Average tax bill set to increase in 2022/23

The number of people complaining to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs about companies claiming tax repayments on their behalf has more than tripled in two years, a Money Box investigation has discovered.

These complaints are focussed on what are called “deeds of assignment”, which allow companies to without the knowledge or permission of customers,

Tax refund experts, RIFT Tax Refunds, explain more.

CEO of RIFT Tax Refunds, Bradley Post, commented:

“A deed of assignment is a legal document that is used when a person wishes to assign rights and benefits detailed in an agreement to another person or party. In this case, the ability for a tax refund company to receive any and all overpaid tax, regardless of whether the refund company identified and helped secure the refund, thereby causing a lot of anger and frustration for the taxpayer

It’s currently under scrutiny as part of HMRC’s consultation and these latest figures suggest why, as a deed of assignment should only be used in the most unique of cases. A 64-8 Authorising Your Agent form is more than enough in the vast majority of cases, allowing your tax refund company to talk to HMRC on your behalf about your tax records.

In fact, at RIFT Tax Refunds, we would use a deed of assignment in less than one per cent of cases, for example, when supporting a vulnerable customer who is keen to receive funds immediately.

Unfortunately, as with all industries, there are those that put their profit margins before the welfare of their customers and this is evident as there simply shouldn’t be such a high volume of complaints concerning a deed of assignment.

It’s no wonder that HMRC has made these documents a focus of its consultation into the tax refund sector and we welcome tougher legislation preventing their wider use against the will of the consumer.

If you think you may have a deed of assignment in place, any refund entity worth its salt should allow you to change your mind right up until their application is submitted and they should also only ever review the tax years requested, without locking you in for future refunds.

As is the case in many scenarios, never sign the paperwork until you’ve had a thorough read and have understood the implications. If you’re not sure, you’re well within your rights to ask or to consult an independent third party on the matter.”