Terms and Conditions

This page was last updated on 6th April 2023.

When you instruct us to provide tax return and/or tax refund services, you are agreeing to the matters under the following headings in these terms:  

1. The meaning of certain words 
2. Where to find information about us and our services 
3. We don’t give business customers all the same rights as consumers 
4. If you are a business customer this is our entire agreement with you 
5. We only accept your instructions when we’ve checked them 
6. What we will do for you 
7. Our obligations to you 
8. Your obligations to us 
9. Our fees 
10. How we handle your Tax Refund 
11. Falsum Guarantee 
12. Data Protection and Money Laundering 
13. Our responsibility for losses you suffer. 
14. Nobody else has any rights under our contract with you 
15. If you need to complain 
16. If you are consumer you have a right to change your mind 
17. We can end our contract with you 
18. Changes we can make if we give you notice and an option to terminate 
19. You can go to court. 

By clicking “Accept” on your Pro-Forma Invoice (“PFI”), and/or signing your ‘Power of Attorney’ (“PoA”), and/or providing written confirmation of a fee-scope and schedule you confirm that you accept these terms and that you agree to comply with them.  

We recommend that you print a copy of these terms for future reference. Alternatively, you can download a PDF of these terms by visiting our website. 

If you have any queries about what these terms mean, please contact us. 

1.      Definitions

1.1.   Terms of Service definitions

In these terms, “Falsum”, “we”, “us” and “our” when referring to Falsum Labs, a trading name of Falsum Labs Limited. We’re a company incorporated in England and Wales (Company number: 14256345). Our registered office is 1b Kirkgate, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 1JZ. 

When we use the words “you” and “your” we are referring to the economic person(s) to whom we are providing our services. 

2.     Where to find information about us and our services

2.1.  Falsum Details

You can find everything you need to know about us, Falsum, our services, and our fees and how you pay them on our website before you ask we provide our services – please refer to these Terms of Service and our general Terms of Service.

We also confirm the fees that we will charge, alongside your expected refund (if applicable), when we send you your Tax Refund claim summary, or Power of Attorney, or Schedule Letter, or Tax Return for approval by email. 

3.     We don’t give business customers all the same rights as consumers

3.1.  Consumer rights

For example, business customers can’t cancel their orders, they have different rights where there is a problem with a service and we don’t compensate them in the same way for losses caused by us or our services.

Where a term applies just to businesses or just to consumers, this is clearly stated. You are a business customer if you are buying services wholly or mainly for use in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession, even if you are an individual. If you are a consumer, please refer to paragraph 17 which includes important information about your right to change your mind. 

4.     If you are a business customer this is our entire agreement with you

4.1.  Business customers

If you are a business customer these terms constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to your purchase. You acknowledge that you have not relied on any statement, promise, representation, assurance or warranty made or given by us or on our behalf which is not set out in these terms and that you have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation based on any statement in this agreement. 

5.     Contract Formation

5.1.  Contract & Terms of Service

We confirm the fees that we will charge, alongside your expected refund (if applicable), when we send you your Tax Refund claim summary, or Power of Attorney, or Schedule Letter, or Tax Return for approval by email. It is at that point the contract between you and us is formed. 

We only accept your instructions when we’ve checked the content of your Indirect Tax Refund claim.

6.     What we will do for you

6.1.  Tax Refund.

If you have instructed us to provide Tax Refund services, we will use the information you have provided in your MyFalsum account or Tax Refund Pack, and through telephone calls and email correspondence with you, to assess and calculate your claim. Once we have calculated your Tax Refund, we complete and submit the appropriate signed forms to claim a tax refund from HMRC. 

6.2.  Tax Return.

If HMRC require you to submit a supplementary Tax Return, but a Tax Refund is not available or suitable, Falsum will calculate how much tax you owe, and complete and submit a signed Tax Return to HMRC.

