customers.

I suspect from the comments you made, you are an LLP customer which means your contract would still be with No Longer Limited as is mine.

I have had the same letter and am fully confident that the guys at NLL know what they are doing, not failed me yet.

However if you are an Umbrella customer, no worries as Crystal are classed as your employer so it will be them that get fined for late payment not you..

[cojak]

Bluddy Hell - not another thread about scammy umbrellas...!

Get PM rights Chaps and then dive in under the radar - I expect a threatening post by said SU to appear in the next day or so...

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

That's what I thought and that's what has happend the last 2 years, but now they are saying they can't pay direct for me and need me to do it..... I have asked for details on the legislation change... fuming!!!

Can you confirm that you have had regular payslips from Crystal which show that deductions have been made for income tax and national insurance?

[Svalbaard]

tax and NI have been deducted at source and paid directly to their Cayman Island bank accounts each month.

[mlwtwin]

BTW, I have no other income... I have used them for a couple of years, spoke to 3 other guys I know use them and they have the same problem.

[mlwtwin]

That's what I thought and that's what has happend the last 2 years, but now they are saying they can't pay direct for me and need me to do it..... I have asked for details on the legislation change... fuming!!!