A simple plea to Albany and Mirasol...

Well, it looks like our Forum has been noticed. This is good. As we gain users/followers it should make us stronger as a group. I hope that in the future some of these directors would sign up as users and start answering some of our questions. I would think that's the least they owe us (NOTE: I'm not talking about Ray specifically).

Come on Albany, Mirasol and anyone else who is involved... please start posting some answers instead of making us do all the work!

Makes you wonder why it's all some big secret... how about the professional courtesy of telling us the truth. We simply want to know what went wrong. There is no need for all the smoke and mirrors (or simply lack of any information).

What would you like to know?

I would like to know, in the specific case of Albany Technologies where Albany had a chance to wrap things up, why did Albany did not credit not credit all pending invoices (not yet paid to Albany) before the Administrators were called in?

I would also like to know what's the status with Mirasol... it doesn't seem to be in administration, but there is no communication about what's going on.

Many thanks.

Credit notes should have been raised for Albany Technologies where they were specifically requested. There was an awful lot of confusion internally about what could and couldn't be done with the various companies in the group. Not sure on Mirasol, it's not in administration as far as I am aware but I would imagine that that situation is not too far away.

Ex-Albany Employee wrote:

Credit notes should have been raised for Albany Technologies where they were specifically requested. There was an awful lot of confusion internally about what could and couldn't be done with the various companies in the group. Not sure on Mirasol, it's not in administration as far as I am aware but I would imagine that that situation is not too far away.

I did request a credit note, but never got any confirmation... and as far as I know it was never done.

What was the scope of Albany Technologies business? Was it only invoicing for contractors and paying them when received? Would there be any other creditors but the contractors wourking with Albany Tech.?

Trying to figure out what sort of scenario could come out of Administration...

Thanks

Not sure on Mirasol, it's not in administration as far as I am aware but I would imagine that that situation is not too far away.[/quote]

Hi,
could you possibly give an idea of how Mirasol got caught up in the Albany situation as was reported for example were the funds used by Albany or are the funds simply frozen?
Do you know if the further communication and hotline promised for last week will occur? What makes you think that Mirasol is 'not too far away?'

thanks for any light you can shed....

seekinganswers wrote:

Ex-Albany Employee wrote:

Credit notes should have been raised for Albany Technologies where they were specifically requested. There was an awful lot of confusion internally about what could and couldn't be done with the various companies in the group. Not sure on Mirasol, it's not in administration as far as I am aware but I would imagine that that situation is not too far away.

I did request a credit note, but never got any confirmation... and as far as I know it was never done.

Apologies - you must have been a victim of the confusion. As I'm sure you are aware, communication was not Albany's strong point. If you never received a confirmation then it is doubtful that the invoices were credited although it may be worth checking with your agency.

seekinganswers wrote:

What was the scope of Albany Technologies business? Was it only invoicing for contractors and paying them when received? Would there be any other creditors but the contractors wourking with Albany Tech.?

Trying to figure out what sort of scenario could come out of Administration...

Thanks

That is correct, the only creditors would be contractors as far as I know but as it was part of Albany Holdings Limited which has gone into administration, I'm not sure if it will be treated separately.

richard wrote:

Not sure on Mirasol, it's not in administration as far as I am aware but I would imagine that that situation is not too far away.

Hi,
could you possibly give an idea of how Mirasol got caught up in the Albany situation as was reported for example were the funds used by Albany or are the funds simply frozen?
Do you know if the further communication and hotline promised for last week will occur? What makes you think that Mirasol is 'not too far away?'

thanks for any light you can shed....[/quote]

I'm not 100% sure on this but the fact that there has been delays in distributions to Mirasol members going back as far as October suggests that all has not been well there for some time. The problem for the contractors is that the structure of Mirasol means that they do not have a legal claim to the funds - as has been mentioned, all distributions are at the discretion of the directors.

No idea about further communications - the majority of staff were all laid off last week so we have no visibility on this.

Well lets hope these directors do the right thing concerning Mirasol.

somehow i doubt it.

I stand to loose everything I have worked for.....really bad times ahead....not to mention the sleepless nights, anxiety, panic attacks.

my world has caved in...i am so desperate at the moment.

I fully understand, there are obviously a lot of people affected by this, including many blameless members of staff at Albany who have lost / will be losing their jobs.

I hope things work out for you.

My heart goes out to you Peter

This is far from over yet! There are laws to protect people and there are illegal contracts and implied contracts. If there has been wrong doing then we will find it. In the meantime don't listen too closely to well meaning amateurs.

Go and see somebody about the Panic Attacks and sleepless nights, they can help you. Most importantly know this, you are not on your own !!!

@ Ex-Albany Employee:
Mirasol and Albany Tech sol were 2 different company with 2 different bank account etc.

Have the Mirasol funds been used to help Albany Tech?
How many people worked at Albany Tech?

Who were the Directors of Mirasol? At this moment we have never heard about those people calling the shots.
As far as I know, even the directors don't have the possibility to use Mirasol money to fund anything else than getting these distribution?

Is there a link between the company Mirasol and Albany Tech?

thanks for your help as I know this is also a hard time for you.

Have the Mirasol funds been used to help Albany Tech?

Not to my knowledge.

How many people worked at Albany Tech?

Albany Tech was not a separate company as such, all employees (e.g. compliance, sales, client service managers etc) worked for Albany Holdings Limited. The company your contract was with (e.g Albany Tech, Albany EMEA, AMUK etc) varied depending on where you were working / what type of scheme you were on (Mirasol split / full declaration etc).

