Is this a scam?

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Posting here for traffic. My husband dropped into conversation this afternoon that he is due a refund of £865 due to a tax rebate through a claim company called Family Finance Plus. I’d received a text that morning from the same company, suggesting I could be a tax rebate and to reply with a convenient time for them to call me back. I deleted it as assumed it was a scam. I pay tax via my employer on PAYE. My husband does too. Neither of us are self employed.
when I asked about the company he said they contacted him via email and he responded. He is step 3 into the 5 step process. Step5 is receiving the money into his account. I was immediately suspicious and asked what details he had given out. He has sent them a photo of his passport and last 3 months of payslips. He hasn’t given them any bank details.

I went on to register with action fraud to report it, but then found the company online. I called them and they seemed a legitimate company. The lady said they obtain details via other marketing referrals or by previous clients. My husband had given them my name and number hence the text this morning. The company is registered as HAP communications on companies house. I feel satisfied now that he hasn’t sent his details on to a Nigerian call centre who will be taking a large loan out in his name!
However, how would my husband be due £865 (this is minus their 30% fee!). If he pays via his salary, wouldn’t it be correct? How common is it to be overpaid in this instance? I looked at how you do this ourselves via HMRC to avoid the fee, but it means filling out a self assessment form. I thought this was only done if self employed??
I do file for rebates for professional subscriptions, uniform laundering costs and working from home myself via government gateway, but how common is it to pay too much tax via your employer??

I am hoping others may have more knowledge than I do 🙂

Definitely a scam. Contact HMRC direct. And hope he's not signed anything!

Scam

It's HMRC you need to call, not the potential scam company!

It’s something you can do yourself but they take a fee to do it for you. Avoid

100% scam

www.which.co.uk/news/article/owed-a-tax-rebate-beware-the-companies-that-charge-up-to-half-to-claim-it-for-you-apc2O0F7O8xW

I had a thread about this myself last week with a company could Brooksdale.
I got a letter to say I was due a tax rebate of £35 but Brooksdale would take £18!
Couldn't figure it out.
Basically years ago I had done my own ppi claims. One of the banks had sent me a form to sign and return.
Unknown to me in the tiny tiny small print. Any claim which led to an over payment then of tax would be reclaimed through a 3rd party.
HRMC and Brooksdale told me literally the same thing.
Brooksdale want my NI number and bank details. Brooksdale can jump.

Why would HMRC pay another organisation to administer tax refunds? They do it themselves, by letter. PAYE people normally get sorted via future pay through tax code adjustments.

Your husband has been scammed. He has provided the ‘company’ with important identity documents. Please contact Action Fraud right away.

It isn't a scam and this isn't fraud

What it is though is a company who will probably whip half of what they can get for him. Something he could get himself with no cost

So he's been pretty foolish and should stop it all if he can

HMrC don’t pay other companies. I know this. Other companies provide a service to do what most people can do themselves, and some are legitimate. There are rebate companies out there. It’s the same as PPI claim companies. I have set an account up to report this to action fraud as a precaution, but the company does seem legitimate as it is registered. Do bogus companies register with companies house? Perhaps they do? I just can’t see where they have plucked a figure of £865 as like a previous reply said, I though refunds were process via adjusted tax codes?

No, not a scam. Not the most efficient way for him to claim overpaid tax, but not a scam.

The lady said they obtain details via other marketing referrals or by previous clients

How would previous marketers or clients know "details" of your DH's tax position - unless he's been daft enough to discuss it with them too?

Unfortunately he's just given away some very sensitive information, so you definitely need advice on how to protect yourself against ths being used

They've plucked the figure out of thin air to entice him. In reality HMRC adjust PAYE tax in real time these days. The only amendments to his PAYE would be child benefit if he's perhaps paying tax in it due to being a high earner, or the covid working from home allowance (and that was literally a tick the box on the HMRC website, submit your NI number and wait for your cheque).

I bet when he gets to stage 5 he'll find the amount is not what he thinks.

HMRC do all refunds directly.

Even if not an outright fraud if you do a claim
Via a company they take a cut if what you are owed.

End all contact with these people and contact HMRC to ask about any refunds.

If you are you due you will get 100% of the money.

Your first sentence is wrong, HMRC will pay whomever you tell them is your agent and afaik they are legally obliged to do that

It's not a scam in the true sense of the word, theses type of companies aren't doing anything illegal. They are doing something you can do for free, it's not their fault if people don't do the research

That said I don't know this specific company but in general these are perhaps unethical businesses but not illegal

And anyone can register at Companies House, they are keepers of the list but don't have check up on who registers. That means nothing.

You don't get 100% if you've signed a valid form to get it paid to an agent. That's not how it works, the agent gets the money and deducts the commission.

Read that link ^^ deed of assignment can be permanent. So all future tax refunds will go through that company and they will take a fee.
It was on a consumer show (moneybox iirc) and it's entirely legal but absolutely not advisable.
Plus if it's marriage allowance related his rebate could mean you owe more.
It's really bizarre loophole the companies use and you can't even tell HMRC to stop it for you.
Read the link and I hope he's not signed you up!

It's explained here

www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/tax-basics/how-do-i-claim-tax-back/should-i-use-tax-refund-company

As others have said. This is a company who sell their services to people who don't stop to think.

It is really easy to claim a tax refund, the government give you such a nice, easy to navigate site on which to do it. Best of all you don't have to pay anyone o to do it.

www.gov.uk/claim-tax-refund

Yes, it's just a company who will take a cut for doing what your husband could easily do himself. No scam, just a waste of money!
There are similar companies that pay for their ads to be shown first when searching how to update your address on your driving licence, which is free, but they will do it for you, for a ridiculous fee. They hope that people don't realise it can be done themselves, at no cost.

That's true up to a point, Siht, but from what OP's said this isn't a company who've offered their service if it's needed - they've said he is due a refund and mentioned a specific amount which has most likely been plucked from the air

Unless they really do have the information to back this, it sounds more than a bit odd to me

This. It's not a scam. It is a company that will legitimately claim overpaid tax for you, and charge a large percentage of it as a fee. They state this. There is nothing at all wrong with them doing this.

You can. however, do it for yourself and keep all of any refund due.

OP you seem to be under the impression that anyone who pays tax through their employer can't possibly be owed tax. This is very wrong.

The OP doesn't actually say that they contacted him with a specific figure for a refund

My guess is that they have mentioned this as a possible figure and the OP's DH either hasn't told her the full story or has misunderstood the wording. I bet they are careful enough not to guarantee anything specific.

DH just phones HMRC directly and they tell him if he’s owed anything and what to do. Why go through a third party?

Tax rebates arrive as a cheque from HMRC my husband just got one. They're not from other sources