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Post Info TOPIC: HMRC = Help Make Registering Complicated
Wella


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HMRC = Help Make Registering Complicated
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I've seen other threads on the subject but just thought I'd let you all know my experience of trying to register as a self assessment agent.

I needed to originally set myself up as an agent because I do PAYE for a client. I went to the HMRC site, went through the process, got my gateway ID and my IR agent reference number - what a doddle that was.

Authorised my client - so far so good. Just awaiting his authorisation code to be passed to me.

Thought I'd prepare my self for this upcoming April and register as a Self Assessment Agent as well, theres a nice little link on my agent account to add self assesment services. - Should have heeded the warning from others.

After following the link I found I needed a specific reference number. Like others I nievely thought I be able to obtain one like I did for PAYE. Tried everything, including the independant Gateway site - no joy.

Eventually found my way to a page which specifically guides you through the process.

A little way down there it says:

"To register for Self Assessment Online for agents you'll need a Self Assessment agent reference. If you haven't got an agent reference, you can get one by calling your local tax office"

Just below this is a link to find your local tax office - great I'm on my.

After hanging on the phone for 25 mins on an 0845 number I gave up. Trying several times during the day, I finally got through  - guess what - he didn't have clue and gave me the number for the On Line Services help desk (another 0845 number).

They answered quite quickly (actually caught me off guard). I told the young lady my plight - guess what - she didn't have clue. She was slightly more helpful and gave me the number of the CAA team (who ever they are?), who she insists are the right people to talk to. She also said she'd pass on the information that the online instructions are not valid (it will probably have to go through a private members bill in parliament, be approved by the Home Office and HM Treasury, then ratified in the Hague before it happens though.)

That's the story so far. I will try the CAA Team (another 0845 number) tomorrow and see what happens (I sure she said CAA, or was it CIA? She had a lovely Geordy accent, so I may have mis heard)

Bill

Shaun do I get full membership yet



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BackOfficeGroup


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Bill

The CAA team are the Central Agent Authorisation team!

I have been in a slightly different situation, as before I have even thought about registering for SA online, which I s'pose I should get round to, a very nice man from HMRC called me to say I had 2 agent numbers and that I can choose which one to keep so that they could bring the 2 together....

Haven't tried it yet to see if it works but hey, I have a number!

Good luck! Just trying to get this VAT online sorted.

P

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Shamus


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I'm proud of you Bill.

You've got chair person of our little club written all over you...

Not sure yet what positions Neil and Sheila are looking for (But they can stay away from treasurer as I need to keep Sue and Lorraine in fast cars and tropical holidays!... Not that I would ever dream of misappropriation of funds of course).

You do realise that in all this chasing around at some stage someone will give you the first number that you called to phone don't you!

Another fun one for finding out that no two government departments actually talk to each other is changing a company name.

You can't inform the various departments until the name change is complete. The actual changing of the name is really easy and companies house are very professional.

Then of course when it's too late to back out you have the nightmare of trying to find the right people in the right departments at HMRC.

I'm pretty sure that it's all sorted now but it certainly took a good couple of days of chasing my own tail to get on top of it.

I also find it very frustrating that some departments such as VAT have everything online and you can sort it all out without too much problem but other departments such as PAYE won't believe what you tell them (even though they would only have to look at the companies house website) and require a letter sent by snail mail to the correct department and also requires a separate letter to the department that sends out the stationary.

Talk later,

Shaun.

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Shamus


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Phillip,

whats happened to you. We were neck and neck on the posts last week!... Note to self, must work more and write postings less.

I've found the VAT people the most helpful of all of them. Once you've registered for VAT services you can change just about any details online. Much more user friendly than PAYE.

Shaun.



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Wella


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Shaun

How did you get 62 posts infront?
I'm starting to think Shamus is a tom cat.

Philip thanks for the info on the CAA (hope they don't all wear the same black suits - oh no thats the CIA)
good luck getting VAT registration reference


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BackOfficeGroup


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Some of us have to work you know!!

I cant believe it myself, should call it the MSN board not the bookkeeping forum, lol

P

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Marky65


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Hey Bill

This is my exactly my task for Wednesday and as we are both in the same area, I think Plymouth and Cornwall are all lumped in together, this now fills me with dread. I had tried to do this ages ago and got through to some Welsh woman (I am not racist, it is just that she was from Wales) and guess what she didn't have a clue either. And sent me to call CAA who told me to contact my local agent maintainer on the number I had already tried.

