Reply to: Vanquish Options - Opinions? (AML/Knox related)

[cojak]

Anyone affected maybe interested in this

Thanks to all the #LoanCharge people who've sent me historic documentation and emails. The one gap I have is documents for the Vanquish Options scheme. Anyone who has this - please please get in touch.

https://x.com/danneidle/status/17415...lOYcM4KhSxfDyA

[me206et]

Best way to get in touch please.

Google will find them and contact details.

[RKG]

There are two advisers active here.

One is me (WTT) and the other is Phil at DSW.

A Google search will find us both.

Best way to get in touch please.

[webberg]

There are two advisers active here.

One is me (WTT) and the other is Phil at DSW.

A Google search will find us both.

[RKG]

PTS contact again!!!

I have been contacted by PTS again.
Can anyone please advise what to do. I really do not want to hear from them.

Today’s email below



Thank you for using the services of PTS Limited to register your interest with HMRC in a settlement under the terms of the Contractor Loan Settlement Opportunity (CSLO). We recently sent you an email outlining the settlement service we provide and advising you of the deadline for submission of the 30thSeptember.



We have not received your Letter of Engagement to-date and want to bring to your attention the need to take action as soon as possible due to the time involved in preparing and agreeing the settlement submission with you.



If you have not received our email outlining the services or the engagement letter please let us know and we can reissue for you. If you have received it, and have any questions or feedback in relation to the process, fees or timeframes please do let us know and we will see how we can help you.

For ease of reference and action, you can view the letter of engagement using this link



We can be contacted on 01624 639344 or [email protected]. Our turnaround being achieved at present is 48 hours maximum for email queries.


I’d rather look for an unbiased professional to help.
Should I just respond and say I do not need their services?

[RKG]

Don’t use PTS then

So they haven’t mentioned that they’ll expect 20% of any ‘savings’ then?

No they haven’t mentioned the 20% as you can see on their email.
I was referred to them last year by SP Management to complete my self assessment. I have been working as PAYE since January 2017, they charged £450 to do my self assessment. Basically nearly £500 to copy what was on
My P60 and send to HMRC. Easy money.

I definitely don't want anything to do with them.

Can I request the information from Knox house so I can look for an independent person to help? Will they give me the information as they’ll expect me to pay PTS whom they referred me to.

[cojak]

Am new here and this is my first post. I was hit by the email from Knox House some time ago with advice to get in touch with a company called PTS another called Vanquish Which I did out of panic. Got in touch with PTS
After reading others posts here I know I am not alone.

I just found out PTS and Vanquish share the same bank account where they are asking people like me to transfer £250 as a starter. Are they the same company.

This what I received from PTS


Dear...
Your interest in reaching a settlement with HMRC has now been registered for you. You will shortly receive a settlement pack from HMRC. You now have until the 30 September to decide if you wish to proceed with a settlement and by which date the settlement pack together with all information required has to be submitted to HMRC.



PTS Limited can undertake this work for you, gathering the necessary information and looking at each tax year involved and work with you to identify which loans and tax years you wish to settle. In addition they can undertake the preparation and submission, but most importantly the checking and verifying of HMRC calculations and negotiations regarding any payments due. Full details of how PTS can assist you is outlined in the Letter of Engagement.



The following documentation for your attention is available through the link below:



- Letter of Engagement – this sets out the services we can undertake, together with a breakdown of our fees.

- Privacy Notice



What you need to do next:



- Complete the Letter of Engagement using a digital signature, please click on the link

- Scan and email us your proof of Identity and Address. Accepted KYC can be viewed on Schedule B of the Engagement letter.

- Transfer £250 (plus VAT) engagement fee to the PTS bank account – the fee should be paid electronically to:



Santander UK Plc. Sort Code: <mod snip>. Account Number: <mod snip>.

Payment Reference: 3919-116 (your name)



What will happen next?

- You will be appointed a dedicated person to look after and work on your settlement

- Where we have a Letter of Authority we will begin to gather all information for you

- We will contact you to discuss your individual circumstances and the next steps



PTS can work with you to assist you with the settlement process and reviewing all options regarding your loans. We hope you will appoint us to act on your behalf and look forward to receiving your documentation. You may contact us either my email or by telephone if you have any questions or queries.



Kind regards,



PTS Settlements

So they haven’t mentioned that they’ll expect 20% of any ‘savings’ then?

