Red flags
Twelve practices worth asking more questions about, each with when it is a problem, when it is not, and what to do. Every one sits beside the green flag that answers it.
A red flag is a reason to ask more questions. It does not mean an adviser has done anything wrong. This page describes a practice in general terms and is not about any particular firm.
Each practice on this list can have a fair reason behind it, and each page says when it is a problem and when it is not, with equal care.
The pages describe practices, not advisers. If you recognise one in a proposal, read the page, ask the questions it ends with, and listen to the answers. The matching green flag shows what the better practice looks like.
- Uncapped success feesA percentage fee with no upper limit rises in step with the claim, however large it gets. Sometimes that is fair; sometimes it is the most expensive term in the letter.Green flagA fee you can work out yourself
- Pressure to sign quicklyA deadline can be real. A filing date, a time limit for a past year, the end of a tax year. It can also leave you no time to read the letter. The difference is whether the deadline is explained.Green flagNamed people with qualifications you can check
- Guaranteed claim amountsA number promised before anyone has looked at the work is a guess. An estimate given after the work has been assessed, with its assumptions, is something else.Green flagThey tell you what does not qualify
- Everything qualifiesAn adviser who finds that all of your work qualifies may have looked carefully at a business that does a lot of qualifying work. Or may not have looked at all. Ask what was left out.Green flagThey tell you what does not qualify
- No one speaks to your engineersThe technical case for a claim is written best by someone who has talked to the people who did the work. A claim prepared entirely from documents or from the finance team is easier to get wrong.Green flagThey talk to the people who did the work
- You cannot see the claimThe claim goes in with your name on it. If you are offered a summary and a signature page instead of the claim itself, ask why. There can be a reason, and you can still ask to see it.Green flagYou see the whole claim before filing
- Unclear fee baseA percentage of 'the benefit' can mean the credit, the refund, the tax saved or the spend behind the claim. If the letter does not say which, you do not know what you are paying.Green flagA fee you can work out yourself
- Review support costs extraHelp with a tax authority review can be priced separately. That is a legitimate choice if it is clear, and a problem if it is hidden or open-ended.Green flagReview support is in the price
- Automatic renewal clausesAn engagement that renews itself each year can be a convenience. It becomes a problem when the notice period is long, the renewal date is easy to miss, or a fee is due for a year you did not want.Green flagYou can leave with your records
- Cold calls about unclaimed refundsA call out of the blue about money your business is owed can be a legitimate introduction. It can also be the start of a claim nobody has assessed. Treat it as a proposal, not a discovery.Green flagNamed people with qualifications you can check
- Adviser not named on the claimWhere the claim form has a place for the preparer and the adviser leaves it empty, ask why. There may be a reason. There is also a form that asked.Green flagThey put their name on the claim
- Exit fees that lock you inA charge for leaving can reflect real work. It can also make changing adviser so expensive that you stay. The difference is what the fee is for and how large it is.Green flagYou can leave with your records
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