I will give it another go on Wednesday and let you know how I get on, but later this week I have an appointment near the local office so I may pop in their and see if they can help.

Good luck Bill

Regards

Mark


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Wella


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Good Luck to you too Mark

Let me know

Cheers
Bill

Don't think I'll go near VAT yet

-- Edited by Wella on Monday 15th of February 2010 06:21:16 PM

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lor


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What you have to do before phoning HMRC is cross your fingers and toes and everything else you can cross and hope that who ever picks up at the other end knows what they are talking about.

When I think about HMRC I feel my blood boiling!

They are the most frustrating people that I have to deal with in this line of business!

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lor


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Shamus wrote:


Not sure yet what positions Neil and Sheila are looking for (But they can stay away from treasurer as I need to keep Sue and Lorraine in fast cars and tropical holidays!... Not that I would ever dream of misappropriation of funds of course).

Ha ha very funny, you naughty cat! p.s. i drive a 1.3 toyota yaris, and so far this year I have a week camping in a tent in pentewan!. But I can wish and pretend I drive a ferrari and go on holiday to mmmmm......somewhere tropical, a rain forest!???!!!??? in somewhere exotic.....thailand.

That did make me laugh, thanks Shamus!

Yes you better not misapportionate the funds! or you will have a fight on your hands! 





-- Edited by lor on Monday 15th of February 2010 07:08:00 PM

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Shamus


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Good call on the country of choice. That's actually the one that I'll be retiring to eventually. I've lived there for a couple of years in a village just outside Khon Kaen in the North East of the country (Isaan). I can definitely highly recommend it as an antidote to the hectic lifestyle that we live in the west... Although the locals do get up way too early and I come in the nocturnal category.

Think that we need increased membership and subscriptions though if you want a Ferrari... I know, we'll just double up the amount of exams that we make potential members take. That should bring loads of money in!!!





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Shaun

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BackOfficeGroup


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you could also charge for the membership card, each certificate for each exam passed use of logo on promotional material etc

I trust the flight to Thailand will be first class?

P

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Shamus


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Always wondered why first class is at the front of a plane? I mean, when did anyone ever hear of a plane reversing into a mountain.

Anyway, as we're basing ourselves on other supervisory bodies nothing short of a private hire Learjet will do!

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Shaun

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Wella


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Just to update

After further attempts to get through I have finally got instructions to write to them, to formally request a reference number.

After getting their address I thought I would put in part of it in the search box on the HMRC website. The following link came up giving instruction on how to obtain the said reference number.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/agents/agent-codes.htm

Any one who follows the instructions from the agent and advisers pages are directed to their local tax office, who don't know what you're talking about.

Hope this takes the pain away from others that might want to become a Self Assessment Agent

Bill


-- Edited by Wella on Thursday 18th of February 2010 03:56:47 PM

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Marky65


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Hi Bill

Thank you so much for getting this information and posting it here, after I have finished typing this post I will get my letter sent to the HMRC.

For obtaining this I think that you should be given a position of authority in one of the groups that have sprung up on here, whether that is the Grumpy Old Club or the Anti ICB Club, as a token of appreciation.

Regards

Mark

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Wella


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A further update

Just had a phone call from HMRC, asking if I am already registered as an agent for self assessment? You would have thought they might know that, or am I just being sarcastic?

Anyway, having confirmed I am not already registered, they are going to send my agents number out today.

Hope Mark has heard from them too.





-- Edited by Wella on Wednesday 7th of April 2010 12:19:20 PM

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Marky65


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Hi Bill

No I haven't, but I am pleased that you have some progress.

I don't suppose that you managed to get a phone number out of the person who called did you, as I know they can be extremely coy about giving out such information.

Regards

Mark

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Wella


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Hi Mark

Sorry, I didn't get their number and it was witheld  on the caller display.

I did have the number once and inadvertently threw it away Doh. More than once I have tried to find it on the HMRC website but had no luck.

You sent your letter a few days after me, I think, so maybe you will hear something very soon. Fingers crossed

All the best
Bill




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Marky65


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Hi Bill

Don't worry about not getting it, like I said before they rarely give out this kind of detail and like you I have never been able to find it.

