Escaping an abusive relationship with Hentons
Our chartered accountant retired and we, his clients, were transferred to Hentons. Within a few years this new firm was gauging prices through a specific pattern of conduct that is important to document:
Hentons staff will delay until the evening before an important filing deadline and set up out-of-hours phone calls without written explanation. In these calls they will claim there has been a sudden steep increase in Hentons service fees which you must immediately agree to pay or risk potential government legal repercussions when they miss the imminent filing deadline. If you ask why no advance notice or written quotation was provided for said exorbitant price hike, they will gaslight and say they were on vacation or busy and imply that you're lucky they told you at all.
Once you recognise this pattern, you can start taking steps to protect yourself and exit the harmful relationship: refuse non-written interactions and ask them to prepare official filings at least a week before the government deadline. This will limit Hentons' ability to corner you into an environment where you are alone and vulnerable. Consider sharing transcripts with Companies House / HMRC.
If your accountant is closing shop and wants to switch you over to Hentons, politely refuse as you have the right to shop around. Do your due diligence and make use of the wealth of comparison tools out there to select a credible, trusted accountancy firm who will welcome you as an equal. Once your accountant sells you to Hentons, you are no longer the client but the product.







