Guaranteed claim amounts
A 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.
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.
When it is a problem
- The amount is promised before the adviser has seen your projects, your costs or your records.
- The promise is of a result the tax authority decides, not the adviser: how much the claim will produce is not within anyone's gift.
- The number is used to set the fee, so a large promise means a large percentage of something that may not arrive.
- The guarantee comes with no explanation of what was assumed about your work.
When it is not a problem
- It is an estimate, given after a proper look at your work, with its assumptions stated and a range rather than a single figure.
- The adviser explains that the estimate is theirs and the decision is the tax authority's, and says what would make the figure lower.
- The figure is offered to help you decide whether a claim is worth making at all, with no fee attached to it.
- It is a minimum the adviser is prepared to stand behind in a specific way, such as a reduced fee if the claim comes in lower, and the letter says so.
What to do
- Ask what the figure is based on and what assumptions sit behind it.
- Ask what the adviser would need to see before confirming it.
- Ask what happens to the fee if the claim comes in lower than the estimate.
- Treat any figure given before the work has been assessed as an estimate, and compare proposals on their terms.
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