Frequently Asked Questions

Tax Refunds through UNISON

 

 

 

 

 

Q Who are The Tax Refund Company (TRC)?

A Operated by Personal Taxation Services Limited, we are the UK’s No.1 tax refund specialists. We have already saved taxpayers over £50 million through tax refunds and future savings through altered tax codes. We have over 500,000 individual clients, and work with many of the top organisations in the UK.

 


Q Can’t I get a refund myself and not use the TRC?

A Yes. But that presupposes that you know exactly which areas to look at, how each tax allowance should have been applied, and what questions to ask the Inland Revenue. You must also know the answers the Revenue give are correct, which may not always be the case. If you do manage to get yourself a refund, how do you know you have got everything you should have got? You may have missed out on a large refund that only a professional tax expert would notice.

 

Q What do I need to do?

A Complete the questionnaire on the back of your letter and return it to the TRC. We will assess the information and if we believe that you may be due a refund, we will write to you for more information to substantiate a claim. We will also ask you to sign the forms that allow us to act as your agent, and instruct the Revenue to send your cheque to a nominee solicitor. You should treat this request as a priority and return the forms as quickly as possible. If we require any more information, we will write to you again.

 

Q How long does the process take?

A Obviously every case is different, but the whole process normally takes between 2 – 12 months, depending on how quickly you reply to our information requests. Once we submit a claim to the Tax Office, we’ll write and tell you. Depending on the Tax Office handling your claim, it normally takes between 1-3 months to complete simple claims and anywhere from 3 – 12 months for more detailed ones. Some complex cases take longer to win, but if we believe you’re owed money, we’ll do everything in our power to recover it for you. At all times, we’ll be monitoring the progress of your claim and approximately every 5-6 weeks, a reminder is automatically sent to the Tax Office.

 

Q Can I contact you by telephone?

A Yes, but please make sure you have read this FAQ paper FULLY BEFORE CALLING, otherwise your case will be delayed unnecessarily. The helpline number is 0845 058 2200. At times of peak calls, you may have to leave a message and we’ll return your call within 48 hours or the 2nd business day. Please be aware that we’ll only be able to return your call once, so in the event that we return your call and are unable to speak with you or leave a message, you’ll have to call us again.

 

Q What if I can’t find all the information you request?

A Don’t worry. Provide what information you can but in every case, you must return our forms. We’ll do our best to process your claim with the information you have provided.

 

Q Do I have to send original wage slips and P60s?

A It helps speed up your claim if we have your original latest P60, although a copy of your payslip is acceptable. If we submit a claim to the Tax Office, they require your original P60, so by having it on file, it avoids any unnecessary delay. In all cases, your original documentation will be returned to you. NB. It is advisable to copy any document you send to us in case you need it.

 

Q This assessment looks at the last 6 years including the current year. I’ve only worked for the company for a short time. Is it still worth me applying for the assessment?

A Yes. If you have paid tax at any time in the last 6 years, it’s worth you taking the assessment.

 

Q Why might I be due a refund?

A You may not have claimed all the tax allowances you could have claimed during the last 6 years. If you didn’t know they exist and how they apply to your personal circumstances, you’re unlikely to have claimed them.

 

Q Isn’t 40% a bit expensive?

A Without using this service, you’re unlikely to recover any tax you may be owed, so you should look at this as 60p in the pound gained, not 40p in the pound lost. What’s more, there’s no risk. Consider the alternatives: -

* You can contact the Tax Office yourself, but you’ll need to know exactly which allowances you are and have been entitled to and when each allowance should have been applied. If you do manage to get a refund, how do you know it’s correct? You may have missed another refund that only a professional tax expert would notice;
OR
* Your can pay an accountant to do it, (at least £100-£150), whether or not you get a refund. You could pay them and then find you owe tax! If your case becomes complex, or the Revenue starts asking for lots of information, the accountants’ fee will rise very quickly.

 

Q How can you assess my tax situation when you’re only asking a few questions?

A The process is designed to work in a simple, easy to follow manner. The first questionnaire you complete picks up on the main areas of interest and having reviewed your answers, we’ll ask you for more information in the areas of potential claim identified. Depending on your answers to these further questions, we may need to write to you again to clarify certain details, but over a period of time, we’ll gather the information necessary to decide whether or not you’re due a refund.

 

Q I need my P60 / wage slips back. How do I get them?

A Write to us quoting your national insurance number, name and full postal address and stating the date you need the documents by and we’ll return the documents ASAP. However, please be aware that if we’ve submitted the documents to the Tax Office, we’ll have to wait until they return them to us before we can send them to you.

 

Q It appears you are asking me the same questions more than once, why?

A There are occasions when the answers given to a question don’t actually tell us what we needed to know, so we’ve devised a method of asking for the required information in several different ways allowing us to get the correct details. If we didn’t do this, there’s a greater chance that the Tax Office will question the claim causing unnecessary and significant delays in processing it, or that we’d be unable to submit a claim due to lack of information.

 

Q I’ve sent in all my information and I haven’t heard anything?

A Between now and a claim being submitted to the Tax Office, we’ll be in regular contact, but if you haven’t heard anything for over 3 months and you’d like a progress report, you can call our telephone helpline. Once we’ve submitted a claim for you we’ll update you approximately every two months, until the Tax Office completes the case. We’ll also be writing to the Tax Office with reminders until they complete your case. Remember, we don’t get paid until we’ve secured your refund!

 

Q What if I am not due a refund?

A We’ll write and tell you that according to the information you have supplied, you’re not owed a refund and at the same time, we’ll return any documents you sent to us.

 

Q How will I know if I’ve got a refund?

A You’ll receive a copy of the computations from your Tax Office, either before or at the same time as we do. It normally takes 14 – 21 days before you receive your cheque as cheques are sent to us from a different Tax processing office to the computations. We normally dispatch cheques to you within 1 week of receipt.

 

Q Can I download the form on-line now?

A Yes. The form is ready for you here.