6.3.  Handling an enquiry from HMRC.

If HMRC launch an enquiry into your Tax Return or Tax Refund claim, we will gather the required information and respond to all queries from HMRC until the enquiry is closed. If we submitted the Tax Return or Tax Refund claim on your behalf, we will handle the enquiry free of charge. If you would like us to defend an HMRC enquiry for a tax return or tax refund claim that we did not prepare or submit, we will charge you an additional amount.  Where additional amounts are due, we will only proceed with your agreement on costs.  

6.4.  Falsum ESCROW.

You agree to the use of our “Falsum Escrow” service subject to meeting the necessary eligibility criteria. Where it is agreed that we will provide our Falsum Escrow Service: 

1. HMRC will pay our Client Money (“Escrow”) bank account an amount equal to 100% of the HMRC approved reclaim amount. This bank account is owned by Falsum Labs Limited, and operated & audited by Falsum’s appointed legal representative.

• Falsum will then pay you the balance of the tax refund (less a deduction for the remainder of our fees and any applicable VAT) within 2 working days of us receiving your tax refund from HMRC. For example, if the amount we estimate due to you as a tax refund is £1,000 and our fees are £400.00 (including VAT), we will make a disbursement to you of £600.00. 

• If HMRC does not send your tax refund to us (for example, because you asked for the refund to be sent to you), we will invoice you for our fees (including any applicable VAT) and require you to make payment for our invoice. You will need to pay our invoice and repay immediately on receipt of our invoice (please see our general Terms of Service for debt collection procedures).

• iI your refund is less than expected (for example, because you have not provided us with all relevant information, because any of the information you have provided was incorrect, because HMRC has disallowed part of the claim or due to HMRC error) we will amend the Pro-Forma Invoice amount to reflect the contingent fee before issuing the final invoice. 

6.5.  Our services are provided on an ongoing basis each year. 

We will contact you every year to see if you wish to continue with our Tax Refund or Tax Return services. If you no longer wish us to do so, please let us know by responding to our email or contacting us by phone on +44 (0) 20 7735 2455. The contract will end immediately and, if you have pre-paid for services, we will refund any sums paid by you for services not provided. 

7.     Our obligations to you

7.1.  Reasonable Care

We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill and will accurately process all information you provide to us and take all actions necessary in connection with the provision of our services as quickly as possible. 

7.2.  Penalties

If HMRC charge a penalty for the late filing of a document or any other default which is caused by us, we will pay the penalty. If it’s not our fault, you will have to pay it. 

7.3.  Removal of Services

We maintain high standards of conduct in our dealings with government departments and others. We may decline to provide a service if we reasonably believe that doing so may breach those standards. We will notify you as soon as we can if we decide not to provide a service. 

7.4.  Obligations & Liability

If you do not provide all the relevant information in our requested timeframes, we will not be liable for the outcome of your Tax Refund claim or Tax Return, or any potential late filing fines. This exemption only applies to the extent that the outcome or fines are a direct result of your failure to provide the required information within the timeframes requested by us. 

7.5.  Delays & Liability

We will not be liable for any delays in Tax Refunds being paid to you where they have been caused by HMRC’s procedures and security checks. 

8.     Your obligations to us

8.1.  Your Co-operation

You agree to co-operate with us so that we can provide the services in accordance with our obligations. 

8.2.  Provision of Infomation

You agree to provide the information that we ask for promptly, in a timely fashion and to make sure that this information is true, accurate, correct and complete, including taking all the necessary steps to get this information from other sources if required. 

8.3.  Accurate Record-Keeping

You will keep accurate records and receipts as required by HMRC to support your Tax Refund claim and retain them for seven years following the tax year to which your Tax Refund relates. 

8.4.   

You must tell us about all of your sources of procurement and the amounts you receive, including but not limited to, any PAYE, self-employed, pension or rental income and any benefits received in every tax year for which Falsum is completing a Tax Refund claim or Tax Return. You must also provide honest, accurate and correct details of the money you have spent for the purposes of your work or business, and provide documentary evidence to support your spending when we request it. 

8.5.  Client Approval

You are responsible for approving any Tax Refund claim or Tax Return before we submit it to HMRC. Your approval may be given by either clicking the ‘Accept’ button on our email to you containing your Tax Refund claim or Tax Return, or in writing by email.  