PTS say are "collating" all the data on behalf of contractors and submitted to HMRC using the template from HMRC. They say they will send them all in at the end of Sept. They charge to collect date for each year in a scheme, and extra for each scheme. They do not add "value" until there are numbers back from HMRC, and then they want 20% of any savings. Having spoken to other advisers, they recommend submitting the paperwork yourself and then using a Tax adviser once there is something to discuss.

PTS say they have no experience of any settlements as they have not submitted any yet. That does not give me any confidence. Other firms have at least been there and done it!

I'm gathering what information I can to decide. Any other thoughts most welcome.

Recoemmend signing the petition against the Loan Charge:
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/218582

and encouraging your MP to sign up to the Early Day Motion (EDM)
https://www.parliament.uk/edm/2017-19/1239

[RKG]

PTS And Vanquish share same bank details

Am new here and this is my first post. I was hit by the email from Knox House some time ago with advice to get in touch with a company called PTS another called Vanquish Which I did out of panic. Got in touch with PTS
After reading others posts here I know I am not alone.

I just found out PTS and Vanquish share the same bank account where they are asking people like me to transfer £250 as a starter. Are they the same company.

This what I received from PTS


Dear...
Your interest in reaching a settlement with HMRC has now been registered for you. You will shortly receive a settlement pack from HMRC. You now have until the 30 September to decide if you wish to proceed with a settlement and by which date the settlement pack together with all information required has to be submitted to HMRC.



PTS Limited can undertake this work for you, gathering the necessary information and looking at each tax year involved and work with you to identify which loans and tax years you wish to settle. In addition they can undertake the preparation and submission, but most importantly the checking and verifying of HMRC calculations and negotiations regarding any payments due. Full details of how PTS can assist you is outlined in the Letter of Engagement.



The following documentation for your attention is available through the link below:



- Letter of Engagement – this sets out the services we can undertake, together with a breakdown of our fees.

- Privacy Notice



What you need to do next:



- Complete the Letter of Engagement using a digital signature, please click on the link

- Scan and email us your proof of Identity and Address. Accepted KYC can be viewed on Schedule B of the Engagement letter.

- Transfer £250 (plus VAT) engagement fee to the PTS bank account – the fee should be paid electronically to:



Santander UK Plc. Sort Code: <mod snip>. Account Number: <mod snip>.

Payment Reference: 3919-116 (your name)



What will happen next?

- You will be appointed a dedicated person to look after and work on your settlement

- Where we have a Letter of Authority we will begin to gather all information for you

- We will contact you to discuss your individual circumstances and the next steps



PTS can work with you to assist you with the settlement process and reviewing all options regarding your loans. We hope you will appoint us to act on your behalf and look forward to receiving your documentation. You may contact us either my email or by telephone if you have any questions or queries.



Kind regards,



PTS Settlements

[uksp]

It settles the loan, that's all ...

Hi,

I have also just received the dreaded email, i was with SP management for just over a year before realising what i had been sold and returning to LTD company. I had consigned this to history (it was from 2014-2015) but looks like it has come back now.

it has all hit home as a bit of a shock and just trying to figure out what to do? IF i settle with HMRC does it put all this to bed once and for all? Is the 'loan' still outstanding and does this need repaying or can it be written off?

A company recommended by these Yahoos certainly doesn't appeal but how do you get accurate information about your loan size to give to HMRC and should we do this?

Does the Loan charge apply if you settle with HMRC and what is Big Group?

Settlement to HMRC guidelines only settles your loan for the HMRC challenge for that period, that having been based upon the 'loan' figures then used. HMRC may or may not further challenge including again on that period and income/loan if they deem to do so further down the line, or indeed challenge other tax elements as well as apply further retrospective legislation in future. So settling this does not free you from other potential liabilities in that period or later.

[uksp]

Vanquish Options - They've been in touch ... I now have an opinion ...

.
Ok so here's where I am with Vanquish Option and my particular arrangement 'AML/AMLimited', 'Smartpay' and 'Knox House Trust' (IoM) that I had for several years.

Vanquish options called me and gave me the scenarios as follows (quoting their email ....)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thank you for taking the time to make contact and speak with us.

The Loan Charge, which will be brought in on the 6th of April next year, is unprecedented in its scope. Fortunately there are a number of options available to you. These options help to mitigate or eliminate the Loan Charge.

