"You’ll be tearing your hair out alongside Gabrielle in this emotive account of mistaken identity."
Gino's Contraband: Guilty Until Proven Innocent by Gabrielle O'Donovan tells the author’s experience with HMRC while being pursued for a missing tax payment that was not hers. When providing background Gabrielle shows herself to be an average hardworking woman who has lived in Hong Kong, Ireland and London while pursuing her career with industry acclaim. So when a badly formatted, badly written letter from HMRC comes through her door, she knows the key signs of a scam and quickly ignores it. What follows is years of stress, frustration and stonewalling with very few answers. From thinking that she’s the target of a criminal gang to discovering the (real) HMRC’s tactics of publishing the private information of individuals and businesses who have “avoided paying tax” and harassing for payment but when contacted being as useful as a chocolate teapot.
The author's emotions come across so clearly in this book that I was frustrated along with her, exclaiming each time she was passed to a different department or given a none answer to any of her enquiries. Anyone that has seen the struggle of the post office workers caught up in the Horizon scandal will see similar experiences here. But the scope of this story doesn’t end with Gabrielle and her case of mistaken identity, as it also touches on those affected by the Loan Charge legislation that sees up to 100,000 workers facing ruin.
A shocking and emotive tale shining a light on a harrowing experience that leaves people feeling isolated, shamed and helpless, driving some to the worst. This powerfully shares Gabriella’s story and is a call for reflection and change to HMRC processes that I hope receives the attention it deserves.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading Ambassador
| Primary Genre | Biographies & Autobiographies |
| Recommendations: |