Yes, I did send the letter just after you. Maybe I should employ Rob's firm to answer any calls I may miss over the next couple of weeks, I wouldn't want to miss this one.

Regards

Mark

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fredo


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Hi there, after writing 2 letters to the C.A.A.T at longbenton regarding me being set up as an agent for self assessment and getting no response or phone call, I managed to get their fax number to which i faxed them a copy of the original letter i sent them well over 5 weeks ago.
In the fax I sent them I included the following information ( name of business i would like to use, contact number (mobile) email address, and business address i would like to use (my rented flat). The person on the phone told me this was all the information they needed which i faxed to them and was told someone should get back to me within 7 days (by phone I imagine) as they have recently cleared a large backlog.

My question to the other posters on this thread is when hopefully they do call me back, will i need to have any other info to hand and what questions if any will they ask of me?

Many thanks in advance for any replys if someone has gone through this process recently.
(what a hassle)


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Susie Sue


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Shamus wrote:


Not sure yet what positions Neil and Sheila are looking for (But they can stay away from treasurer as I need to keep Sue and Lorraine in fast cars and tropical holidays!... Not that I would ever dream of misappropriation of funds of course).


 You carry on misappropriating Shaun - I won't tell anyone!!



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Wella


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Hi Fredo

They called me back (eventually) and it was just to confirm my identity and a few details (see my last comment). All in all the phone call took about 30 seconds. It's a pity the rest of the process wasn't as quick

Bill

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Denise


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Hi,
Just wanted to say ( to give you a bit of faith), I wanted one of the big tax books so I could brush up and take the ICB self assesment exam. I read on this forum that they would not give you one unless you were an agent. So I wrote to the agent maintainer after getting the address from this site (thank you) and about a week later I was contacted by phone, asked a few questions and then received my code about a week after that. After a few days I rang the HMRC orderline and asked for a big book which arrived a week later. Whoopeee!!!!!!! Hows that for service?

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fredo


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Just to add if anyone else has sent letters in and got no reply etc the fax number i sent the letter to is 0191 225 4861. Addressed to Agent Maintainer team.

Bill, can i ask what ' identity checks' they did as i am Italian and not registered with hmrc personally yet as i do not work here (no need for me to have a NI or UTR number).

Will i have to send them a copy of my Italian passport or something or do they just confirm by phone all the contact details i have sent them are correct?

many thanks Fredo.

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Denise


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Hi Fredo,

If its any help, I sent my request on my headed notepaper and when she rang she just asked to confirm my name and address and whether I wanted to be registered in my name or my business name. She also asked if I wanted to register for corporation tax. That's it!!

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fredo


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Thanks Denise, will give it a few days and if i dont here anything i will just phone and fax them again........hope the fax number i posted on here is helpfull to someone else who may also have had no response from letters sent in.
contact details for H.M.R.C....... C.A.A.T

phone 0845 915 8582

fax 0191 225 4861


It was only on one occasion out of 6+ calls a women was helpfull and gave me the fax number!

Sitting by the phone and waiting for a call   disbelief is all you can do!

getting a self assessment agent reference code = bleh

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Wella


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fredo wrote:
Sitting by the phone and waiting for a call   disbelief is all you can do!

getting a self assessment agent reference code = bleh

Hence the title of this topic Fredo.

To answer your question, I did the same as Denise but it took nearly eight weeks!!!!

Bill

 



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fredo


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Update...................finally sorted........dont bother writing letters.....just use the fax number listed and wait 5- 10 working days and hopefully receive a letter in the post with the agent reference code.
hope that helps someone!!!

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Blacker9999


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Folks,
could anyone give me info on getting the big book, i have been accepted as an agent and received my agent code etc.
what to do next?
What is the actual book called?
Who to call?
Any number available etc?

Thanks

Ronnie

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Marky65


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Hi Ronnie

The book is called 'Self Assessment Tax Returns Guide' and is available from the HMRC orderline, though I was fortunate to get my by attending an HMRC workshop and they had some lying around.

Regards

Mark

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BackOfficeGroup


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I must be on the right mailing list, as mine comes through the door courtesy of Royal mail!

P

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