I have no idea what to do with this information - is there not a case against the company? Can you send me a link to the 192.com?

I mean, in theory, if they're still operating (hiring a new Director), then surely their email would be working? I can try emailing, but what do I say? I don't want to jeopardise anything, especially if they're unaware that people are getting these letters and may be seeking legal advice, like me. A new Director has been hired, but it seems Alan has resigned too, all today.

He's not no, but to be fair, he hasn't received a letter from HMRC yet. However, someone else I know has had their letter, so I presume only a matter of time. Surely there's something I can do to combat this whole situation? Whether it's claiming against FTR or Alan himself as Director etc? £3000 is a lot of money to be paying a) when I only received 1/3 originally anyway, and 2) when I had been misinformed about what was happening.

Hi, I've just gone on to a few random tax rebate company websites, and none of them mention any regulation or regulators - I may be wrong? I had not signed anything with FTR. No contract, no signatures, nothing. They never mentioned anything regarding whether HMRC want their money back either - it was never brought up. I can't inform them there is an issue as their contact details no longer work. Even their website is down.

That's them. I spoke with a "Mike Hodgson - Sales Executive" on email and a "Claire" on text. It may be worth mentioning: I've never owned my own business and have been working for almost 10 years, paying tax through PAYE at various jobs. The first I'd ever heard of EIS was via the letter from HMRC.

Hi, thank you. I don't think so - the company had an email address: [email protected] and domain: www.fasttaxrebate.co.uk. Also, their logo is different to their email signature (attached). Glad I kept all copies of emails and texts now! Signature.pdf

Hi, Back in March 2020, I was referred to a tax rebate company, Fast Tax Rebates (FTR), from a friend who told me they could help submit a claim to recover tax back on what I had paid over the 3 years - 17/18, 18/19, 19/20. I was given their contact email address, filled in a preset number of questions, and sent it off. The process was, that I allow them access to my Government Gateway account, and provide them with tax returns and p60s so that their accountants could submit the claim. After emails and text messages back and forth, the claim got submitted and then around £3000 was paid out. FTR kept around 70% and I received around 30%, which was just over £1000. A month ago from now (around a year later from the original claim submission), I received a letter in the post from HMRC saying they were investigating a tax rebate claim submitted by me for EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) relief. Obviously, I had no idea what this is or what they were referring to until I read on and saw FTR's name. I gathered that whatever FTR had submitted on my behalf, wasn't what they said it was and I wasn't even eligible in the first place. I emailed HMRC using the contact details on the letter and explained it all, only to get a response saying that since it was submitted under my name, I'm 100% liable, regardless of who the "nominated" party was. I have until the end of June to repay I believe. HMRC is expecting me to pay back the full £3000, even though I only received a third of the total claim amount. The HMRC agent was quite sympathetic and explained this has happened to 100s if not 1000s of people, but at the end of the day, it's under my name. I have full email threads and text message threads with FTR which I provided to HMRC too. Within them, there is no mention of EIS and nothing which shows I had any idea what it is or what it was. Looking back over the emails and texts, FTR was actually quite bullish, which on reflection, should've been a red flag. But, I was referred by a friend, and was under the impression I had a valid claim, or how else would they be able to successfully conduct a rebate claim. I've tried reaching out to solicitors and they all say that I should pursue corporate litigation or something similar, however, they all say their costs outweigh the potential claim amount. One of them even recommended asking here, so here I am. Any advice or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Apologies for the long post. D