Who were the Directors of Mirasol? At this moment we have never heard about those people calling the shots.

Not sure but I believe it was set up by Martin.

As far as I know, even the directors don't have the possibility to use Mirasol money to fund anything else than getting these distribution?

You would imagine so but as everyone knows, Mirasol was certainly in the grey area of tax avoidance and the company was structured in such a way that the money does not actually belong to the contractor until they make a withdrawal from it hence they do not pay tax on it until that point.

Is there a link between the company Mirasol and Albany Tech?

Of course - Mirasol was set up as an Albany initiative and was used exclusively by Albany contractors. Mirasol was / is not part of the Albany group though.

thanks for your help as I know this is also a hard time for you.[/quote]

I'

Ex-Albany Employee wrote:

Have the Mirasol funds been used to help Albany Tech?

Not to my knowledge.

How many people worked at Albany Tech?

Albany Tech was not a separate company as such, all employees (e.g. compliance, sales, client service managers etc) worked for Albany Holdings Limited. The company your contract was with (e.g Albany Tech, Albany EMEA, AMUK etc) varied depending on where you were working / what type of scheme you were on (Mirasol split / full declaration etc).

Who were the Directors of Mirasol? At this moment we have never heard about those people calling the shots.

Not sure but I believe it was set up by Martin.

As far as I know, even the directors don't have the possibility to use Mirasol money to fund anything else than getting these distribution?

You would imagine so but as everyone knows, Mirasol was certainly in the grey area of tax avoidance and the company was structured in such a way that the money does not actually belong to the contractor until they make a withdrawal from it hence they do not pay tax on it until that point.

Is there a link between the company Mirasol and Albany Tech?

Of course - Mirasol was set up as an Albany initiative and was used exclusively by Albany contractors. Mirasol was / is not part of the Albany group though.

I'

Went trough the 08 year end statement of Albany Holdings. Albany Technologies LTD is legally a completely separate entity owned by Marting G.
For example Albany EMEA, AMUK and many others are 100% subs of Albany Holdings.

Working there you would not probaply notice. But might make a difference when we (contractors) try to get our money out.

Peter,

just want you know you are not alone. Keep up with the forums, and mail lists
Lets see if we can get some answers ... as one contributor implies there maybe legal recourse.
All posibilities need to be investigated and there maybe a number of people/organisations guilty of either fraud,
not excercising due diligence, fudiciary obligations etc.

Went trough the 08 year end statement of Albany Holdings. Albany Technologies LTD is legally a completely separate entity owned by Marting G.
For example Albany EMEA, AMUK and many others are 100% subs of Albany Holdings.

Working there you would not probaply notice. But might make a difference when we (contractors) try to get our money out.

Sorry - I wasn't aware of this.

Hi Colleagues!

I am in very similar situation. There are 35 days that already paid by my recruiters to Albany and I can’t get this money.
Could you pls recommend me what to do? Have I a chance to get my money?

Your recommendation will be very appreciated

@ Ex-Albany Employee:

How were the last days/ week at the office?
I suppose that there was a lot of confusion on what was happening?
Was there any internal information been sent about the situation that Albany was going through?

Is there still any money in Mirasol and Albany?
Or is it an empty box?

Is there anyone who we can contact at Mirasol? As Sarah Morrey was one of the few people we could contact and she isn't answering...

[i]How were the last days/ week at the office?

Not much fun.

I suppose that there was a lot of confusion on what was happening?
Was there any internal information been sent about the situation that Albany was going through?

A lot of confusion and misinformation as I guess there always is in this sort of scenario. The fact is that the contractors knew as much as the internal staff.

Is there still any money in Mirasol and Albany?
Or is it an empty box?

Really don't know the answer to this but I'm not hugely optomistic. The only possible upside is going to come when the viable parts of the business (i.e. US, Asia, Netherlands operations) are sold off and bring in some funds. I would imagine that most of that will be swallowed up by the taxman, RBS etc though and this would obviously not benefit Mirasol as it is a separate organisation.

Is there anyone who we can contact at Mirasol? As Sarah Morrey was one of the few people we could contact and she isn't answering..

Not sure if Sarah is still there or not and I don't have any other contact other than Waheed and I believe that he has left.

Finally, what was true and where we got catch by Albany when they "sell" us the Mirasol solution?
Have we been so naive?

Finally, what was true and where we got catch by Albany when they "sell" us the Mirasol solution?
Have we been so naive?

Not too sure what you mean by this? Mirasol was never a "con" or had "catches" attached to it. It was a useful way of minimising a contractor's tax exposure whilst working in countries with punitive tax regimes and functioned well for many years. Despite what has happened over the past month or so, Albany was one of the more reputable management companies in the market and it is very sad that it has come to an end in this manner.

You say Mirasol WAS, does this mean that you know it no longer IS ? You also discuss Mirasol & Albany together, they are separate entities aren't they? or so we were lead to believe, perhaps you know different? Do you know whether this bank account has been plundered or seized as collateral for RBS debts from elsewhere?

Do you actually know what happened? Or do you just speculate and wonder like the rest of us?

I have lost much in this debacle however, I know of people who make my losses seem completely insignificant. If I was party to the pain and suffering caused I would be ashamed of myself. If any of you ( not you personally ) had a modicum of dignity and even an ounce of integrity, you would encourage the people who do know, to come forward and explain it to us, at least then we can face our uncertain and impoverished futures with some dignity ourselves.

As far as I am concerned, the umbrella industry and its trappings are finished. Albany , as you trumpet, were amongst the best in the industry, so what for the rest?