Article by WatkinsonBlack
By the time you read this it will be very close to the end of the tax year.
Last month we looked at some of the simple things that you should look at before the end of the tax year to ensure that you pay as little tax as legally required. We also have no major deadlines coming up in the next month. Therefore, I have time for a rant!
START OF RANT
Is anyone else totally fed up with “security” systems which are stated to be for your protection but which are, in reality, designed to protect the backsides of the institutions introducing them. The worst offenders at present are the banks who currently refuse to send post to the intended recipient but always send it to the registered office. This practice is putting you, their customers, at risk or at least compromising your confidentiality.
We act as registered office for a substantial number of companies, and are receiving increasing amounts of post addressed to those companies. We recently received, over two days in respect of one client company, a number of envelopes from Toytown Bank (name changed to protect the guilty) which contained the following:
- in envelope 1, a debit card (received on day 1)
- in envelope 2, the pin number associated with that card (received in the same post)
- in envelope 3, a cheque book for the account (received on day 2)
- in envelope 4. A paying-in book for the account (also received on day 2)
If we were intent on fraud, might we not find the first three items useful? As we were not so intent then we forwarded them to the client.
But how do we know what is in each envelope as they were addressed to the client and not to us? Because we opened them. And we opened them because we truly do have the security and interests of our clients genuinely at heart rather than simply following some box ticking checklist. Had we simply forwarded them on then we would have put all of them in one envelope meaning that the debit card and pin number would be in that envelope, something that would have saved us time and money but which would have been an extremely dangerous thing for the client. By opening them we could deal with these items in a safe and secure manner.
In our view by sending post to an address other than their client’s physical location Toytown Bank was acting in at least a thoughtless manner and at worse negligently. However, it is not just them but many other organisations including other banks, Companies House and HMRC that act in this same cavalier manner in the name of so called “security”. It really is about time that these institutions started acting again in the same sensible manner that they did until about 5 years ago.
END OF RANT
WatkinsonBlack have considerable experience in all areas of taxation and businesss services, including providing a very cost-effective payroll bureau service. If you want to arrange a no-obligation initial meeting on any taxation or accounting matter then please contact us. Please note that these ideas are intended to inform rather than advise and you should always obtain professional advice before taking any action.