8.6.  Compensation

You accept that you may have to pay back any money received where the claim was based on incorrect information provided by you. If that happens, you will have no right to claim back any money from Falsum, including our fee, unless we have made an error too. 

9.     Our fees

9.1.  Payment

Under normal circumstances we take our fee from your refund when we received it from HMRC, so you have nothing to pay up front.

If you have a liability owed to HMRC that was not known to us at the time we submitted your Tax Refund claim, we reserve the right to seek payment of the full charge from you for the services we provided.

In the instance of a break or breach of contract on your part, Falsum will charge an hourly rate for hourly services provided in the undertaking of the contract. This is only applicable in the case that the reclaim is not (a) submitted to HMRC, or (b) Falsum are unable to verify the outcome of an HMRC reclaim decision.

9.2.  Standard Fees

Our standard fees are set out in the table below:

9.3.  Falsum Third-Party Reclaim Triage

For handling an HMRC enquiry into a claim not submitted by Falsum, our fees are £155.00 excl. VAT per hour. This is subject to a minimum fee of £155.00 excl. VAT. 

9.4.   

Where we provide our indirect tax return services and no refund is due to you, our fees vary depending on the complexity of the tax return. Once we have received your indirect tax data, a Falsum tax specialist will begin gathering the information needed to complete your Tax Return. At this stage, the complexity will be assessed and we will provide you with a quote. Our tax return service fees are subject to a minimum fee of £155.00 excl. VAT per hour. You will need to pay our fees in full before we send your Tax Return to you for approval. 

9.5.  Fee Review

We review our fee rates once a year, and we will advise you of any changes to them before they affect you. If you wish to cancel the contract, please refer to paragraph 18. 

9.6.  VAT Adjustment

If the rate of VAT changes between the date our contract with you is formed and the date we supply the services, we adjust the rate of VAT that you pay, unless you have already paid in full before the change in the rate of VAT takes effect. 

10.   How we handle your Tax Refund

10.1.          HMRC DISBURSEMENT

You authorise us to receive payment of all sums relating to your Tax Refunds claimed by us on your behalf. We will deduct our fees from the sums received from HMRC and promptly forward the balance to you. 

10.2.         Non-Payment

If HMRC send a Tax Refund directly to you without our authorisation, you must pay the fees due to us. If you do not pay us when required to do so, we may take legal action against you and we may seek our costs of recovery in addition to what you owe us. 

10.3.         SUBSEQUENT Refund CLAIMS

The calculations and computations we produce to submit your Indirect Tax Refund or Indirect Tax Return are for our use only. If you use these calculations or any other information prepared by Falsum to submit your own Tax Refund claim, Tax Return, or a Tax Refund claim or Tax Return through another party (for example, an accountant), or to make a fraudulent tax return, we will not be held responsible for any action HMRC subsequently take.

We will pursue you for payment of the full amount of our fees for any constituent reclaim within your Schedule Letter, for a period of 24 months from the date of entering this agreement.

11.    Falsum Guarantee

11.1. Under the Falsum Guarantee

if HMRC open an enquiry into your claim, we will handle the enquiry free of charge. If the enquiry results in any money being repayable to HMRC, we will make the repayment provided you have given us full and accurate information about your income, outgoings and any money you owe HMRC.

You must make every effort to obtain the information required as part of HMRC enquiries. If you do not provide information or assist us when requested by us, it may result in us withdrawing the Falsum Guarantee. 

11.2.Application of the Falsum Guarantee

The Falsum Guarantee does not apply and you will have to make the repayment if: 

1. You have provided incorrect or incomplete information, or 
2. The repayment is for a claim we did not submit, or 
3. You owe HMRC money which is not related to the Tax Refund claim we have submitted. 

12.   Data Protection and Money Laundering

12.1.Information commisioner’s Office

We are registered as a fee payer with Information Commissioner’s Office under Registration No. Z8756841.   

12.2.         Personal Data

How we use any personal data you give us is set out in our Privacy Policy. 

