LXJohn

I've just joined this thread and am already grateful for 2 pieces of information I've seen.

The solicitor I appointed convinced me that I needed her to submit tax returns for the last 4 years although I am not officially resident - but am planning to become so.
She charged me 1000 Euros +23% but a solicitador has now confirmed that she has done no work at all. She seems unmoved by my threat to complain to the OA and continues - after 2 months - to say she has the proof that she did submit my declarations, even though nothing is pending on my AT account and in fact it has a green flag.
I have also discovered that another solicitor denounced her in a Portuguese language newspaper when she was working in London, for falsely claiming membership of the British Law Society. But again apparently nothing was done after complaints by this solicitor to the OA and the Law Society.

However I am unsure what the best course of action is - having read that a complain to the OA may merely rebound on me, and other solicitors have informed me that they are not allowed to act for me unless I terminate my client relationship with the first one. If I do that will I still be able to complain, and is the Ombudsman a better route to take from the start or only after trying the OA?
From what I've read here I also need to inform the AT that she no longer represents me in order to avoid future fees.

Any help, suggestions or contacts will be gratefully received.

Best wishes,
Graham.

RichardHenshall

Perhaps it's your phraseology but to me that suggests that you have been resident in Portugal for some years but haven't registered that residency. Or did you mean something else?

Whether resident or not, officially or not, did you appoint her as a fiscal representative? If so, she will remain so until she is unappointed by you in person at Finanças.

Ukkram

I couldn't get my head around that either. How can one not be tax resident here for 4 years? Perhaps he has a primary residence in the UK where his wife and kids live and his center of life is in the UK.

LXJohn

Hi Richard,
Thanks for your reply. Does it show on my AT account page if she is my FR, and if so where?
Thanks,
John.

Ingles

[QUOTE=Woodstore;12403512]Careful. I would not class lawyers as confidence tricksters. They are regulated and have to conform to rules and conduct...hence my original querie. QUOTE]

But they don't !
If I had the time , I could put a post together on how many "Lawyers" in PT are in deep trouble with various other bodies including there own & the full judicial system put in place by the PT Government.

Case in point

https://algarvedailynews.com/news/13...ecommendations

LXJohn

Hi Ukkram,
The 4 years refers to the limitation on how far back the AT can go on someone's record.
I, like many people, got a NIF years ago, using a Portuguese address then returned to the UK and forgot about it. Brit friends in Portugal warned me that I could remain liable for tax in Portugal unless I changed the address to my UK one.
This person was recommended to me by a UK website, who then told me it wasn't a professional recommendation, just a friend of a friend, when I told them what was happening and what I'd discovered.

LXJohn

Re Ingles:

Indeed, there are a small number who target people who have moved to another country and don't know the language or where to get help.

In London a scam is a solicitador who pretends (typically to people from Angola and other Portuguese speaking countries) that they are a solicitor. Some of the people doing this are from those countries themselves, which adds to their credibility for their victims.

RichardHenshall

Try https://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt...esentantes.jsp

If your solicitor is attempting to prove to AT that you weren't actually resident in Portugal over the period, despite being registered as a resident with AT, wouldn't she be using your (UK?) tax returns as evidence? If so, I can't imagine that there's any way you would see evidence of correspondence through the Portal das Finanças between her and AT. If they were Portuguese tax returns, what were you declaring if you were, as you say, non-resident?

Are you still shown as resident in Portugal at https://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt...adosGerais.do?

LXJohn

Hi Richard,
Thanks very much, I appreciate your help. It says I have no representative, which I suppose confirms that she never did any work, but I'm quite glad that she is not my FR as far as the AT are concerned.
She isn't trying to prove that, and in fact off-the-record advice from another solicitor was basically "what the hell is she doing that for? There's no need."
The answer I think is that she wanted the fee, and thought she could dupe me.
She asked to be paid before we'd even agreed that she was going to act for me, and informed me that she had already started work and been to the Financas to check my record. I think this was just to rush me into paying her. I assume she couldn't have got any information from the Financas without me declaring she was representing me, and without having power of attorney, is that correct? She had neither.
Early on there was a gap of several days after I had emailed a question to her, so I rang her office number, and was told she doesn't work for them anymore and they had no contact details. When I called her mobile she said the reason she hadn't replied to me on her OA email address was because she'd changed to another one!
On another occasion we were supposed to meet but she didn't want me to "take the trouble" of coming to her office, and suggested a cafe. I waited 2 hrs there while she gave me a succession of stories about a doctor's appointment, the doctor being delayed, being stuck in traffic jams... Does this sound like a professional person? I know the portuguese are supposed to be easy-going but this seems way OTT.
Last time I checked she was still an OA member.

I changed my residence to UK in 2016, but after hearing stories I became anxious that the AT could dredge back and charge me the difference between Portuguese and UK tax on the previous 3 years. I have never had Portuguese income, and never owned or rented property in Portugal, and always paid my UK tax. But now there is Brexit and despite the increased tax charges I'd rather keep the right to live in at least one EU country, so I plan to settle here.

LXJohn

[QUOTE=Ingles;12458075] Just noticed the link- very interesting.

RichardHenshall

If I'd experienced that I think I might now be wondering if I was vulnerable to identity theft but I suppose there could be an innocent explanation too?

LXJohn

I never received any more emails from her OA email address, but there was one at the beginning and it matched her name on the OA site so I assumed she is who she says she is, but why bother trying to defraud someone when the work involved wasn't that great and potentially she is risking her career?
I changed my AT password some time ago.The only work I know she has done was to go with me to get it at the Financas, telling them she was my FR, but the link you gave me records that no FR has been appointed.
There have been too many odd things for me to think it all has an innocent explanation, especially that she (or someone with her name...) was called out publicly in a London paper by another solicitor as falsely pretending to be a member of the Law Society in order to get clients there.
She has copies of 4 years of my UK tax returns of course, and of my passport, this is starting to worry me again - any thoughts?

Ingles

[QUOTE=LXJohn;12458325] I agree , but also very disturbing that nothing is being done about it !!!!

liveaboard

So I take it that when you first engaged this alleged lawyer, she was working at/for a law firm.

It sounds as though the separation was less than amicable [no contact details!].
I suggest you call the firm again, and ask their advice. Perhaps a visit would be in order.

Just to be sure you have no residual vulnerabilities to this highly doubtful person.

Lawyers! [shudder]

palma

We are living on a big plot of land that has been granted planning permission without our knowledge (the land was never split this was hidden till recently) the big Hotel group developers are trying to force us out. there are 7 lawyers (last count) involved, how do you go about complaining about them? it's shocking some of us have owned our apartments 20 years any advice please?