Dishonest Solicitor firm cheating on Stamp Duty payment - Advice needed please

[chuang6]

My wife and I purchased a property in 2013 and we had made full SDLT - Stamp Duty Land Tax payment nearly 8000 pounds to Reeve Fisher & Sands Solicitors. They failed to make the payment to HMRC on our behalf before their collapse and closure in 2014.

They are now under criminal investigation for fraud in the last 5 years and it is still on going!

We have contacted HMRC recently – they confirmed that the debt has not been cleared and it is increasing with additional interests added, and with no date in sight for the resolution. HMRC produced a statement showing the total amount and HMRC said that my wife and I are ultimately responsible for the debt, the current situation has given us immense stress and anxiety.

HMRC doe not demand us for a payment for now and they are waiting for the criminal investigation on the unscrupulous solicitor firm. But they said the ultimate responsibility is us, because we are the property purchaser.

We contacted their solicitor's regulatory body- Council of Licensed Conveyance (CLC) and asked them to use their compensation fund pot to pay the owed SDLT – we have shown them the evidence that we have paid already to the collapsed firm. CLC refused to pay for now as police and all other creditors are all investigating and trying to recover money from the fraud. But CLC saying that it is unlikely we will be asked to pay again, but no guarantee.

My wife and I want clarity for our future position and would prefer HMRC settlement to be done immediately to avoid the escalating debt. But it seems to be not possible for now.

This is a precarious situation to us and it has given my family immense stress and unbearable anxiety.

Please share your advice and experiences. Should we worry about this at all? Would HMRC write this off in the future? Would CLC ultimately use Compensation fund to pay? We have all the Solicitor letter and bank transfer details and evidence for the paid SDLT.


Thank you for your advice!!

[MIKE770]

do you hold receipt etc from these solicitors for the payment??

[chuang6]

do you hold receipt etc from these solicitors for the payment??

Yes I have all the receipt of the payment and shared the copies with HMRC and CLC. They all agreed that I have paid.

[2222]

"Reeve Fisher & Sands Solicitors" I found this confusing. As far as I can see, they were not solicitors. They were licensed conveyancers.

I do find it puzzling that the CLC compensation fund have not compensated you yet, and I can well understand that after 6 years you are very, very, very nervous and upset.

The liability to pay SDLT is yours, and HMRC most definitely will not forgive your debt. If you can afford it, I suggest paying the SDLT and any interest due yourself, to avoid the interest mounting up. Hopefully, CLC will then reimburse you.



To speed up the compensation process, I suggest that you publicise your position as much as possible. I see that you have posted on MSE, but can I suggest contacting all the news media? The strongest point you can make (whether it's correct or not I don't know) is that people should use proper solicitors, not licensed conveyancers, as the Law Society would have provided better compensation and not left you in the lurch. That will hit CLC where it hurts most, in the pocket!

Certainly, you can make the point that the CLC's oversight was ineffective, and their compensation scheme has let you down badly.

I think what you need to try to do is pressurise the CLC to bite the bullet and get their members to dig deep to compensate people in your position NOW. You have received shoddy treatment from a fund that's expected to keep you safe, particularly in light of CLC's assurances at the time: The CLC said it was trying to "minimise disruption" to affected customers.



Your case is not unique - see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-25428757

Is there some sort of victims committee? If not, why not form one? Even if you are the only member, it can still be highly effective.

Good luck!