As we say, anyone is welcome to call us for advice - its free... and as we have pointed out in the past (and not to start a big debate on it or flare anything up) even VLLB has been the recipient of free advice even though he clearly has a tax agent he could have asked - go figure!
We can't force anyone to use us, just like people choose to employ your skills or not.
dico, if you want to give the office a quick call and see what's best to do, then please do so - it'll cost you the price of the call! We are not in the business of wasting our time or anyone else's. If we think its something you can do yourself, we'll even talk you through it.
Thanks 400KV, and its true. There's a lot of cheaper agents out there. Whether they are doing things as HMRC expect is another matter and unfortunately their clients won't know until maybe a year or so later. If your agent is not asking for evidence to claims, then I'd be very wary. I'd also make sure they have a dedicated compliance service as part of what they charge you - just in case!
And to be completely clear, our fee for PAYE is actually 25%, which is still competitive to the leaders in the market. CIS is £99.99 + 15% of the refund (for each year we do). We have thought long and hard to come to these fee amounts, trying to suit all employment statuses.