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I WAS called by what appeared to be a telephone number from France telling me that money will be deducted from my bank account because I have not paid enough tax this year.

I told them that my work deals with my taxes.

I’ve been informed that I can make payments to them in instalments.

They requested card details but I didn’t give them any information because something felt wrong.

What should I do?

YOU’VE done the right thing by not supplying them with the information.

The fact that they didn’t offer any specifics and then requested payment by an alternative method all suggests they are not actually HMRC.

This may be what is known as a vishing scam.

Normally, HMRC will contact you by letter at the end of the financial year advising of tax contributions paid through your employer and whether your tax code is changing or remaining the same.

Any discrepancies between what you have paid and what is due is usually adjusted in your tax code for the following year, with any amounts due paid through regular tax contributions.

To be on the safe side, you can contact the tax office directly using their main contact number.

It may also be worthwhile contacting your bank to advise them that you have been threatened with a withdrawal from your bank account and you do not authorise this.

Another common tactic of these scammers is to send an email, which looks very like the official HMRC documentation, requesting you to log in to your account and supply information.

These look authentic but are what are known as phishing scams.

The scammer is attempting to gather information that they can then use to commit other acts of fraud, including identity theft.

If they call back, tell them that you have spoken with

I RECENTLY had an issue where my broadband provider was not providing my bills.

When I eventually did get them, they were incorrect.

I made a complaint last week and this still isn’t resolved. What can I do?

AT THIS moment in time, you have done all you can in relation to the complaint.

In order to escalate this any further, you are required to allow the service provider reasonable time to investigate and rectify the issues.

The timeframe set out by the regulator Ofcom and the Ombudsman Service is eight weeks.

At the end of this time, or your broadband provider offers a “letter of deadlock”, you can then escalate the complaint to the Ombudsman Service.

Your provider should be fully aware of the process and provide details of what to do if they cannot resolve your complaint in the required timescales.

They should also provide you with details to contact the Ombudsman Service.

I hope you get this resolved.

HMRC directly but do not supply any further information, regardless of threats that they make. By refusing to provide the requested information and informing them you have made your own enquiries, they will quickly realise that you have not been fooled by their scam. We will also pass the number that you supplied on to the relevant parties for further investigation. Well done for spotting this.