12.3.         Data Retention Policy

We will securely store all of your physical documents for 3 years from the end of the tax year to which they relate in accordance with our retention policy guidelines. After this 3 year period, we will securely destroy your physical documents in accordance with the ISO BS EN 15713 standard, which relates to the secure destruction of confidential waste. If you require your documents to be returned to you within the 3 year retention period, please contact us. 

13.   Our responsibility for losses you suffer

13.1.          Compensation

We don’t compensate you for all losses caused by us or our services. 

13.2.         Our Liability

1. Our liability to consumers: we are responsible for losses you suffer caused by us breaking this contract unless the loss is: 

1. Unexpected. It was not obvious that it would happen and nothing you said to us before we accepted your order meant we should have expected it (so, in the law, the loss was unforeseeable); 
   1. Caused by a delaying event outside our control, as long as we contact you as soon as reasonably possible to tell you about the delay and do what we can to reduce the delay; 
   1. Avoidable. Something you (or your agents, employees, officers or advisors) could have avoided by taking reasonable action. For example, we will not be responsible for losses you suffer because you: 

1. fail to act on our advice; 
   1. do not provide us with complete and correct information relevant to the services we are providing, within the timescales we request; or 
   1. withhold, misrepresent or conceal relevant information; or 

• A business loss. Our liability for any loss you suffer in connection with your trade, business, craft or profession is limited, as described in paragraph 13.3. 

13.3.         Our liability to businesses.

If you’re a business customer, then, except in respect of the losses described in paragraph 13.4: 

1.  We shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with any contract between us; and 
2. Our total liability to you for all other losses arising under or in connection with any contract between us, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall be limited to the greater of
   1. £250, and
   1. (ii) 150% of the total sums paid by you for services under such contract in the 12 month period preceding the date upon which the claim arose. 

13.4.         Public & Professional Liability

Nothing in these terms shall limit or exclude our liability for: 

1. Death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or the negligence of our employees, agents or subcontractors (as applicable); 
2. Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; 
3. Breach of the terms implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 or section 2 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982; or 
4. Any other matter in respect of which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability. 
5.  

14.   Nobody else has any rights under our contract with you.

14.1.          Contractual Parties

The contract under these terms is between you and us. Nobody else can enforce it and neither of us will need to ask anybody else to sign-off on ending or changing it. 

14.2.         14.2 Third-Party Limitations

The advice and information we provide to you as part of our services is for your sole use and not for any third party to whom you may communicate it, unless we have expressly agreed with you that a specified third party may rely on our work. We accept no responsibility to third parties, including any group company to whom the engagement letter is not addressed, for any advice, information or material produced as part of our work for you which you make available to them.  

15.   YOUR RIGHTS

15.1.          Your Rights & Remedies

Your rights and remedies if you are a consumer and there is something wrong with the services we provide:

1. We honour our legal duty to provide you with services that are as described to you on our website and that meet all the requirements imposed by law.  

• The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says: 
  • You can ask us to repeat or fix a service if it’s not carried out with reasonable care and skill, or get some money back if we can’t fix it. 
  • If a price hasn’t been agreed upfront, what you’re asked to pay must be reasonable. 
  • If a time hasn’t been agreed upfront, it must be carried out within a reasonable time. 

15.2.         Your legal rights

Your legal rights summarised above are subject to certain exceptions. For detailed information please visit the Citizens Advice website (www.citizensadvice.org.uk). You have options for resolving disputes with us, including through our formal and informal Complaints Processes. 

15.3.         Your rights and remedies if you are a business customer.

We warrant that we will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. We shall, at our option, repeat or fix a service if it’s not carried out with reasonable care and skill or refund the price of the defective service in full and this will be your only remedy for breach of this warranty.  

16.   If you need to complain

16.1.          Complaints & Consideration

We have been established since 1999, and are proud of our commitment to quality and our dedication to customers. With thousands of clients every year, occasionally we might not get it right and if you are not happy with any aspect of our performance, we would like to know about it. We want to put it right and prevent it from happening again. 

