Complaint on accountant

[traunnonuppaff]

We had a verbal agreement with the accountant to handle only last year's accounts. However, the accountant sent us an engagement letter that was very basic, had a vague period of engagement, and lacked auto-enrollment information or a complaint process. The letter stated, "...This engagement will start on 09 May 2023, but we will handle accounts since Mar 22. We will not address earlier years unless you specifically request it and we agree..." Now, the accountant is causing issues and demanding nearly £2,000 for nothing. We haven't spoken to this person since the last submission. How should we handle this situation, and where can we file a complaint? How can we dispute the fees?

 

[WaveJumper]

Welome to the UKBF- first question did you not agree to the level of fees during your initial conversation. In what way are they causing issues, have they completed a years worth of accountants for you.

Plenty of accountants reside here and they might say 2k for a years worth of accounting is about right, but of course this depends on the size of your company, what they actually do for you, VAT returns, payroll etc etc

 

[Ozzy]

Now, the accountant is causing issues and demanding nearly £2,000 for nothing.

My accountancy fees are a lot higher than that each year, so it is subjective as this could be the fee for the single year you are referring to and work they may have already done. You mention you haven't spoken to them and my suggestion would be to ask the question.

 

[UK Contractor Accountant]

" Now, the accountant is causing issues and demanding nearly £2,000 for nothing. We haven't spoken to this person since the last submission

well the £2K isnt for nothing - its the invoice issued following the last submissions to Companies House/HMRC.

The Regulatory Bodies for Qualified Accountants (ACCA, ICAEW etc) do not get involved in fee disputes so your best bet is to deal with the accountancy firm direct to resolve the issue.

Ask them to give a breakdown of what work they actually did with the time spent records showing appropriate charge out rates used.

Should always negotiate a fixed fee quote for compliance work in future.

 

[DontAsk]

Have you tried actually talking to them to understand/resolve the issues?

Suggest to them that you do not want to pay "for nothing" and perhaps they will tell you what they have actually done.

 

[MyAccountantOnline]

We had a verbal agreement with the accountant to handle only last year's accounts. However, the accountant sent us an engagement letter that was very basic, had a vague period of engagement, and lacked auto-enrollment information or a complaint process. The letter stated, "...This engagement will start on 09 May 2023, but we will handle accounts since Mar 22. We will not address earlier years unless you specifically request it and we agree..." Now, the accountant is causing issues and demanding nearly £2,000 for nothing. We haven't spoken to this person since the last submission. How should we handle this situation, and where can we file a complaint? How can we dispute the fees?

Yes you can make a complaint - the accountants complaint procedure should be detailed in the letter of engagement. However before you do that do discuss this with them.

The very first thing I'd do is ask for full details of what work has been done for the £2,000 charge.

What professional body/bodies does your accountant belong to?