Complaints Procedure.

Our approach

We take complaints seriously. Every complaint goes to a senior adviser (usually Shamim Bhuiyan FCCA CTA directly) within one working day. Our commitment is to listen fully, investigate properly, respond within reasonable time, and fix what’s broken at our cost where we got it wrong. We’d always rather resolve something internally than see it escalated.

How to raise a complaint

1. Email us

   Send a brief email to info@thetaxlead.ae describing what happened, what you’d like to see done, and when it occurred. Attach anything relevant (correspondence, invoices, screenshots). You can also post to our registered office in London.

   Immediate

2. We acknowledge within 1 working day

   You’ll receive written acknowledgment within one UK or UAE working day (whichever comes first). The acknowledgment confirms the complaint owner on our side (usually Shamim personally) and the next-steps timeline.

   1 working day

3. We investigate

   We read the relevant correspondence, workpapers and systems. We speak with any team members involved. If needed, we’ll ask you clarifying questions. The investigation is proportionate to the complaint — most are resolved within 10 working days.

   10 working days

4. We respond

   Written response setting out: our findings, whether we uphold the complaint (in whole or part), what we propose to do about it, and your escalation rights. If we got it wrong, we say so plainly and offer remedy.

   By day 20

5. Final response or escalation

   If you’re satisfied, matter closed. If not, we offer a final-review meeting (video or in person). After that, the matter can be escalated to our professional regulator or the FTA. See escalation routes below.

   By day 30

Escalation routes

UK-side matters (UK CT, UK SA, UK property, UK HMRC agent code work)

Our UK sister firm is regulated by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants). If you’re not satisfied with our final response you can refer the matter to:

• ACCA Investigations Team — +44 141 582 2000, complaints@accaglobal.com, 110 Queen Street, Glasgow G1 3BX, United Kingdom.
• Also: UK Financial Ombudsman Service for personal / small-business clients where the matter is in their scope.

UAE-side matters (UAE CT, UAE VAT, UAE free zone)

Our UAE-side services are provided under FTA tax-practitioner registration. Escalation routes:

• UAE Federal Tax Authority — tax@tax.gov.ae — where the matter concerns a UAE tax practitioner’s conduct.
• IFZA Strategic Partner Programme — where the matter concerns business-setup services introduced via IFZA.

Data protection matters

See our Privacy Policy. Escalation routes:

• UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk — for personal data processing under UK GDPR.
• UAE Data Office — dataoffice.gov.ae — for personal data processing under UAE PDPL.

If you’re writing on behalf of someone else

Where the complaint is about work we did for someone else (your client, your family member, your employer), we need written authorisation from them before we can discuss the specifics with you. If you’re a legal representative, please attach power of attorney or equivalent.

What complaints we’ve received recently

In the interests of transparency, we publish an annual complaints summary (number received, number upheld, average resolution time) in our ACCA regulatory return. Available on request from info@thetaxlead.ae.