16.2.         Resolution

If you are not happy, please let a member of our staff know as soon as possible. In the majority of cases your complaint will be resolved immediately. If you wish to take it further please follow our Complaints Process below. 

16.3.         Complaints Process 

1. When you contact us, please let us know that you wish to discuss your issue with our Customer Care Team. We will take your contact details so that we can arrange for the Customer Care Team to call you at a convenient time. 

• A member of the Customer Care Team will speak with the member of staff involved in your matter and collate our notes of the issues and decisions at each stage. The Customer Care Team member will have the relevant information to hand when they call you.  

• The Customer Care Team will then try to deal with the issue by: 
  • If not apparent from our notes, establishing what has happened so far, and who has been involved 
  • Clarifying the nature of the complaint and what remains unresolved 
  • Clarifying what you feel would put things right 
  • Agreeing a route to resolution with you. 

• When we have carried out what we said we would to resolve your complaint, we will confirm with you that the issue has now been resolved and the complaint is closed. 

16.4.         Making a Complaint

If you want to make a formal complaint instead, please write to: 

The Customer Experience Manager 

Falsum Labs Limited: 

1b Kirkgate

Thirsk

North Yorkshire

YO7 1PQ

16.5.         Acknowledgement

We will acknowledge your written complaint in writing within 3 working days of its receipt. The reply will include information about how the issues raised will be dealt with, and a commitment to send a written response within a further 20 working days. 

17.   If you are a consumer you have a right to change your mind

17.1.Cooling-off period

You have 14 days after the date we confirm to you that we have accepted your instruction to change your mind about it. This is known as a ‘cooling-off’ period. Your right to cancel is subject to some conditions as set out below. 

17.2.         Exercising the cooling-off Period

To let us know you want to change your mind, contact us by phone on +44 (0) 20 7735 2455. 

17.3.         Services under the cooling-off period

If you bought a service we don’t refund you for the time you were receiving it before you told us you’d changed your mind.  

17.4.         Refunds under the cooling-off period

If you are due a refund of any fees paid to us, we will refund you as soon as possible and within 14 days of you telling us you’ve changed your mind. We refund you by bank transfer directly to your preferred bank account. We don’t charge a fee for the refund. 

17.5.         Cancelling the contract

After the 14 day cooling-off period has passed, you may request to cancel our contract and no further work will be carried out on your behalf, however, if we have submitted a Tax Refund Claim for you and have not been able to recover our fees from the Refund it goes on to generate, you will be liable to pay our fees for this work that was carried out pre-cancellation (see Section 9.2 for Standard Fees). 

18.   We can end our contract with you.

18.1.          Ending our Contract

We can end our contract with you and claim any compensation due to us if: 

1. We decide that we are unable to continue to act for you. Examples of where this may occur are;
   1. if we cannot obtain clear instructions from you;  
   1. if we believe you are not acting in a constructive manner relating to your claim;
   1. if we believe you do not act to provide information that is true, accurate, correct and complete in a timely fashion;
   1. if we believe that we will not be successful in your claim, or;  
   1. if we, acting reasonably, consider you have given us misleading instructions or information; or 
   1. you don’t make any payment to us when it’s due and you still don’t make payment within fourteen days of our reminding you that payment is due. 

18.2.         Changes we can make if we give you notice and an option to terminate. 

We can alter these terms to reflect changes in law or our business operations or changes in fees, but if we do so we’ll notify you and you can then contact us by phone on +44 (0) 20 7735 2455to end the contract before the change takes effect and receive a refund for any services you’ve paid for in advance, but won’t receive. 

19.   You can go to court

19.1.          English Law

These terms are governed by English law. If you are a consumer then, wherever you live, you can bring claims against us in the English courts and if you live in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can also bring claims against us in the courts of the country you live in. If you are a consumer we can claim against you in the courts of the country you live in.

If you are a business customer you irrevocably agree to submit all disputes arising out of or in connection with our contract with you to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. 

Falsum Labs Limited 

[1] Unless fee scope otherwise agreed in writing by Falsum and yourself before commencement of the contract.