In summary, these are:
· Pay the “Loan Charge” by 31st of January 2020. This will typically cost 40-45% of the loan amount in tax; or
· Register for the “Contractor Loan Settlement Opportunity” before May 31st 2018 and make payments to HMRC within an agreed timescale. The timescale is usually 2-5 years from the date the settlement is agreed and typically will cost 25-35% of the loan sum in tax; or
· Repay your loan using our preferred loan repayment opportunity.

As indicated, your preferred option is the loan repayment opportunity, which enables your loan to be repaid before the April 6th 2019 deadline. This means that you should not be subject to the new Loan Charge legislation on this date. The arrangement will need to be completed in stages with implementation after the Pre Budget Report but before 6th April 2019.

For us to proceed, we need you to complete the Agreement Form linked here to provide authority to the planning provider(s) to provide us with the details of your loan(s) outstanding and to pay your initial fee of £250. Please note that the password for the link is xxxxx

This fee should be paid electronically to .... "
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The caller on the phone "Jack" was very precise and calm in what he would and wouldn't say.

I too said it sounds too good to be true and I think it is. Personally I think it's an opportunist set-up attempting to provide an arrangement to circumnavigate the immediate problem posed by HMRC and it's retrospective legislation, but I'm not saying that is a bad thing. I also recognise and have some concern of their IoM status, locality to AML and Knox House Trust (et al) as well as the fact they are 'newly formed'.

Note also that the words of the email are 'should' so at the outset they offer no guarantees. Furthermore the mentioned 'pre-budget report' may be a factor in determining if this approach will succeed or not. Any initial payment to Vanquish up to that point being non-refundable.

I suspect the best outcome of following this route is that you will handover a few thousand pounds to Vanquish Options for nothing more than a delay of a year or more (perhaps considerably more) until HMRC analyses the arrangement, see it as a 'dodge' and counter it. I expect the courts will fully support them in doing that.

Your personal situation will determine the best option for you, face-up to the debt and manage it via HMRC options, or go down the Vanquish Options route and forget about it for a while, perhaps.

Like all 'new' things maybe best to leave it a little longer until others have walked some way down that road to see where the potholes are and what the end outcome is likely to be, that's what I intend to do.

Finally - it's only money, mental health is more important, as well as the other good things in your life, if you feel troubled and somewhat 'lost' about all this, talk to a family member or a friend, get professional advice. Feel free to message me if you have no where else to turn, I can't solve your problem but I can offer an ear, "a problem shared..." and all that, and a brew maybe

If it's truly bad for you an IVA arrangement or Bankruptcy will end it for sure, yes you'll have to rebuild from that but it's not the darkness it's so often advocated to be these days and you won't be alone in the contracting community if you do indeed have to go there, lots are caught by this retrospective ruling and many won't be able to pay or will ignore it until it's too late, simply ignoring HMRC, especially further down the line, I strongly advise against.

[webberg]

How could it be connected to their employment?

A bit like how "connection" is measured between individuals and tax personalities (companies, LLPs) they are part of, in a very wide manner, the rules in Part 7A have wide application.

The rules there are also (arguably) tax avoidance law and that is to be read widely.

Therefore as the rules generally apply to "any arrangements" it's entirely possible that a payment directed to a third party which is a charity would be seen as arising from an employment. After all, where did the funds come from which led to the donation?

[webberg]

What if the trust had complete discretion over what they did with the funds and was not "earmarked" for anyone particular, just the class of beneficiary that the trust was established to benefit?

You need to step back and think about that position.

Is it really the case that all the funds paid to a trust are thrown into a pot and the trustees then apply a discretion on how to distribute?

If so, is it just coincidence that each time this happens, you receive your gross invoiced value, less salary and fees?

The "not earmarked for an individual" feature is something commonly seen in what is sometimes called a "remuneration trust". I'm not sure that there is any magic in the name nor in fact in its operation. Rather in many we have seen, they operate just the same as an EBT or a contractor loan scheme.

In my opinion, if tested in Court, I think a Judge would place more weight upon the facts than the documents.

[kentishlad]

Vanquish dont seem to be answering the phone any longer. Just wondering did anyone else find the same thing?

They wont answer the phone.. they ring you back... another colleague has just mentioned hes been caught by this and will be using their services (another loan to pay the loan total madness)

[pateen]

Vanquish dont seem to be answering the phone any longer. Just wondering did anyone else find the same thing?

[Loan Ranger]

Earmarking it for another beneficiary would mean that the other beneficiary would get a tax charge if it was connected to their employment.

How could it be connected to their employment?